Vinexpo Returns to the US

On March 9th, a few weeks after its well-received Paris event, Vinexpo returned to New York.

With over 380 exhibitors from 30 countries, and visitors from 42 states, Mexico and Canada, the trade fair was considered to have been more successful than its pre-pandemic predecessors.

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Vinexpo America
Vinexpo America

There seems little question that US buyers who have been doing little or no overseas travel over the last two years welcomed the chance to reconnect with producers they already know and to meet new ones.

As Beckie Kier, Diversified Communications’ group event director for Vinexpo America said, “The pent-up demand for in-person connections has been palpable… So many attendees and exhibitors have remarked to us that the time spent together has been revitalizing and invaluable in reconfirming relationships and broadening networks.”

Among the enthusiastic visitors was Olivier Kielwasser, buyer for the retail group BevMo!, who said that he’d “been able to reconfirm some deals on past wines that I evaluated – meeting in person really helped make that happen… and to find some new wines that we’re interested in bringing into California.”

Conference session at Vinexpo America
Conference session at Vinexpo America

Also at the fair, speaking at a conference session, was Cathy Lewenberg, Chief Operating Officer of Drizly, North America's largest alcohol e-commerce and on-demand delivery platform which delivers wine from independent retailers to buyers who have placed orders online. After being acquired by Uber, Drizly announced a collaboration with 7-Eleven last year.

According to Lewenberg, speaking in a conference session on tech trends:

“Less than two percent of off-premise sales were going through 
digital channels as we headed into 2020; now its 67%.”

This figure may raise a few eyebrows among retailers, but there is no denying the boost the pandemic has given to online retailing of every kind.

Vinexpo America | Drinks America will return to New York’s Javits Center March 8-9, 2023.

 

 

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