How singer Kylie Minogue built a wine empire in six years

PARIS - Australian singer Kylie Minogue says nothing compares to performing live, but becoming an international wine magnate in under six years has been quite a thrill for her.

The 57-year-old launched her first own-label wine in 2020 in partnership with celebrity drinks expert Paul Schaafsma, starting with a basic rose but quickly expanding to include sparkling, no-alcohol and premium rose offerings.

She has since wracked up sales of around 25 million bottles, with her carefully branded products pitched at low- to mid-range prices in dozens of countries. Britain, Australia and the United States are the biggest markets.

“Nothing compares to performing because that, in the moment, is like the summation of what I do,” Minogue said in Paris when asked if the joy of her wine venture compared to the buzz of stepping out on stage. “But there are definitely parallels.”

In Britain, wine sales data regularly show her rose, prosecco and no-alcohol sparkling among the best-sellers in their categories – uncorking a major new revenue stream for the performer-entrepreneur.

Not bad for someone who confessed at the recent Wine Paris trade show that she knew very little about the industry when she started out.

“I entered the space really genuinely, hand ups, ‘I don’t know anything about anything, every step is a baby step’,” Minogue said at a Feb 9 promotional event.

“And now I find myself with the terminology and the lingo and the understanding, and I’m like, ‘Who am I? How did this happen?’” she joked.

‘Growth areas’

Though she played down her wine knowledge, Minogue’s business acumen – in conjunction with the hugely experienced Schaafsma, also from Australia – is not in doubt.

“All her products are in the growth areas of the market, so she’s in the right place,” said Mr Patrick Schmitt, editor-in-chief of The Drinks Business industry website.

He lists them: Affordable rose, Prosecco, pink Prosecco and no-alcohol. She has not bothered with an unfashionable red in her 10-bottle range.

“Her brand is built around pink products and pink wines,” Mr Schmitt added.

The business model involves buying grapes from wholesale producers in France and Italy, assembling and labelling the wine as her own brand, then selling through mass-market retailers.

Her no-alcohol range – something she says she drinks while touring and is popular among her women friends – is made in Germany and uses grape juice fermented with bacteria which do not produce alcohol. Chinese green tea is added to give it flavour.

Celebrity vineyards

Celebrity ventures are easy to sneer at, says Mr Schmitt, but he gave Kylie’s Provence rose a gold medal in a blind tasting and her basic rose is “best-in-class” at around £10 (S$17).

Her top-sellers have a ranking of 3.6 to 3.8 out of 5 stars on the Vivino wine-rating app and serious wine publications such as Decanter have given them upbeat reviews.

Mr Schmitt said: “Wine is struggling to keep its market share. It’s challenged by a younger generation that maybe drink less, and if they do drink, they drink other more affordable products.

“So something that raises the profile of wine, particularly at an affordable price, as long as the product is good, has got to be a positive.” AFP