Maggie Beer's popular non-alcoholic wine range to expand offshore

Simon Evans
Nov 3 2016
AFR

Non-alcoholic versions of champagne-like sparkling drinks made with cabernet and chardonnay grapes are proving increasingly popular both in Australia and overseas markets for Maggie Beer Products, which is trading solidly in the first few months of 2016-17.
The company is looking closely at how best to harness the growing demand for better quality non-alcoholic wines from countries in the Middle East and Asia where alcohol consumption is frowned upon because of religious and cultural beliefs.
Tony Robinson, the chairman of the parent company which owns a 48 per cent stake in Maggie Beer Products, said on Thursday the company viewed the non-alcoholic range of drinks as a huge export opportunity to tap into demand from countries where there was demand for quality adult drinks, but without alcohol in them.
“The non-alcoholic drinks part of the business is going well,” he said.
“They are very enthusiastic about it. They see it as an enormous export opportunity,” he said after the annual general meeting of Primary Opinion, which owns the stake in Maggie Beer Products, which is the premium food business run by the celebrity chef. It was the first annual meeting of Primary Opinion since it spent $15 million acquiring the stake in Maggie Beer Products, which appointed former Foster’s Group beer executive Trevor O’Hoy as its chairman a few weeks ago.
One of the most popular products is a Sparkling Ruby Cabernet made from cabernet grapes, which has the same small bubbles like champagne but has the alcohol stripped out. A sparkling chardonnay without any alcohol left in it was also a strong seller. The company has distribution in Australia through a range of players including the No.1 liquor retailing firm Dan Murphys, owned by Woolworths.
The company has had a string of inquiries from the Middle East and Asia for the non-alcoholic range.
“There are lots of people who are looking for a better non-alcoholic wine,” Mr Robinson said.
Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett is also a shareholder in Primary Opinion. Mr Robinson said the major focus was on expanding the Maggie Beer range in segments such as ice-cream, and there were no short-term plans for Primary Opinion to hunt around for other assets to buy to sit alongside the Maggie Beer stake.
“At this stage our singular focus is on supporting the growth at Maggie Beer,” he said.
“We’re still on a steep learning curve”.
He said trading for Maggie Beer Products was running in line with plans for the first few months of the 2016-17 financial year.
“We’re happy with what Maggie Beer Products is achieving in the first quarter of the financial year,” he said.
Maggie Beer Products generated revenue of $19.2 million in 2015-16, up from $18.4 million in the previous year.
Founder Maggie Beer has become a national celebrity after starting her business in the Barossa Valley in South Australia through a string of cookbooks, television shows and as a guest judge on the Ten Network’s Master Chef series. She is also trying to improve the standard of food served in Australia’s aged care homes in a pet project outside of her business interests.