Dealcoholised Wine and India’s new generation: Exploring consumer acceptance

The global wine industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by the growing trend of mindful drinking and increasing consumer demand for no- and low-alcohol (NoLo) beverages. Although the global NoLo market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.4% through 2035, India remains a largely unexplored transitional wine economy despite its vast population of over 730 million Generation Z and Millennial consumers. This study investigates consumer acceptance in terms of willingness to pay (WTP) for domestic and imported dealcoholised wines among Gen Z and Millennial wine consumers in three major Indian metropolitan cities, namely Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The research focuses exclusively on fully dealcoholised wines containing 0.0-0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), which currently dominate the Indian market due to the substantially higher taxation imposed on beverages exceeding the 0.5% ABV threshold. Data were collected from 631 respondents through a structured online survey. The findings reveal a substantial adoption gap within the Indian market. While only 10% of respondents in our sample reported previous experience with dealcoholised wine, 94% expressed willingness to try such products in the future. Overall, the results highlight a clear distinction between domestic and imported dealcoholized wines: domestic wines are predominantly concentrated in the lower WTP intervals, reflecting greater price sensitivity; in contrast, imported wines exhibit a more dispersed and upward-shifted WTP distribution, indicating a greater willingness among respondents to accept higher price levels for imported dealcoholized wines. To measure WTP for domestic and imported totally dealcoholized wines, the study applies the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) using a double-bounded dichotomous choice format to estimate consumers' WTP for both domestic and imported totally dealcoholised wines. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors influencing young Indian consumers’ willingness to pay for domestic and imported dealcoholized wines, with particular attention to the role of psychographic traits, consumption habits, sociodemographic characteristics, and consumption motivations. Overall, the two interval regression models identify a remarkably consistent set of determinants of WTP for consumers in our sample. Wine involvement, food technology neophobia, wine consumption frequency, preference for formal consumption occasions, income level, being a student, being a man, previous experience with dealcoholized wine, and motivations related to health and responsible drinking significantly shape consumers' valuation across both specifications. Some variables, such as attitudes towards alcohol, preference for rosé wine, and calorie-reduction motivation, are significant only in one model, suggesting that their influence differs depending on whether the product is domestic or imported. Nevertheless, the consistency in the direction of the estimated effects and the similar goodness-of-fit measures indicate that the main drivers of WTP are robust across the two model specifications. Overall, the findings indicate that the Indian market exhibits a latent demand for dealcoholised wines, provided that producers and marketers effectively address the existing information deficit and sensory scepticism through targeted communication, consumer education, and appropriate pricing and positioning strategies. This study contributes to the emerging literature on NoLo wines in developing markets and offers practical insights for producers, marketers, and policymakers seeking to capitalise on the evolving Indian beverage landscape.