Nigeria remains an attractive destination for global wine producers with its over two hundred million population, the seventh largest in the world, and Africa’s most populous nation representing about 12 percent of the total population of the continent which currently stands at around 1.4 billion.

This was a view shared by a wine industry expert after participating as a panel member at the 2023 Best Value Vin De France wine selection jury and global wine industry event, the Vinexpo/Wine Paris Exhibition in Paris, France.

He said that Nigeria provides a strong and attractive frontier for international wine producers seeking to diversify and who are looking for new and evolving markets, especially markets that can provide opportunities for sustained growth and scale.

Victor Ikem who is the founder and director of Drinks Revolution Limited gave the insights after participating as a juror for Vin De France, the national French denomination dedicated to grape varietal wines, in Paris, France. He said that Nigeria remains one of the most vibrant markets in the world for wine, attracting a large number of new entrants year after year.

While thanking Business France, the agency responsible for promoting France’s companies and business-friendly image and trade in Nigeria for selecting him to be a part of the Vin De France jury and participate at the Vinexpo/Wineparis, Ikem said that he was proud of the French government for the deliberate efforts to ensure friendly business relationships and trade support in Nigeria.

Describing his experience, Ikem said that participating as a juror meant that Nigeria remains a noteworthy country for wines and is globally recognized as a significant destination for French wines, affirming that the country has kept a strong affinity for wines and other luxury goods from France, for several decades, which is a positive factor between both countries.

He hinted that French producers, for many years, have made efforts to provide Nigerian importers and consumers with a variety of quality French wines from key producing regions such as Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire, Provence, and the Rhone Valley, and others, explaining that as a leading global exporter of fine wines, France has continuously made efforts to develop the Nigerian market with a good percentage of global wine and spirits imported into Nigeria mostly coming from France.

Ikem stated that the new interest by global wine producers in export markets such as China and India does not in any way affect the possibility of Nigeria competing with the volumes in those markets if more investments are made to improve consumer knowledge and aimed at recruiting young wine lovers, taking advantage of disappearing interest for beer, especially within young consumer population.

After participating in the biggest wine exhibition, the 2023 Vinexpo/WineParis exhibition, Ikem disclosed that his interactions with French wine producers during the trade event have brought forth a deeper insight which suggests that most french when producers are positive about building partnerships with Nigerian importers.

The objective is to ensure that French wines are readily available in Nigeria, across international varietals, and at very reasonable pricing, ensuring friendlier trading terms and also ensuring long-term partnerships and collaboration that can provide a win–win situation for all involved.

Speaking on the dynamics of the Nigerian alcoholic market, he said that there will continue to be significant growth in consumption, with substantial on-trade and off-trade developments that will impact the volume of trade. He noted that noteworthy improvement has been seen with respect to the volume of alcoholic drinks projected to grow by around 10.90% (CAGR 2023 – 2027), with a value in excess of US$34.38bn, according to data provided by Statista, stating further that, whereas wine consumption has remained comparatively high in the key states in the southern region, there is a significant expectation of growth in other regions hitherto impeded by social, cultural, and other concerns. He noted that due to pricing issues, there is an influx of low-entry products however, value brands are also gaining a significant optimal share of the market with adequate marketing and brand building. While home consumption remains significant, out-of-home consumption in bars, restaurants, and others is expected to keep growing as the economy continues to recover from some of the recent shocks, he said.

Urging the government and other key stakeholders to offer incentives for wine industry players in Nigeria as the sector is capable of providing enough jobs to offset part of the 33 percent unemployment rate figures, Ikem noted that with improvement in the wine sector value chain, it will leverage on the tourism and entertainment sectors which will invariably contribute significantly to the GDP growth.

The 2023 edition of the Best Value VIN De France Selection is the largest Vin De France win selection ever. The jury panel comprised wine buyers and professionals from Vin de France export markets such as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavian, the US, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, Kenya, Japan, Finland, and the UK who came together for a blind tasting of over 500 Vin De France wines in order to select the very best of Vin De France category and wines selected to become the ambassador wines for generic marketing activities throughout the year and awarded medals in Gold and Silver categories.