The relevance and acceptance of green wines in South Africa: some marketing insights

Abstract

This study provides insights into consumers' decision-making when purchasing green wine, and the market perceptions regarding green wines in terms of price, quality, trendiness and acceptance of green terms such as ‘carbon neutral'. Data were collected from 191 South African wine consumers through an online survey. Although greening is indeed recognised by the consumer as a social responsibility image cue that shapes their choices, its importance is relatively low compared with that of other conventional cues. Some of the most common green marketing strategies, such as green certification, were of relatively low significance to the consumer. Green wines were generally regarded as trendy and fashionable but are unlikely to play a significant role in the pricing of these wines. Consumer demographics are an important determinant regarding the relevance of greening as a purchasing consideration, with females attributing more significance to this purchasing factor. This study is of value to academic researchers and wine industry practitioners alike. It contributes to the knowledge base by providing new perspectives on consumer perception of green wines, the social responsibility aspects and its marketing, and is the first of its kind conducted in the South African environment.

Keywords:

• green marketing
• wine marketing
• sustainability
• social responsibility
• certification
• organic
• biodynamic