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With a 92-year history, E. & J. Gallo Winery is the world’s largest wine producer by volume, a position it has strengthened over time through acquisitions. In 2005, Gallo acquired the makers of Barefoot Wines, which has grown from 600,000 cases per year to more than 14 million cases per year and is now America’s leading wine brand by dollar sales, according to Circana data shared by the company.
Gallo is building on a strong foundation with recent marketing initiatives, including a major redesign of the Barefoot Cellars line for the first time in 30 years and a renewed revitalization with sponsorship as the official wine of the NFL. Following past football-themed efforts centered around celebrity fans like Donna Kelce and Simone Biles, Barefoot’s NFL marketing slate this season includes a tailgate series from female-focused media company Betches and a Monday Night Football event from VinePair. Barefoot has also expanded its local sponsorship roster to 12 NFL teams, and Gallo plans to include more brands in its portfolio in professional leagues.
E. & J. Gallo Winery CMO Stephanie Gallo
Courtesy of E. & J. Gallo Winery
The brand refresh and expanded NFL partnership come as the company attempts to navigate difficult economic times and changing consumer tastes for wine and spirits. Stephanie Gallo served as Chief Marketing Officer of E. & J. Gallo Winery for seven years and spent most of her professional career at the company co-founded by her grandfather.
Marketing Dive spoke with Gallo about how the company is attracting new customers to the category and whether the brand refresh is more of an evolution than a revolution.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Marketing Dive: What does changing consumer behavior around alcohol and wine mean for Gallo and Barefoot?
Stephanie Gallo: Our company started 92 years ago with a very simple vision: to transform a beer and whiskey drinking nation into a wine drinking culture. Our founders wrote that our mission is to constantly strive to win new friends about wine. I can’t think of a better brand to make new friends with wine than Barefoot. It started from a very simple premise that is relevant today. Wine should be flavorful, affordable, and more importantly, fun.
We know that’s what consumers want, and more importantly, we think it’s something that Barefoot will continue to resonate with many people. Last year, Barefoot attracted 3.7 million new consumers to the wine category. We remain optimistic about this category. Because at the end of the day, what alcoholic beverages and wine do is bring people together. I can’t think of a better category for what we need right now.
How are you working to attract new customers to the category?
Wine has traditionally dominated and owned mealtimes, and changing consumer behavior shows that while mealtimes are important, they are no longer as relevant as they once were. The question is how to evolve the wine to suit new drinking situations.
To do that, you’ll need to adjust the format. We are particularly focused on alternative formats around the 200mm Tetra. This is a one-time use package. You can go anywhere and enjoy it even in casual situations.
It’s important to meet consumers where they are, which is one of the reasons we invested in the NFL partnership. We believe that strategic partnerships like the NFL allow Barefoot to truly integrate into pop culture and new events, which we hope will attract new consumers to the category.
We have to punch above our weight in many of these things. Sports Culture is how we want to leverage partnerships, and they allow us to truly engage in these conversations.
How is the NFL partnership working and evolving?
We’re very optimistic about that. We’ll be celebrating four years with that partnership and Barefoot will still be a key anchor. We continue to expand our partnerships with local team deals to increase the relevance of our brand in key markets.
In addition to Barefoot, we are introducing two new brands. André will become the official sparkling wine of the NFL. André is another brand that particularly resonates with (legal drinking age) consumers. The third partner we are bringing on is the Argentine wine brand Alamos. We will test and learn with a Hispanic grocery chain in Southern California.
Our main emphasis is on leveraging Barefoot because of the sheer size and scope of our partnerships and then taking a step back to determine which cases will resonate. Game day mimosas are what we came up with. André could certainly fill that position. We’re finding creative ways to leverage partnerships to make wine relevant.
Please tell us about Barefoot’s recent brand renewal.
This is the evolution of the brand. It’s not a revolution. If you look at some of the mistakes that have been made (in marketing), I think it’s brands not really listening to who their core customers are.
We believe larger labels, wordmarks and icons make it easier for consumers to find Barefoot on shelves. We also wrote tasting notes and displayed them on the front label. This is to make the category easy and fun for consumers participating in the category, so that consumers can know the taste of wine in advance. Looking at the back label actually talks about easy food pairings to help you understand the wine.
As the brand grew, there was no unified design system across its various sublines, including Barefoot, Fruitscato, Box Wine, Single Serve, and Bubbly. We’ve tested this in our test market and are confident it will be a good fit for your brand.
We know consumers really love Barefoot, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of. How can we take what’s working and make it harder? Let’s use our best assets: our feet. I call this the “Mom Test.” When your mom goes to the grocery store (you might say), “Mom, go buy the wine that has that tag on the label.”
How can we use data to inform Gallo’s marketing strategy?
We’re asking marketers not only to look at the data we have, but to go out and interact with consumers. Let’s get out there and see what’s happening in the market. Many alcoholic beverages are not sold through scannable channels (independent liquor stores and on-site settings where many purchases and consumption occur). It is important to combine insights and data collected through points of consumption, events, and interactions with partners who sell your brand.
How is Gallo affected by the current economic and tariff environment?
I think anyone who participates in any category that has to do with discretionary spending is experiencing headwinds and that really creates uncertainty. Uncertainty creates fear and doubt.
In our case, the general U.S. tariffs haven’t really impacted most of our portfolio. Some brands have been affected, but we are pretty resilient. Because we are vertically integrated, in most cases we are in control of our own destiny.
We have been in existence for 92 years. Founding our company during the repeal of Prohibition was quite difficult, and we are trying to overcome this. The team has done an amazing job, and we are optimistic and upbeat about this area. Because people need alcohol to come together and socialize. I think that’s what this world needs.
