Digital First: Turning Your Website into a Business Engine
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Many food and beverage brands invest heavily in social media because it feels immediate and familiar. But social platforms are rented media: you can gain visibility there, but you never truly own the audience or the space [1]. Algorithms change, reach disappears overnight, and long-term performance depends on constant spending.
Your website, instead, is owned media. It is a digital asset you control entirely: the content, the customer journey, the data you collect, and the experience you create for global visitors [2]. When structured properly, a website builds long-term asset value. It attracts organic traffic over time, converts visitors more consistently than social channels, and becomes the point where storytelling, CRM (Customer Relationship Management), and analytics come together [3]. This is what turns a website from a brochure into a business engine.
A well-structured website allows brands to sell directly to customers, increasing profits and supporting flexible models like subscriptions or special releases. Storytelling throughout the site (highlighting heritage, production, and values) builds trust and makes products feel more valuable [4]. Integrated analytics and CRM capture who visits, what they engage with, and what converts, providing insights to make better business decisions. Finally, websites built for global audiences with multilingual content, clear shipping information, and culturally adapted messaging make it easier for international customers to buy and enjoy the brand [5].
Yet many F&B websites still serve as beautiful but passive showcases. Without CRM integration, strong storytelling, analytics, multilingual UX, or clear paths to purchase or sign-up, they cannot support global growth or produce the data needed to make informed decisions [6]. This gap is often the main reason brands underperform online, even when their products are excellent and demand exists.
How is done now:
To understand how this shows up in practice, it helps to look at the most common digital mistakes across wineries and food brands.
Using the website purely as a brochure: pretty pages but no conversion pathways, no data capture, no reason to return.
Over-reliance on Instagram or marketplaces: high visibility but zero audience ownership, limited data, unpredictable reach.
Ignoring analytics: no clarity on where users come from, what they seek, or why they don’t buy.
Poor international UX: no multilingual content, unclear shipping rules, confusing regulations, these lead to high bounce rates.
Weak product pages: missing technical sheets, pairing ideas, awards, or social proof [7].
No CRM or email automation: that represent a major revenue leak. Email is the highest-converting channel in F&B [8].
Excessive focus on aesthetics over strategy: beautiful websites that don’t sell.
These pitfalls are common, but fortunately, they are easy to correct with a structured, beginner-friendly approach.
Seeing the potential of a digital-first website is one thing. Knowing how to put it into practice is another. The good news is that transforming a website into a business engine doesn’t require advanced technical knowledge. It starts with a small set of foundational steps that any winery or food brand can implement to create stronger customer journeys, clearer insights, and more reliable conversion paths.
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How to do it:
Audit your current website
Look at it as a visitor would. Is it easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and fast? Are the main actions (buy, sign up, book a tasting) clear?
Why this matters: A confusing website loses potential customers before they even see your products [9].Establish your data foundations
Install analytics (Google Analytics, Matomo, etc.) and connect your forms or shop to a simple CRM. Segment customers by type (local, tourist, export, trade).
Why this matters: Knowing who your audience is, where they come from, and what they want allows you to make data-driven decisions that grow revenue.Build conversion pathways
Add email capture points, improve product pages with storytelling and useful details, and implement automated emails for abandoned carts or welcome messages.
Why this matters: Guiding visitors toward action consistently turns more traffic into paying customers.Strengthen storytelling
Clarify your brand pillars: terroir, process, people, values. Use multimedia—photos, videos, or interactive elements, where possible.
Why this matters: Storytelling increases perceived value, builds trust, and encourages purchase decisions.Improve international usability
Offer content in relevant languages, provide clear shipping and payment info, and explain regulations or requirements for buyers abroad.
Why this matters: Global traffic is useless if international customers feel confused or excluded.Treat your website as a long-term asset
Review analytics monthly, refresh content regularly, and iterate based on real user behavior.
Why this matters: Your website becomes a living business tool that grows in value over time instead of a static brochure.
[1] Dash of Social, What’s the Difference Between Owned vs Rented Media?, Dash of Social Publishing, 2023.
[2] Bonchek M., Making Sense of Owned Media, Harvard Business Review, Boston, 10.2014.
[3] Belov Digital Agency, The Importance of Website Analytics in Measuring Marketing Success, Belov Digital Insights, 2024.
[4] NielsenIQ, What Drives Conversion in Digital Grocery & Beverage Retail, Global Consumer Insights Division, 2023.
[5] ResearchGate, The Importance of Website Usability in Digital Marketing: A Review, Digital Marketing & UX Department, 2024.
[6] Winclap, Owned Media: Why Borrow When You Can Own?, Winclap Digital Analysis, 2024.
[7] Baymard Institute, Product Page UX Guidelines for eCommerce, Baymard Research, 2024.
[8] Campaign Monitor, Email Benchmark Report: Why Email Remains the Highest-Converting Channel, Campaign Monitor Research, 2024.
[9] Google UX Report, Why Users Abandon Websites, Google Search & UX Division, 2023.
