From Vineyard to Verification: The Alcohol Industry’s Digital Shift

As vineyards move from cellars to virtual shelves, a new challenge arises: earning the trust of digital-native consumers. Concordium makes it easy and cost-efficient for SMEs to transition.

The global alcohol industry, valued at nearly $1.8 trillion, is undergoing a digital transformation as e-commerce captures around 4 percent of sales. Online alcohol sales reached $64.55 billion in 2024 and are projected to hit $138 billion by 2029. 

For producers, especially family-led and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this means reaching a new generation of consumers, but also facing stricter expectations for privacy, speed and compliance. While traditional verification and payment systems are slow and cumbersome, Concordium Pay helps alcohol merchants of all sizes to confidently expand online while protecting user data, reducing transaction costs, and staying transparent.

Digital Natives Redefine Alcohol Commerce

Gen Z, now reaching the legal drinking age, is transforming alcohol commerce. Around 72% of UK Gen Z consumers prefer using technology across their purchasing journey, yet almost nine in ten Gen Z consumers express concern about how brands use their data. 

This group values authenticity, transparency, and privacy, gravitating toward smaller, independent producers who share their ethics. But they also expect frictionless digital service. 

For SMEs and small producers, selling online means navigating strict age-verification laws, fraud prevention, and compliance standards like the UK Online Safety Act and EU age-verification regulations. Large retailers often handle these demands with dedicated teams; smaller producers, however, typically rely on manual checks or disconnected systems, increasing costs and compliance risks.

One-Click Verify & Pay

Verification and payments via Concordium Pay simplify this process by combining it into a single privacy-preserving but auditable step. Built on Concordium, an identity-first blockchain, it uses zero-knowledge proofs to confirm age and jurisdiction without exposing personal data.

• Verification happens at the protocol level through Concordium IDs issued by trusted identity providers. 
• Users can prove specific attributes such as being over 18 or residing in a given country, while their personal data stays private.. 

Merchants remain compliant and auditable without storing sensitive information. Transactions can settle in under four seconds with minimal fees via stablecoins, lowering operational costs and reducing checkout friction – a crucial advantage when around 70% of shopping carts are abandoned partly due to slow or complex payment flows. 

Armenian Wine Cellar: The First Concordium Pay Integration

Armenian Wine Cellar (AWC), a UK-based importer of premium Armenian wines, is the first to implement verification with Concordium ID and payments via Concordium Pay in an e-commerce environment via WooCommerce, a plugin powering over one-third of global e-commerce sites. Verification now occurs directly on the Concordium blockchain, protecting customer data while reducing integration complexity.

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“Partnering with Concordium is an exciting milestone for us as a small family-run business,” said Anna Avekian, COO of AWC. “We chose to work with Concordium because trust and integrity are central to who we are, and their technology perfectly reflects those values. Through their verify and pay system (Concordium ID and Concordium Pay), we’re introducing secure age verification on our website and the option to pay with cryptocurrency. It’s a proud moment where tradition meets technology, and we’re honoured to take this next big step together.” 

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Toward a Trusted Marketplace

The shift toward online alcohol sales is not just about convenience; it’s about trust. As Gen Z becomes the dominant consumer group, brands that protect privacy, align with regulations, and deliver a seamless checkout will lead the market.

Concordium demonstrates how identity verification and payments can operate together within a compliance-ready, privacy-first framework. By supporting brands like AWC, Concordium demonstrates real-world utility that meets both consumer expectations of trust and simplicity as well as the regulatory demands shaping online commerce. This empowers small and large businesses alike, to adopt trusted, identity-secure payments built for the future of payments across all industries. 

Learn more about Concordium and its Verify & Pay technology.

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