Mövenpick Acquires Liquid Grape to Expand Wine Investment Services Amid Global Consumption Slump

Mövenpick, a well-known Swiss company in the wine trade, has acquired Liquid Grape, a German specialist in wine investments. This move comes at a time when global wine consumption is experiencing a significant decline. According to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), worldwide wine consumption in 2024 dropped by more than 3%, reaching its lowest level since 1961. In Switzerland, the decrease was even sharper, with consumption falling by nearly 8%. The Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture described this trend as “alarming.”

Mövenpick’s management refers to these developments as “dynamic changes in the wine trade.” Under CEO Nikolas von Haugwitz, the company has been undergoing a strategic realignment since January. Michél Weber was appointed as the new managing director of Mövenpick Wein Germany, while Samuel Schawalder joined the Swiss management team as head of Ontrade and Offtrade. Nikolaus Eggers took over the newly created business development division.

The acquisition of Liquid Grape marks another step in Mövenpick’s transformation. Founded in 2019, Liquid Grape specializes in acquiring, managing, and trading fine wines as investment assets. Its platform allows clients to manage their wine collections and track the value of their portfolios. The service also includes personal advice, structured investment packages, and options for trading or selling back wines.

Mövenpick aims to combine its physical presence at more than 40 locations in Switzerland and Germany with digital services such as portfolio monitoring, investment reporting, and online consulting. The founders of Liquid Grape, Annie Dörfelt and Henrik Maass, will remain with the company and continue to lead the strategic development of the platform.

Nikolas von Haugwitz said that high-quality wines are tangible assets with stable performance and can deliver attractive results compared to traditional asset classes. He emphasized that wine offers a solid basis for long-term investments due to limited availability, decreasing supply from consumption, and growing global demand.

Despite these positive statements about wine as an investment, recent market data shows challenges for fine wines. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index, which tracks the value of the world’s most sought-after luxury wines, rose from 325 to 425 points after the pandemic but has fallen sharply since late 2023. Over the past two years, it has dropped by nearly 10%. French wines have been hit especially hard: the top 500 Bordeaux wines lost about 17% of their value in two years. Burgundy’s top wines are down by 19%, California’s by 15%, and Italy’s by 8%.

One factor affecting demand is U.S. tariffs on imported wines. According to Liv-ex data, American buyers purchased 44% fewer top-tier wines last year. Despite this drop, the United States remains the world’s largest wine market by volume, consuming over 32 million hectoliters—more than six times larger than China’s market.

Mövenpick’s acquisition of Liquid Grape reflects a shift from traditional wine retail toward investment-focused services as companies adapt to changing consumer habits and market conditions. The company hopes that combining physical stores with digital investment tools will attract new customers interested in wine not just for drinking but also as an asset class.