Premium price for natural preservatives in wine: a discrete choice experiment

The South African wine industry has recently launched the world’s first ‘no sulphite added’ wine made from indigenous Rooibos & Honeybush toasted wood chips. This wood chip contains antioxidant properties known to protect wine from oxidation. On the other hand, SO2 as a preservative, is often pe...

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Main Authors: Lydia Chikumbi, Milan Ščasný, Edwin Muchapondwa, Djiby Thiam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Firenze University Press 2021-04-01
Series:Wine Economics and Policy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/wep/article/view/9508
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author Lydia Chikumbi
Milan Ščasný
Edwin Muchapondwa
Djiby Thiam
author_facet Lydia Chikumbi
Milan Ščasný
Edwin Muchapondwa
Djiby Thiam
author_sort Lydia Chikumbi
collection DOAJ
description The South African wine industry has recently launched the world’s first ‘no sulphite added’ wine made from indigenous Rooibos & Honeybush toasted wood chips. This wood chip contains antioxidant properties known to protect wine from oxidation. On the other hand, SO2 as a preservative, is often perceived by wine consumers as causing headaches and migraines. Differentiated wines based on their SO2 content may be a profitable marketing avenue for the struggling industry. We interviewed more than 600 wine consumers to investigate their perceptions of wine preservatives and preference for several wine attributes. Specifically, we use discrete choice experiments to elicit willingness to pay for the innovative alternative based on Rooibos & Honeybush wood chips. In addition to wine preservatives, we also examine consumers’ preferences for organic wine attributes and wine quality measured by a 100-point quality score and cost. Based on the results from the mixed logit model, we find that consumers are willing to pay an additional €3.53 (R56.48) per bottle of wine with natural Rooibos & Honeybush wood chips, while they are ready to pay €1.22 (R19.52) more for organic wine and €0.10 (R1.60) for each point on the quality score. Consumer preferences are not statistically different between red and white wine but differ considerably across consumers. In particular, those who believe SO2 in wine causes headaches are willing to pay at least three times more for replacing sulphur-based preservatives with a natural one. Marketing implications are offered for the wine industry. 
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spelling doaj-art-c4799be8b28e4fea8e007d4cbca0d51d2025-07-18T13:06:26ZengFirenze University PressWine Economics and Policy2213-39682212-97742021-04-0110110.36253/wep-9508Premium price for natural preservatives in wine: a discrete choice experimentLydia Chikumbi0Milan Ščasný1Edwin Muchapondwa2Djiby Thiam3School of Economics, University of Cape TownCharles University Prague, Environmental CenterSchool of Economics, University of Cape TownSchool of Economics, University of Cape TownThe South African wine industry has recently launched the world’s first ‘no sulphite added’ wine made from indigenous Rooibos & Honeybush toasted wood chips. This wood chip contains antioxidant properties known to protect wine from oxidation. On the other hand, SO2 as a preservative, is often perceived by wine consumers as causing headaches and migraines. Differentiated wines based on their SO2 content may be a profitable marketing avenue for the struggling industry. We interviewed more than 600 wine consumers to investigate their perceptions of wine preservatives and preference for several wine attributes. Specifically, we use discrete choice experiments to elicit willingness to pay for the innovative alternative based on Rooibos & Honeybush wood chips. In addition to wine preservatives, we also examine consumers’ preferences for organic wine attributes and wine quality measured by a 100-point quality score and cost. Based on the results from the mixed logit model, we find that consumers are willing to pay an additional €3.53 (R56.48) per bottle of wine with natural Rooibos & Honeybush wood chips, while they are ready to pay €1.22 (R19.52) more for organic wine and €0.10 (R1.60) for each point on the quality score. Consumer preferences are not statistically different between red and white wine but differ considerably across consumers. In particular, those who believe SO2 in wine causes headaches are willing to pay at least three times more for replacing sulphur-based preservatives with a natural one. Marketing implications are offered for the wine industry.  https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/wep/article/view/9508wine preservativeswillingness to paydiscrete choice experiment
spellingShingle Lydia Chikumbi
Milan Ščasný
Edwin Muchapondwa
Djiby Thiam
Premium price for natural preservatives in wine: a discrete choice experiment
Wine Economics and Policy
wine preservatives
willingness to pay
discrete choice experiment
title Premium price for natural preservatives in wine: a discrete choice experiment
title_full Premium price for natural preservatives in wine: a discrete choice experiment
title_fullStr Premium price for natural preservatives in wine: a discrete choice experiment
title_full_unstemmed Premium price for natural preservatives in wine: a discrete choice experiment
title_short Premium price for natural preservatives in wine: a discrete choice experiment
title_sort premium price for natural preservatives in wine a discrete choice experiment
topic wine preservatives
willingness to pay
discrete choice experiment
url https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/wep/article/view/9508
work_keys_str_mv AT lydiachikumbi premiumpricefornaturalpreservativesinwineadiscretechoiceexperiment
AT milanscasny premiumpricefornaturalpreservativesinwineadiscretechoiceexperiment
AT edwinmuchapondwa premiumpricefornaturalpreservativesinwineadiscretechoiceexperiment
AT djibythiam premiumpricefornaturalpreservativesinwineadiscretechoiceexperiment