Shrinking the market space: consumer (overlapping) preferences for organic wines and three alternative competitors

Abstract

Purpose The scenario of clean wines is rather articulated, and many consumers perceive diverse types of wines as a homogeneous category, not actually related with the true characteristics of the products. Additionally, most often, individuals turning to these wines are driven either by health concerns or environmental consciousness or by curiosity. The purpose of this study is to understand whether there are differences in monetary preferences for four distinct clean labels and to analyze the level of interest of diverse market segments of regular wine consumers for this specific category of wines. Design/methodology/approach This study applied a computer-assisted Web interviewing technique. A survey was administrated in mid-September 2021 by a professional panel provider to a quota-based sample (N = 1,113) of Italian regular wine consumers. Individual willingness-to-pay (WTP) for red wines carrying different claims (organic, natural, low-sulfites and no-additives) and a conventional counterpart were collected. Clean wines’ WTP were subsequently used for hierarchical clustering. Findings Among the clean labels presented, respondents reported a higher WTP for organic wine. Cluster analysis yielded three actionable segments: “Easygoing wine enjoyers” (63.7%), “Convenience drinkers” (13.4%) and “Clean wine passionate” (23%). The latter reveals high preferences for all the investigated clean wines. Research limitations/implications Sociodemographics and wine-related characteristics of regular wine consumers particularly interested in clean wines are depicted in this study; further analysis should delve on the core drivers of individual preferences. Practical implications Wineries should consider the heterogeneous interest of regular wine consumers for clean wines, developing tailored strategies for specific market segments. Stakeholders interested in safeguarding consumers should carefully monitor the landscape of different clean claims entering the wine market. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has simultaneously analyzed regular wine consumers’ preferences for the four types of clean labels.