| Abstract: |
The Tennessee Wine and Grape Board and Tennessee Department of Agriculture
commissioned a research study addressing consumer perceptions and value of
Tennessee wines and how those perceptions vary between Tennessee residents and
non-residents. The study also addressed consumer perceptions of wine quality
assurance programs (QAPs) and local labeling related to Tennessee wines.
Together, these objectives provide information about how consumers perceive
Tennessee wines, local wines and QAPs, which can be leveraged when making
future business and marketing strategies. Internet surveys were used in
September 2021 to elicit consumer purchasing behavior, perceptions, and
valuations towards Tennessee wines and QAPs. A total of 1,216 U.S. consumers
completed the survey, with nearly 61 percent of the sample consisting of
Tennessee residents. Non-Tennessee participants were from across the U.S. with
Florida, Texas, New York, Georgia and Ohio having the largest levels of
participation. Non-Tennessee residents were recruited to participate because
they had either recently or planned to visit Tennessee. In general, consumers
perceived local and Tennessee wines favorably but do not differentiate between
local ingredients, processing/fermentation or sales locations, which implies
that local terminology is often positive, but vaguely interpreted by the end
consumer. There is an opportunity for the Tennessee wine industry to use this
information and take actions to define their own reputation. Consistent
quality and positive experiences can aid in maintaining a positive local brand
image and reputation, which can benefit wine industry stakeholders throughout
the state. Although participants indicated awareness of Tennessee wines and
vacations, the results were lower for wine trails and clubs, meaning there is
potential to build the customer base for Tennessee wines by making potential
customers more aware of wine trails and clubs that are available and feature
Tennessee wines. Increased awareness in- and out-of-state could benefit the
industry through access to additional markets. For instance, many participants
indicated their visits to Tennessee involved visiting family/friends. If more
in-state family/ friends are aware of Tennessee wine offerings, a stable local
market could be used to attract additional tourists through family
connections. These connections also provide the opportunity to explore
additional marketing avenues (e.g., restaurants, etc.) that can increase
market penetration and product availability to consumers. Beyond local and
Tennessee wine perceptions, participants were asked about QAPs and how that
relates to their purchasing decisions. Participants indicated they would
expect to pay $21.39 per bottle of QAP certified wine (versus an average
current spending of $14.89 per bottle of non-QAP wine). Results show that QAPs
are perceived as important, could aid in growing the Tennessee wine industry,
and that the source influenced its impact on purchasing behavior. In general,
QAP sources from within the industry (e.g., associations, wineries) had a more
positive impact on purchasing decisions than sources from outside the industry
(e.g., universities, independent third-parties, government agencies). Likely
this preference is related to the complexity of wine production and flavor
development, meaning having a QAP from a source that is familiar with all of
the dimensions involved with wine making would align better and likely
understand quality better than an organization less familiar with the
industry. However, the choice experiment results indicate that a
university-based QAP will not impact wine choice, but wine sweetness and
Tennessee origins positively influenced choice. These findings suggest that
sweetness and origin have a stronger impact than a university QAP. Overall,
the results indicate that using an industry-specific organization as a source
for the QAP would improve its impact more so than other types of organizations
but other wine features (e.g., sweetness, origin) may be more influential on
choice. The next section summarizes 15 key insights from the study, followed
by a brief introduction, study methods and sample demographics, the in-depth
results, a summary, and then recommendations based on the key findings. |