BUSINESS & MARKETING L O W A L C O H O L W I N E

Consumer attitudes to low alcoholwine: an Australian sampleBy Anthony Saliba^'^*, Linda Ovington\ Carmen C. Moran^'^ and Johan Bruwer^^School of Psychology, Charles Sturt University Locked Bag 678, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2678 Australia^National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2678 Australia*Email: asaliba@csu.edu.au

Charles Sturt University and National Wine and Grape industry Centre researchers have recentlyinvestigated the potential domestic market size for low alcohol wine, and hereby present their findings.

'.1 ~iresently. Low alcohol wines are-•'defined as de-alcoholised

X [< 0.5%v/vl, low alcohol(0.5-1.2%v/v), reduced alcohol(1.2-6.5%v/v) and lower alcohol wine(5.5-10.5%v/v). However, this definitionvaries between countries (Pickering2000]. Previously in Australia, onlywine with 8%v/v or more could beclassified as a 'wine'. However, a recentapproval of an application from theWinemakers' Federation of Australia(WFA) to Food Standards Australia NewZealand (FSANZ 2011) means that awine product with as little as 4.5%v/vcan now be included in the definitionof 'wine'. This approval allows for agreater consistency with food standardsin the European Union and givesAustralian wine consumers morevariety to choose from. What is notunderstood is if the wine consumer hasthe same definition as the one set bythe wine industry. Furthermore, whilelower alcohol wine is now possible forthe consumer, can the wine industrybe sure they are ready to adopt theseproducts?

In this paper we report on apotential market size for low alcoholwine in an Australian populationthrough perceptions and attitudestoward low alcohol wine, as well asself-reported reasons for desiringto purchase these products. Ourfindings suggest that only if lowalcohol wine were to taste similar tostandard wines, consumers would beprepared to purchase these productsin situations where they need to driveafter drinking, for health reasons andto consume more without the effectsof alcohol. In particular, womenand those who enjoy wine with foodare the most likely to purchase lowalcohol wine. Currently, this presentsan enormous challenge to the wine

industry. However, the currentfindings support the justification for asubstantial focus on the engineeringand/or viticulture challengesassociated with making lower alcoholwine to taste similar.

TRENDS IN ALCOHOLCONSUMPTION IN AUSTRALIA

Alcohol consumption in Australiarose markedly in the early 1970s,followed by a gradual decline in thelate 1980s. On closer examination,this pattern was due largely to thechanging consumption of beer, aswine consumption has steadily risensince this time, with spirits andready-to-drinks (RTDs) remaining thesame (Australian Bureau of Statisitcs2011). Undoubtedly, the quality ofwine produced in Australia has been aprimary driver for the shift from beerto wine consumption. As a result, thesale of Australian wine has grownrapidly not only in Australia, but onthe international market. Along withquality wines other unique innovations,including cask wine and screw-toplids, have made Australian wines oneof the most sought-after globally.Overall, Australian wine producershave proved they do not shy away froma challenge, with both consumers andAustralian winemakers receiving thebenefits of these innovative ideas.

There are a number of substantialchallenges ahead for the wineindustry. There is an increasing pushfrom government and other agenciesto implement policy aimed at reducingalcohol consumption, whether throughtax reforms or advertisements.Major retailers have given thisfurther momentum by declaring theirintention to increase the extent oftheir lower alcohol wine category.

thus following in the footsteps oftheir UK counterparts, that is, Tesco,Sainsbury's and the like (WineIntelligence 2012). One way to reducealcohol consumption in the Australianpopulation, without selling fewerproducts, is to offer lower alcoholwines.

