By Harrison Davies in Bendigo

The 2022 Wine Industry IMPACT Conference has wrapped up in the regional Victorian city of Bendigo after exploring the way forward for the wine sector amidst ongoing challenges.

Speakers on the second and final day of the event yesterday covered a variety of subjects and all attempted to explore those challenges and how Australian producers and suppliers may overcome them.

Building brands and forging relationships with consumers was the focus of the day, with workshops featuring speakers from businesses such as Vivino, Wine Tourism Australia and Enolytics.

The talks all centred on the theme of preparing for the future and creating businesses that could endure shifts in the market.

Many presenters emphasised the importance of embracing innovation and not shying away from technological change.

“Making sure we are on top of the latest technological advancements and embracing changes within the industry is going to help us be ready for what is down the track,” MC and wine writer Jeremy Oliver said.

The keynote address was presented by Peta Granger, the former director of Lush Cosmetics in Australia.

Directing her presentation to wine industry operators, Granger shared her wealth of experience in guiding a company through shifts in the market and in responding to wider societal changes.

“Everyone in the company should have a hand in how the company is run,” she said.

“At Lush, all our marketing team would have a few days on the floor of one of our stores when they started.

“We would also ask our casual staff about things like uniform and how the brand should present itself at Christmas, and these strategies led to massive successes for the company.”

This year’s IMPACT Conference, hosted by WISA, was the first held since 2019 and it attracted around 150 delegates to Bendigo to hear speakers address the event’s theme of ‘Future proofing your wine business’.

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