A winery to Asia: the Brown Brothers story

Simone Stella

bluenotes contributor

Success in exporting to Asia involves building a brand which offers customers more than the product or service they are buying, Ross Brown, executive director of the venerable central Victorian winery Brown Brothers says.

“The only way to really succeed in business is to build a brand,” he told bluenotes on video. “Building a brand is where people actually buy into something more than price. They're buying into the image they're buying into the position.”

Brown said one of the failings of the Australian wine industry in the past when it came to export was targeting the lower end of the market.

"The growth is now very much centred on what's happening in Asia and we're seeing enormous change.” - Ross Brown

“Anybody who goes into the export market and thinks they're going to be the cheapest is going to end in tears,” he said.

A winery to Asia: the Brown Brothers story

Brown said changes in the market meant customers were hunting experiences around products rather than just the product themselves – in Australia and in its export markets.

“The biggest change is the people who used to come here to buy wine, he said. “Now they come here to have an experience which means you actually have to give people opportunity to have wine and food… it goes beyond just tasting and buying wine.”

“Growth is now very much centred on what's happening in Asia and we're seeing enormous change, enormous opportunity for growing our business particularly in China.”

He also touched on how technology is changing the wine industry and the secret to running a successful family business. Watch the video above to find out more.

Simone Stella is a bluenotes contributing editor

The views and opinions expressed in this communication are those of the author and may not necessarily state or reflect those of ANZ.