THE CURRENT STUDY

The current study was conductedonline, recruiting participants througha market research company. Thefinal sample consisted of 851 wineconsumers geographically balancedacross Australia, with an equal numberof males and females. The surveyconsisted of questions regardingpurchasing price per bottle/cask andamount of wine consumed per month,as well as the percentage of alcoholcontained in the wine. A generalquestion regarding interest in lowalcohol wine was followed up by thequestion. What if low alcohol winetasted the same as standard wine?' Anopen ended question, 'I am interestedin low alcohol wine because...' allowedparticipants to give reasons for whythey would purchase low alcohol winein their own words. Interestingly,21% of the sample did not know whatalcohol percentage was containedin the wine they drank (see Figure1), which is insightful. As such, thecorresponding figure for a similar studydone in the UK market was even higherat 40% (Wine Intelligence 2012).

ATTITUDES TO LOW ALCOHOL WINE

Previous studies have reportedonly a modest interest in low alcoholwine. For example, a study predictinga market size for low and very lowalcohol cask wine under different taxregimes found only 6-8% of the sample

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30

25

20

l i s

10

5

O>= 15% 13-14% 11-12% 9-10% Don't know

Figure 1. Percentage of alcohol in wine currently purchased (N = 851).

are ready to purchase these products(Mueller, Lockshin and Louviere 2011).In the current study, 16% of the samplereported an interest in low alcohol winewithout setting any precedent as towhat percentage of alcohol this wouldcontain or packaging type. Although16% is still rather modest, opinionschanged markedly when asked, 'Whatif low-alcohol wine tasted the sameas standard wine?' Over A0% agreedthey would consider low alcohol wineas an option to purchase and 40%were neutral to the idea (see Figure 2).This suggests that negative attitudesto low-alcohol wine are linked to theundesirable alterations in taste, but ifthese alterations could be made whilepreserving the taste, consumers aremuch more willing to purchase them,providing that the price of the wines arenot increased due to this interventionprocess.

WHAT DO PEOPLE CONSIDERLOW ALCOHOL WINE TO BE?

Researchers assessing a potentialmarket for low alcohol wine appearto presuppose that the consumerunderstands what 'low alcohol' means.The present study was designed toinvestigate consumer perceptions ofwhat alcohol content a low alcohol winewould contain and whether this matchesthe level set by the wine industry. Seventy

percent of our sample perceived a lowalcohol wine to contain around 3-8%alcohol, while 17.2% perceived lowalcohol wine to contain approximately1 -2% alcohol. The good news forconsumers is that a wine with as littleas 4.5%v/v can now be purchased andconsumed as a 'wine' (Food StandardsAustralia New Zealand 2011]. The testnow is whether wine producers are ableto engineer a low alcohol product thattastes similar to the wines consumersare used to. We do not underestimatethis challenge, and feel that such aproduct is a fair way off. However, theimportance of the finding is that it arguesthat the engineering, viticulture andsensory research should be undertakento develop very low alcohol wines.Commercially, the large Australianwine producers have seemingly alreadyembraced the challenge through brandssuch as 5.5% Banrock Station BrightIdea (Accolade), 7.5-9% Lindemans EarlyHarvest (Treasury), and 9.5-11% Jacob'sCreek Cool Harvest (Pernod Ricard).

WHO WOULD BUY LOWALCOHOL WINE AND WHY?

Multiple regression analysis was used topredict those more interested in low alcoholwine; predictors used in the analysisincluded age, gender and lifestyle variables.Previous exploratory studies on potentialconsumers of low alcohol wine have found

women are the more likely purchasers,with the current study supporting thesefindings. However, the effect size was foundto be quite small (eta square = .039), whichmay indicate that either the difference hasalways been minimal or male attitudes tolow alcohol wine is changing. Of the lifestylevariables, only those who enjoy wine withfood were found to be significant.

The present study explored interest inlow alcohol wine further by presenting thequestion, 'I am interested in low alcoholwine products because...' This allowedindividuals to report in their own words whythey would purchase low alcohol wine andhas the advantage of reducing any bias inthe result. The main reason offered was thedesire to be able to stay within the bloodalcohol limit to drive after drinking alcohol.Many reported concerns over the negativehealth effects of alcohol and felt thatenjoying a few wines while reducing healthrisks was a potential reason to purchaselow alcohol wine. Another common reasonto purchase low alcohol wine, which maycome as good news to low alcohol wineproducers, is being able to drink more winewithout the effect that higher alcohol winesproduce. Many individuals reported thatone or two wines 'go straight to their head',implying they cannot have anymore thanthis (see Figures 3 and 4).

