New market trends for Cava

Highlighting consumption opportunities in an increasingly competitive market is necessary in order to plan future lines of work. For this reason, the D.O. Cava organised a conference session on 18 May with leading experts, to discuss market trends at a national and international level.

Gloria Pau (senior consultant at IRi) spoke about Cava’s situation in the domestic market, followed by a presentation by Juan Park (director of Wine Intelligence, IWSR Group) on the positioning of Cava in international markets.

Cava stands out for its versatility and diversity of categories, as Gloria Pau stated in her first speech on the situation of the domestic Cava market in 2021 and prospects for mass consumption in 2022.

On a national level, there is growing interest in Cavas with a lower dosage profile, in addition to the significant growth of the Rosé Cava category. Another relevant fact in terms of buyer profile is the interest in the producer winery rather than the distribution brand.

In addition, growth can be seen in the on-line channel, with prices significantly higher than off-line, as well as growth in sales outside the Christmas campaign. These are signs of a strategy that is in full transformation, in line with new consumer habits.

Coinciding with the domestic market, Juan Park pointed out that there is also an opportunity for the product to be de-seasonalised in the international market. Furthermore, according to Park, the data reveals that Cava, unlike still wine, has shown growth in international markets and is expected to continue to grow:

"The sparkling wine category has growth prospects and possibilities, especially in mature and consolidated markets (...) In addition, there are opportunities to position itself in new markets, as well as new consumer trends that could be interesting for Cava."

Finally, the experts concluded that crises bring opportunities and Cava has positive prospects at the category level that it must take advantage of in order to be uppermost in the consumer's mind, not only at the most significant consumption moments, and should be linked to new trends such as sustainability, mixology, and spontaneous, informal drinks, among others.