Melanie Mann, principal category merchant, wine for Whole Foods Market is preparing for her second trip to Vinexpo America in March. She sat down with the team to talk about the exhibition.
What is your role with Whole Foods Market?
I lead our team focused on buying imported still and sparkling wines, which are carried in over 350 stores across the U.S. My colleagues focused on domestic wines will also join me in New York for the program.
This is your second turn at Vinexpo America | Drinks America. What were your takeaways from the first show?
The 2022 program was a wild success for us – it was pretty magical. Our team of buyers for Whole Foods Market has grown quickly and work all over the country, which made Vinexpo America a great opportunity for a central meeting location to connect with one another and with producers.
The exhibition’s exclusive focus on the trade was exactly what we needed. We were able to learn about new products from our distribution partners and it was really important to have that face-to-face time.
How are consumer interests shaping your buying decisions?
We’re connected to a consumer who cares about both the story and the quality of the products they consume and want to invest in brands that align to their values. Our shoppers are passionate about organic, and they are leading us to focus heavily on wines created sustainably and through regenerative agriculture. We’re winning in this space, but we could always do more. We are also very interested in meeting Black, Indigenous and people of color producers, as well as women producers.
Tell us more about your focus on the organic and biodynamic sector and how exhibitors can prepare to meet you.
We’re making big strides with wines made with certified organic grapes, and someone with organic certification or eco certification is going to get special attention. We’d also like to speak to producers who practice regenerative agriculture.
We’ll use our meetings at Vinexpo America to “peel back the onion.” Our interests go far beyond flavor profiles and price points. We’re going to ask questions that explore a winery’s practices around worker responsibility, its social responsibility efforts, its environmental impact, and more.
We want to know the producers personally and understand their business top-to-bottom. To do that well, we’ve found meeting directly with producers is important. Their salespeople are first class, but the insight we’re looking for usually comes from an owner connected to the land and knows the intricacies of the business. Prepare for an intense conversation – we make long-term commitments, and we don’t enter new relationships easily. But when we agree to buy, we’re an excellent partner.
It’s important to make sure wineries that aren’t organic or biodynamic have a place with Whole Foods, too. But as we see our customers’ priorities evolve, we want to be a good long-term partner and encourage these brands to move the needle towards organic practices. We’re here to support them in that effort because it’s good for everyone.
Are there wine regions you’re keen to explore further?
High on my shopping list is Eastern Europe. I will be working that part of Vinexpo America’s exhibition room intently. I’m always looking for Burgundy from Italy, and if someone represents Burgundy, Champagne, or the Loire Valley, and doesn’t already export to the U.S., that’s interesting to us. We don’t want to disrupt people’s relationships and chains of distribution, and we need large cases, so producers that don’t already have a program in the U.S. are a match for us.
Parting thoughts?
We see Vinexpo America as an extension of our homebase – if someone wants to meet with Whole Foods Market and make a presentation, that is where it needs to happen.
