Australian wines now have a 25.4% market share by value and 23.1% by volume in the UK (MAT AC Nielsen 31.12.06). In addition to this, Australian Brands occupy 5 of the top 10 AC Nielsen positions, with Hardys at Number 1.

After extensive research into the growth and value of the Australian UK market share in 2006, HwCg saw that there was an opportunity to launch an interesting range of wines which combined classic Australian varietals with some European flavours. Hence the brand creation process of Commissioner’s Block began.

Initially HwCg needed to make the crucial decision of where to position their new Australian wine brand. After carrying out extensive gap analysis retail studies and consulting with our long standing UK customers, it became clear that there was a shortfall in quality Australian varietals at the £5.99 price point in the Independent sector.