Prosecco sales in North America have grown over the past year by 35%, while the average price of a bottle has risen by 36.5% to around $12.
The figures were announced by Danny Brager, senior vice president of alcoholic beverages at Nielsen USA during the Wine2Wine Forum in Verona, reports Ansa.
The growth has lead to a 6% increase in US sales of Italian sparkling wines, a category which makes up half of all Italian wine exports. According to Brager, "the demand for Prosecco is greater than for Champagne throughout the year, except for Christmas".
The growth in Prosecco sales has occurred without eroding the market share of other sparkling wines, winning over one in three wine drinkers who have never tried Italian sparkling wine.
Some 45% of US consumers claim to drink sparkling wine only at home, while 12% consume it only in a restaurant. Also, 35% of young US consumers admit to switching to Prosecco over the past year as a “trend”.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.