I have long been a fan of the wines produced by Treasury Wine Estates. These range from Beringer in Napa Valley where I learned to fall in love; to my overnight stay at Matua vineyard in New Zealand, and two fabulous tastings of Penfolds Grange at Penfolds Winery in Australia. Therefore, it was exciting for me to conduct this interview with Adele Felsch, GM of Marketing Strategy & Insight, for Treasury. She shared with me all of the exciting innovations they are doing with the assistance of AI (artificial intelligence). Portions of this article were first published in Forbes. Republished here with permission.
Two Major Types of Wine in the World
Many experts believe there are two major types of wine in the world: those that reflect the soil and place where the grapes are grown (terroir wines), and those crafted to meet consumer preferences (commercial wines). Both types are equally important and made from grapes, but commercial wines may involve harvesting earlier or later to create lighter, more refreshing styles—or richer, fruit-forward profiles—depending on consumer demand.
Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), headquartered in Australia, produces both wine categories, ranging from its ultra-luxury terroir wine, Penfolds Grange, which retails for around $800 per bottle, to its entry-level Matua Sauvignon Blanc, which sells in grocery stores for about $11. The company currently produces more than 70 wine brands sold globally, including well-known labels such as Beringer, 19 Crimes, and Stags’ Leap.
Recently, Treasury launched a new initiative that harnesses the power of AI to help craft new wine brands that are resonating strongly with consumers. Not only are they seeing high levels of repeat purchases, but they have also significantly reduced their product development cycle.
“We are using an innovation engine to co-create new wines with real consumers online. Then we use AI to group consumer ideas into themes, and it gives it back to us in ‘consumer speak’,” explained Adele Felsch, GM of Marketing Strategy & Insight at Treasury, when I interviewed her on Zoom recently.
To support this effort, Treasury is partnering with Ideally, a market research firm that enables brands to test and refine ideas with real consumer feedback overnight. I also consulted with Ideally co-founder, Joshua Nu’u-Steele, via email to gain his perspective on the partnership
“What we’ve built with Treasury Wine Estates is a blueprint for how consumer insights should work inside a global business — fast, continuous, and already behind products hitting the market. It’s a completely different operating model,” Joshua reported.
Adele agrees. “Now we can co-create with customers an MVP (minimum viable product) in less than 87 days; whereas in the past it took around 180 days (6 months),” she said.
Four New Innovative Wine Concepts Launched by Treasury to Date
Adele works within a division of Treasury called Treasury Collective, which focuses on premium wines priced at $25 and under. Brands under her remit include Matua, 19 Crimes, and Squealing Pig. The company’s other two divisions are Treasury Americas and Penfolds.
“Within Treasury Collective we have created a cross-functional team that we call, ‘the Innovation Engine,’” she stated. “Our job is to develop viable new products to meet consumer needs. Innovation excites me because it forwards the category.”
When asked about results, Adele reported that over the past two years the team has developed and launched four new wine products, or brand extensions, based on consumer feedback and AI analysis. These include:
#1) Cali by Snoop – an infusion of culture and flavor. Based on consumer feedback, Treasury crafted wines described as ‘smooth,’ ‘sweet’ and ‘chill,’ and placed these descriptors on the front label. The wine celebrates rapper Snoop Dogg and is a partnership with the 19 Crimes brand. It is now one of the top 10 performing new product launches, according to Circana.
#2) Matua Sauvignon Blanc in a “Bagnum” – consumers who enjoyed this vibrant New Zealand wine requested a portable, larger-format option that could be stored in the refrigerator. Treasury responded by introducing the Matua Bagnum, which holds two bottles of wine and can last for 30 days in a refrigerator. Following a successful launch in Australia, it has recently been introduced in select U.S. markets. Early results show it is “over-indexing” in sales. A smaller canned version has also been introduced.
#3) Sorbet – a wine brand focused on refreshing fruit-forward flavors. Currently available only in Australia, the wines “identify natural flavor cues from traditional wine and dial that up in a sparkling wine format,” said Adele. The most popular offering is Sorbet Lemon Prosecco, with additional varieties including Raspberry Rose and Mango Sauvignon Blanc.
#4) Squealini – a brand extension that ‘piggy backs’ on the Squealing Pig brand. These wines are low-alcohol spritzes with light, sweet, and vibrant flavors, such as Zesty Lemon and Fuzzy Peach.
“As we talked with consumers online via the Ideally platform, a surprising theme was the importance of flavor,” stated Adele. “One in four Gen Z are looking for flavor first, so we focused on developing wines that were fresh and had unique and exciting flavors.”
She also noted that responses vary by geography, with Australian, British, and U.S. consumers showing distinct preferences. As a result, the team often launches products in one country first before expanding to other markets.
“The beauty of this method is that it removes internal bias, because it focuses on consumer needs. I love this, because we can test our hypothesis very quickly, and with the assistance of AI, innovate for what the consumer is asking for,” added Adele.
“The more we connect with consumers, the more we will unlock some amazing wine innovations. We are building flavors and formats that will disrupt the category,” she concluded.