Customer, always right?
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Following up on my last post on the subject, here's a headline that hurts: Consumers don't care about organic, Fairtrade or biodynamic wine.
So the science-based growers think it's bunk and the consumers don't care, what gives?
So the science-based growers think it's bunk and the consumers don't care, what gives?
posted by MG @ 6:21 PM
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5 Comments:
OUCH! I wonder if this changes with the price point, like with other commodities like coffee. I liked both blog entries, btw. I hope we can begin an honest conversation on this topic.
I don't think it is a question of the consumer not caring. They care. They just assume that all wine is grown more or less sustainably/organically. They have an image of what a vineyard is...and it's a pretty nice, healthly, organic image.
Yes, we could educated the consumers about how grapes are grown, and how some vineyards use more or fewer chemical controls...but is that really what's best for the wine industry as a whole? Or is that going to backfire on us?
People love wine, and love the the image of the winegrower as a man of nature and earth. Instead of begin upset about this, why don't we just focus on making sure this image is more accurate...and then selling more wine?
Paul Wagner
I'm not sure I totally agree with Paul's assessment, but he's on the right track. I disagree that consumers "think" wine is made more or less organically. I TOTALLY agree that consumers WANT TO BELIEVE this is the case. It's sort of "don't ask don't tell" and then they can go on believing everything is fine and dandy.
If you ask me, the issue pointed out by Decanter is education/ignorance. Let's face it, consumers hardly understand the difference between New World varietal labels and Old World "appellation" labels. And the growers aren't really in agreement about the absolute rules of "organic" or "biodynamic" either. So can we really expect the consumer to know of care about this right now?
Here's a telling quote from the article, "Halstead explained that many of the responses to the survey were driven by lack of awareness due to limited exposure and availability." Go in to your favorite wine merchant and randomly pick FIFTY bottles - I'd be surprised if you find more than one that has words like "organic, sustainable, bioidynamic" on that label. And, then, I'll bet it's on the BACK label.
I absolutely think their is commercial value in sustainability, but, today, unless you are a boutique producer, I doubt you can translate that value into real profit. The time may come, but we have a long way to go.
"Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
(Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act V, Scene 5)
Same ol' problems, different labels.
debby z.
I know that people care (we have the ability to measure some consumer response to these items). The web is the best vehicle because these type of consumers have a very narrow search for these wines and by nature the content is what helps people arrive at finding them. Just look at the google search results when you type in organic wine (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=organic+wine&btnG=Google+Search). What is nice about the category and the web is that not many are major brands so consumers will be more likely to buy them directly from the winery for higher profit. As the previous person pointed out, it is rarely visible on the wine that it is organic in a meaningful way. The same content describing them is not as often displayed in a wine store or a menu.
The other news is that despite there being a need, it is only to a very small subset of consumers.
Finally, organic is great but when you overlay it against an alcohol product (even one that is good for you) I don't think the message is as clear of an incentive as a food that is purely healthy. Like "organic gummy bears", or "organic vodka." It just doesn't have the same ring.
Inertia - Powering the Wine Revolution
---Paul Mabray - CEO
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