Simone Mueller Loose et al., . Appetite (2020) doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2020.104843 [published online before print: 18 August 2020 (*)].
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine consumers' reactions
to the introduction of nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine, a product
that is so far still exempt from mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling.
It also analyses the effect of positive and negative information about the use
of ingredients in wine on consumers' choice. Representative samples for wine
consumers from three distinctly different countries representing old and new
wine markets (Australia, n = 745; Germany, n = 716; Italy, n = 715) completed a
discrete choice experiment (DCE) with graphically simulated wine back labels.
For each country, respondents were randomly allocated to a reference group and
two different treatment conditions where they received newspaper-like
information (positive, negative) before making choices. Results for the
reference condition show that consumers across all three countries have a
significant positive utility for detailed nutrition information. Instead,
ingredient information only receives a positive utility in Italy, whereas
German and Australian respondents do not receive utility from ingredient
labelling. When consumers in the treatment group are confronted with negative
media information the attribute importance of ingredients significantly
increases across all three countries, clean labelled products without
ingredients are preferred, and a significantly higher share of consumers in
Germany and Italy prefer not to buy any wine. The treatment effect of positive
media information on consumers’ wine choice is lower than that of negative
information. The results of the study have implications for the pending new
regulation of wine labelling and for communication strategies of the wine
industry that should actively inform consumers about the necessity of
ingredients in wine production.
