Date of Graduation
12-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Food Science (MS)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Food Science
Advisor/Mentor
Threlfall, Renee T.
Committee Member
Nalley, Lawton L.
Second Committee Member
Lafontaine, Scott
Keywords
Aluminum; Color; Packaging; Polyethylene Terepthalate; Willingness to Pay; Wine
Abstract
The grape (Vitis species) and wine industry has major global economic impacts but faces issues with sustainability. The use of glass bottles for wine production is environmentally unsustainable due to energy-intensive manufacturing and poor recycling rates. However, wine consumers tend to associate glass bottles with higher quality over alternative wine packaging materials such as aluminum, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and flexible bags/pouches. Since wine price and packaging influence consumers perception of wine quality, wine producers need to understand consumers to maximize profits. Thus, the overall objectives of this research were to investigate consumer perception and wine quality impact of alternative packaging on grape (Vitis) wine. For the first study, quality attributes of grape wine in alternative packaging were evaluated during storage. In 2022 and 2023, two Vitis hybrids, Chambourcin (red wine variety) and Vignoles (white wine variety), were harvested and fermented into wine. The composition, color, and phenolic attributes were evaluated at bottling and during storage for 12 months at 15°C for both varieties with eight packaging treatments evaluated in 2022 and 10 packaging treatments evaluated in 2023. The wine packaging materials included glass (250 mL, 375 mL, and 750 mL) compared to plastic bottles, aluminum bottles, and flexible bags/pouches. In general, quality attributes were masked in the red wines as compared to the white wines. In addition, the alternative packaging had more potential prior than 6-months storage as compared to 12-months storage with aluminum and PET with the most potential as compared to glass. For the second study, an online consumer survey using discrete choice and willingness-to-pay experiments were used to determine consumer perception of grape wine in alternative packaging. In 2024, 2,000 U.S. consumers were asked about packaging material (glass, aluminum, PET, and flexible bags) preference for a standard-sized wine package (750 mL). Several information sets were included in the survey describing the relative carbon footprints and recyclability ease for each alternative packaging material. Consumers preferred wine packaged in glass, followed by wine packaged in aluminum, then wine packaged in PET, with wine packaged in flexible bags the least preferred. Providing information such as carbon footprint and ease of recyclability impacted responses, suggesting that educating consumers about the sustainability of alternative packaging can impact willingness to pay for wine in alternative packaging depending on the information provided. These studies showed consumer perception and wine quality impacts of alternative packaging on grape wine with aluminum having the greatest potential for consumer adoption.
Citation
Bartz, M. W. (2024). Investigating Consumer Perception and Wine Quality Impact on Alternative Packaging on Grape (Vitis). Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/5572
