Wine innovation driving growth

The Australian wine industry has an enviable reputation for innovation from grape to glass. In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic wine industry leader Matthew Moate saw the opportunity to leverage the knowledge and connections he’d built over 20 years in various business and industry roles to offer a consulting service for new and innovative wine sector suppliers.

“I was seeing a growing need for new innovative and industry 4.0 business seeking support, a guide if you like, to help them to accelerate the adoption of their solutions and ultimately grow,” said Moate.

Over the past 18 months, Moate has helped several suppliers from the viticulture, packaging, consumer engagement, water infrastructure, e-commerce, logistics and traceability sector to create connections and drive enhanced capability and competitiveness.

“I have to admit, when I resigned from my CEO role with Wine Industry Suppliers in early March 2020, I really thought COVID wouldn’t be around long,” he added.

“While an impact at first, it ultimately offered a number of opportunities to build a largely overseas and interstate client base who needed someone on the ground to help build connections.”

Moate says he is often the first point of call for both wineries looking to solve problems and suppliers with worthy solutions to connect to the industry. To handle the demand, his business is now growing, with the addition of Candice Scott joining the team as project co-ordinator.

Scott has already built a successful career with 18 years of service to Pernod Ricard Winemakers across a range of high-profile personal assistant and project co-ordination roles.

“When I heard on the quiet that Candice was moving on from Pernod Ricard Winemakers, I reached out to her immediately to find out her next move. Through previous dealings, I had found her to be very reliable, efficient and had a high attention to detail which was exactly what a big picture thinker like me needed to grow my business and the impact it can have on the sector,” said Moate.

“I felt lucky to have so many options available to me. It reinforced the relationships and value I had been delivering both internally and externally,” said Scott.

“I look forward to being a part of Matthew’s vision to build connections and ultimately value for the sector through technology and innovation.”

Scott is poised to commence with MatthewMoate.com on the 2 November and will be managing a range of internal processes, client and customer liaison, along with some new exciting projects in the pipeline to help industry to leverage the opportunity of technology and innovation for their business.

Image: Candice Scott

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