Consumer preferences for alternative eco-packaging: A field experiment on wine

Food packaging is rapidly evolving, constantly urged by environmental protection pressures and new consumer needs. However, the wine sector is generally extremely conservative, particularly in traditional producing countries such as Italy. To investigate consumer responses to sustainable packaging innovations, such as wine in aluminium bottles, a between-subjects field experiment was performed at a wine fair with voluntary participants (N = 375) who tasted red wine randomly assigned to one of these three conditions: control, treatment 1 (aluminium bottle) and treatment 2 (aluminium bottle + sustainability prompt). Notably, an aluminium bottle and a prompt do not impact consumer preferences. Additionally, Italian regular wine drinkers perceived aluminium packaging as less environment-friendly than traditional glass bottles. Furthermore, wine neophobia was significantly correlated with diminished hedonic liking and a decreased purchasing probability, whereas an increased frequency of wine consumption was inversely related to willingness-to-pay (WTP) and purchasing probability. Age demonstrated a significant negative effect on WTP, suggesting that younger consumers, who exhibit lower wine consumption and neophobia, may benefit from tailored marketing strategies designed for enhancing the acceptance of sustainable packaging solutions.