@phdthesis{Pabst2020, author = {Pabst, Evelyn}, title = {Effects of potential EU regulation on mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine}, volume = {2021}, edition = {1. Auflage}, publisher = {Hochschule Geisenheim}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hebis:2083-253}, school = {Hochschule Geisenheim University}, pages = {68}, year = {2020}, abstract = {With the exception of ingredients that may have an allergenic effect, alcoholic beverages with above 1.2\% alcohol by volume are currently exempt from mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling. In 2017, however, the European Commission decided that, in order to protect consumer interests, further exemption from this special regulation could not be justified. Mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine will affect not only all European producers but also every international producer who exports wine to an EU member state. Many studies have investigated how consumers behave in relation to nutrition labelling and ingredient listings for food in general, but only a few have considered alcoholic beverages and wine specifically. Existing studies of wine are limited to quantitative approaches that focus on consumers' stated interests regarding ingredient and nutrition information, utilising the direct elicitation of stated preferences. These methods are prone to greatly overestimate the effect. There is a lack of more indirect observational studies in more realistic settings that analyse consumers' emotional and verbal reactions when confronted with ingredient and nutrition information on a bottle of wine as well as the implications that this information will have on their choice behaviour. Finally, there is a lack of empirical research on the consequences that mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling will have for producers. In order to fill these gaps, the main objectives of this dissertation are the following: First, to analyse consumers' reactions to nutrition and ingredient labelling covering their emotional reactions and the effect on wine choice and demand as well as the influences of additional information, time and country. Second, to examine the consequences that producers are facing with regard to nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine by analysing producers' expectations of consumer reactions as well as the effects on production processes and competitive advantages. A multi-stage multi-method research design, which combined qualitative focus groups and a discrete choice experiment, was utilised to analyse consumers' reactions to nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine across several countries. In order to analyse the consequences that the potential new EU labelling law will have for wine producers, an exploratory online survey to ask producers directly was utilised. The results suggest that the wine industry will face considerable challenges once nutrition and ingredient labelling is mandatory. Consumers' emotional reactions, especially to the ingredients in wine, are rather negative, and they are becoming less likely to view wine as a very natural product. Average wine-involved consumers were shown to place a considerable amount of importance on nutrition information in a retail setting and prefer to receive complete information. Without additional guidance, consumers only place low importance on ingredient information, but this changes when they are negatively confronted with the topic. Negative information has the potential to affect how consumers choose wine by increasing the attention they pay to ingredients, at the cost of the attention directed at sensory descriptions, and by changing consumers' preferences to shorter ingredient lists. Some consumers in traditional wine markets are even likely to refrain from buying wine in the case of negative media coverage. While consumers will be strongly affected by nutrition and ingredient labelling in the short term, they are likely to adapt to this information in the mid to long term, which will reduce the effect of negative media coverage. In addition to the effects on consumer behaviour, mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling will likely also change production processes and competitive advantages within the wine industry. In order to actively avoid declarable substances, some producers will change their oenological practices, which might lead to a deterioration in wine quality and higher wine prices. Providing correct nutrition and ingredient information for each batch will make the labelling process more difficult and more expensive. Although consumers highly value sensory information, this information is likely to be reduced or eliminated when nutrition and ingredient labelling is introduced as the competition for space on back labels will increase. The introduction of mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling is also likely to affect competitive advantages between wine producers. Producers that are able to and willing to adapt will have the chance to gain competitive advantages. Overall, producers are advised to adapt their communication strategies to actively promote the reasons for the use of ingredients in wine production in order to reduce the effects of negative media coverage. The industry should also prepare in advance for changes in production processes and potential changes in consumer preferences because mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling will likely be introduced within the next few years.}, language = {en} }