While walking along the aisles of a wine shop or the wine section of the grocery store, one is exposed to hundreds of different kinds of wines. As a result of this continually growing sector, wineries must figure out a way to make their product stand out against all of the rest. In order to maintain a piece of the market share, increase sales, and to overall maintain customer interest in the product, effective wine marketing has become critical.
At this point in time, the Millennials have surpassed all generations in becoming the largest consumer group in United States history. In 2009, there were a total of 76 million people in the United States that were considered part of the Millennial generation, all between the ages of 9 and 30. It is important to determine consumer preferences early on, as studies have shown that as consumers age, they tend to retain the same preferences in wine.
In order to be successful in creating a product that consumers will be more willing to purchase, wineries must consider the entire package. Not only should the wine be at least palatable, but all aspects of the wine bottle itself need to be considered. From label design and bottle design to brand name and logo, changes in any one of these components may have an effect on purchase intention by the Millennial (or any other consumer, for that matter).
According to studies, the label is the most important piece of communication between the marketer and the consumer. The front label inevitably piques the consumers’ interest, while the back label supplies the consumer with more detailed information, after they’ve been “hooked” by the front label. Front labels often include several pieces of information (in some places, this information is required by law); including origin, varietal, percent alcohol, volume, and vintage. Back labels can have a wide variety of information presented, however studies have shown that more important pieces of information include food pairings, taste descriptors, and winery history information.
Millennials are and will continue to prove to be critically important consumers of wine throughout the United States and the world. As the largest consumer group in the United States, they are often characterized as financially stable, brand savvy, and seeking quality goods at fair prices. In regards to wine, 45% of Millennials were first introduced to wine by a family member, with 48% of them preferring reds, 18% of them preferring whites, and 34% enjoying both reds and whites. According to studies, the top three reasons why Millennials drink wine are: 1) because they enjoy the taste; 2) the fact that wine pairs well with food; and 3) it helps them relax. To Millennials, wine also tends to be associated with more special events, such as nice dinners and weddings.
When surveyed, Millennials regard eye-catching designs as the most important factor for package design (including wine). Wineries must therefore use the label design in order to increase sales to Millennials, of which will be largest consumers of their wines should they be successful in their marketing endeavors. Since it has been shown that wine consumption preferences (for Americans) are established by the age of 40, it is critically important for wineries and marketers to establish their customer base of Millennials now while they are still relatively young and impressionable.
The goal of the study reviewed today was to determine whether viewing labels would influence the consumers’ perceived taste and quality level of the wine. Published earlier this year in the International Journal of Wine Business Research, the authors from Texas Tech University set up a four-stage study to determine Millennial consumer preferences in regards to taste and label design.
Methods
There were 97 participants in the study, all between the ages of 21-30 (roughly 40% male, 60% female).
The four stages of this study were: 1) a basic marketing survey (assessed purchasing habits, taste preferences, and product cues); 2) a blind tasting (used as a baseline for comparison purposes); 3) a product packaging evaluation (type of closure, bottle color, information on labels); and 4) another tasting, this time with the packaging in hand during the sampling (to see if taste preferences and quality determinations changed after seeing the wine bottles).
For the tastings, both the blind and the tasting in which packaging was visible, a tasting grid consisting of questions related to fruit characteristics, acidity, oak, sweetness, overall quality, and purchase intention were presented to participants. For both tastings, the same wines were provided, though participants were not informed that was the case.
Table 1 from Henley et al, 2011 shows a brief summary of the label descriptions of the four wines tested. There were two Rieslings and two Pinot Noirs (one each traditional style and contemporary style labeling, respectively.
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| Table 1 from Henley et al, 2011 |
Results
- The most important attribute considered by Millennials when purchasing wine in a retail setting was the label description. A simple, rather than complex, label description was also preferred.
- There were some significant differences in taste attributes when comparing the blind taste test results to the taste results after packing information was considered.
o Traditional Riesling:
§ The perceived acidity increased.
§ Overall opinion and purchase intention decreased.
o Contemporary Riesling:
§ The perceived oak characteristic decreased, perceived dryness increased and perceived fruitiness increased.
