Consumer preferences for wine attributes in an emerging market

Purpose: The growing wine market in India presents a tremendous opportunity for marketers to formulate a strategy targeted at the Indian consumers. The purpose of this paper is to identify the attributes that are important for young wine drinkers in their selection of wine, the preferred option within the identified attributes and the relative importance consumers place on the identified attributes. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth interviews were carried out to identify the attributes of primary importance in the wine selection process. Subsequently, conjoint analysis was conducted on the data collected through a survey of 252 respondents which ranked purchase intention of profiles derived from an orthogonal design. Findings: In-depth interviews revealed five factors as important in the choice of wine, namely, price, brand, taste, origin and type of the wine. The results of conjoint analysis showed price as the most important factor, followed by the type of the wine. Red was the most preferred type. Brand, taste and origin follow up in that order of importance with millennials preferring to buy familiar brands, sweet wines and of Indian origin. Originality/value: The study contributes to the wine consumer behaviour research by identifying the attributes that are important for marketing of wine to the large segment of Indian millennial consumers. The findings will help marketers to better position their wines in the Indian market. The study will also aid in the development of product, branding and pricing decisions.