Henkell Freixenet grows and consolidates its world leadership in the sparkling wine category
- Henkell Freixenet closed last year with a global turnover of 1,326 million euros, 11% more than the previous year
- Freixenet positioned itself as the company’s strongest brand by surpassing the record sale of 107 million bottles in 2021
Henkell Freixenet closed 2021 with a sales increase of 11% to €1,326 million (including excise duties). With this record turnover, the world leader in the sparkling wine market (according to IWSR), with brands such as Freixenet, Mionetto, Henkell, Alfred Gratien, Mangaroca Batida de Côco and i heart Wines, exceeds the level of turnover prior to the pandemic.
Henkell Freixenet’s sparkling wine sales increased by +15,2% to €843 million. This led to an increase in market share in Germany and Spain, among other markets. Global sales in the wine segment grew by +1.4% to €226 million, while spirits sales increased by +5.6% to €232 million.
The Freixenet brand, by far the most powerful brand in the Group, has largely contributed to the good results of Henkell Freixenet by achieving a record with the sale of more than 107 million bottles for the first time in history, among which stand out especially the brand’s flagship products Carta Nevada and Cordon Negro. These sales represent a growth of 8.5% compared to the 99.3 million bottles sold in 2020. In addition, the positive development of Freixenet Prosecco and Italian Rosé, as well as the good reception of the new ranges of Italian and Spanish wines, driven by the Sant Sadurní d’Anoia winery, have also helped the company grow.
Likewise, the reopening of the Horeca sector in Spain after the restrictions imposed on restaurants and hotels due to the pandemic has been a catalyst to boost Freixenet’s activity, which, together with the Segura Viudas brand, is growing in double digits in the Spanish market. Freixenet thus reaffirms its leadership position in different segments of the sparkling wine market in Spain in 2021, according to data provided by IRI.
At the international level, Freixenet stands out for its global character thanks to the fact that it exports more than 80% of its product. Freixenet is the leading sparkling wine brand in the UK, thanks to the good performance of Freixenet Prosecco, Freixenet Italian Rosé and its Italian still wines. In the US, both Freixenet and Segura Viudas achieved double-digit growth. The list of main markets for the Freixenet brand is completed with Germany and France. It is also worth highlighting the good evolution of the brand in growing markets such as Canada or Brazil. In addition, the high quality of Freixenet products has also been recognized by the most demanding national and international wine competitions.
Regarding the Group’s other international brands, Prosecco Mionetto grew by 33,2% to 35 million bottles and the German sekt brand Henkell also grew by 14,3% in 2021. The i heart Wines brand celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2021 as the brand of wines developed in the United Kingdom and established a new sales record with 32.5 million bottles and an increase of +3,0%. The Mangaroca Batida de Côco liqueur achieved growth of 23.6%, selling 2.8 million bottles. Finally, the prestigious Champagne Alfred Gratien, which has been produced by a family of cellar masters for four generations, showed very dynamic growth.
The Vice President and CEO of the Freixenet Group, Pedro Ferrer, recalls that “last year was a year marked by the recovery of the sector, despite the fact that we still lived with restrictions that did not allow us to lead a normal life”. “For this reason, we feel very proud of the success we are achieving. Our results are clearly satisfactory, as we have positioned ourselves as leaders in many markets, once again”, adds Ferrer.
For his part, Dr. Andreas Brokemper, CEO of Henkell Freixenet, points out that “We are experiencing a greater awareness of quality in all markets, a greater interest in the origins and diversity of wine and sparkling wines. And we want to serve this growing interest in enjoyment with our international portfolio, which represents almost every origin and method, from Cava to Champagne, Crémant, Prosecco and German Riesling. In this sense, we are the Cava market leader in 98 countries, the Prosecco market leader in 34 countries and the sparkling wine market leader in 29 countries, according to IWSR”.