§ Purchase intention significantly increased.
o Traditional Pinot Noir:
§ There were significant increases in the perceived dryness, fruitiness, overall opinion, and purchase intention.
o Contemporary Pinot Noir:
§ No significant changes in any attribute.
- There were some significant changes in the fruit attributes of the wines when comparing the blind tasting to the tasting after label information was provided.
o Traditional Riesling:
§ After reading the label, which indicated flavors of pear and apricots, Millennials noted an increase in apricot flavors.
o Contemporary Riesling:
§ After reading the label, which indicated flavors of apples, peaches, and citrus fruits, Millennials noted an increase in apple and peach flavors.
o Traditional Pinot Noir:
§ There was no indication of fruit flavor on the label, thereby there were no changes in perceived fruit flavors by the Millennials.
o Contemporary Pinot Noir:
§ After reading the label, which indicated flavors of cherries, raspberries, and red fruit, Millennials noted an increase in cherries and raspberries.
- There were significant changes in quality perception and purchase intention when product packaging was evaluated.
o Traditional Riesling:
§ Purchase intention decreased.
§ Overall opinion/quality decreased.
· Specifically, cork closure, script font style, and the lack of wine producer information negatively impacted quality perception.
o Contemporary Riesling:
§ Purchase intention increased.
§ Overall opinion increased.
· Specifically, screw cap closure, and the blue and silver front label (perceived as “eye-catching) positively impacted quality perception.
o Traditional Pinot Noir:
§ Purchase intention and overall opinion remained unchanged.
§ Times New Roman font did impact overall quality perception.
o Contemporary Pinot Noir:
§ Purchase intention and overall opinion remained unchanged.
§ Purchase intention increased slightly, though it was NOT significant.
· Screw cap closure, and the green bottle with red, blue, and white colors on the front label (perceived as eye-catching), impacted the overall quality perception.
- Overall, participants appreciated wine producer information on the label.
- Overall quality was a significant factor in the purchase intention of any wine.
Thoughts…
One result I found interesting was that it is clear that there is a huge power of suggestion when it comes to flavor/taste perceptions in wine. I encounter this all the time in the tasting room: when the flavor descriptors are present on the tasting sheets, winery visitors often taste similar characteristics. However, when flavor descriptors are absent and the description of the wine is more vague, winery visitors often taste more of a variety of flavors in their wines (no statistics, just pure observation). I always suspected there was some sort of power of suggestion, and the results of this study now confirm that idea.
More importantly, however, these results clearly indicate that front label information and package presentation have an effect on Millennial consumers intention to purchase and their perceptions of overall quality of the wine. Those labels that are more eye-catching and, dare I say “flashy”, appeal more to the Millennial generation and thereby will more likely result in their purchasing of that wine, and overall increased enjoyment of that wine (which would theoretically result in the future purchase of that wine). It is important that wineries acknowledge this and incorporate these designs into their labels if they want to capitalize on the biggest consumer markets in the United States.
It is important to note, however, that the results of this study may not be generalizable to the entire population of American Millennials, as there were some strong limitations with the study. First off, most of the participants were university students from only one part of the US (southwest), therefore, their level of education (bachelors, Masters, Post-doctoral) is not representative of the entire US Millennial population. Secondly, the study does not capture the entire Millennial population because a large chunk of Millennials are underage. Due to the nature of this and any study related to Millennials and alcohol, this limitation will never change due to legal issues. Next, the participants were also mostly Caucasian, therefore they do not represent the diversity that is the entire population of Millennials in the United States. Finally, only two styles of wine were presented as options for the participants. It’s possible that maybe these particular participants did not like Pinot Noir, thereby no significant changes were noted.
Future work needs to address these limitations to make the results more generalizable to the entire Millennial population. In the meantime, the results of this study still provide interesting results and provide a stepping stone into the label preferences of Millennials from which future studies may build upon.
What about you all? What do you think of this research? Any Millennials wish to comment on their own purchase intention preferences?
Source: DOI: 10.1108/17511061111121371
I am not a health professional, nor do I pretend to be. Please consult your doctor before altering your alcohol consumption habits. Do not consume alcohol if you are under the age of 21. Do not drink and drive. Enjoy responsibly!
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