OUR ADVICE TO WINE BUSINESS

Based on attitudes and self-

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BUSINESS & M A R K E T I N G L O W A L C O H O L W i N E

I Sum of Disagree MSum of Neutral MSum of Agree

46.6%

40% 40.4%

Interest in low-alcohol wine if taste is thesame as standard wine

Relative interest in low-alcohol wine

Figure 2. Relative interest in low alcohol wine compared with interest if taste were the same as standard wine.

Breastfeeding1%

Possibly cheaper.^

1°/° Safe>Enjoy the taste of 2%

wine, alcoholunneccessary

2%Anotheroption

5%

Able to drink morewithout the effects of

alcohol11%

Lower alcoholconsumption (but still

enjoy wine)12%

Lessen alcoholeffects

16%

= S22

Figure 3. Reasons for purchasing low alcohol wine.

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LOW ALCOHOL

affect alcoho allow alternative benefits 0 6 1 1 0 T

body calories can change concerned consume consumption control

could

effects

couple easier easydrive drunkespecially evening extra f e e l few friends function

M ö V © head health healthier interested leSS

level light 11 K © limit little l O W lower may nneal might

m u c h m y n e e d new nice one option out prefer products quickly

reduce risk safer SOCial sometimes Still strong L O O L © than think tipsy

try two want w i n e without w o u l dFigure i*. Tag cloud for interest in low alcohol wine.

reported interest, lower alcohol wineseems to have a potentially substantialmarket size. Further studies onpredicting behaviour, however, need tobe conducted in order to determine theexact size of the market, but our workstrongly suggests that the potentialmarket size is large enough for winebusinesses to start offering loweralcohol wines, and certainly for furtherresearch to be conducted to deliververy low alcohol wines.

Just what this research wouldencompass is debatable, but certainlythere are viticultural practicesthat can be followed that facilitatelower alcohol wines, and there arewinemaking practices (based onmicrobiology and sensory studies)that can deliver the same. Further,there are marketing opportunities toexplain the low alcohol wines that willinfluence acceptance. For instance,

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we know that a wine described as 'lowalcohol' currently will be perceivedas inferior, whereas a wine that isdescribed as 'leaner' or 'early-picked'will not elicit the same negativity.

CONCLUSION

While previous studies havereported negative attitudes to lowalcohol wine products, it is clear fromthe results of the current study thatthese attitudes stem predominatelyfrom the alteration in taste, ratherthan from the reduction in alcoholper se. Undoubtedly many consumerswill still prefer a higher alcohol wine,but the option of a similar tasting,lower alcohol wine to consume ifdriving or for health benefits andphysical reasons is a market waitingto be tapped. Further studies arerequired to investigate actual uptake

WINE & VITICULTURE JOURNAL MARCH/APRIL 2013

of low alcohol wine, though this studyhas demonstrated that the potentialmarket is large enough to begin theimportant challenge of delivering lowalcohol wine.

REFERENCES

Australian Bureau of Statisitcs (20I1I Apparentconsumption of alcohol, extended time series.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand I2011IApplication A1026 minimum alcohol content for wineexplanatory statement.

Mueller, S.; Lockshin, L. and Louviere, J.I2011) Alcohol in moderation: Market potentialfor low alcohol wine before and after excise tax.Paper presented at the 6th AWBR InternationalConference.

Pickering, G. J. I2000) Low and reduced alcoholwine: a review. Journal of Wine Research 11|2|:129-144.

V\/ine intelligence (2012) Lower alcohol wines:Consumer insights for the UK market. Researchreport. Wine Intelligence: London, UK, May. 1-59.

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