Acceptance of sustainable wine packaging alternatives among consumers – A comparison between Australia and Switzerland

As the wine industry makes sustainability an important goal, wine packaging is coming under more and more evaluation. Although traditional glass bottles are deeply connected to tradition and quality understandings, they are harmful for the environment. According to studies on life cycle assessments, packaging may be responsible for as much as 40% of a wine producing carbon footprint (Ferrara and De Feo, 2023). Although alternatives like PET, bag-in-box, and aluminium cans have lower emissions, they are not highly accepted by consumers due to cultural and perceptual variations. Australia and Switzerland, which represent the New World and Old World wine markets, respectively, are compared in this study in terms of consumer acceptance of these sustainable packaging options.A combination of methods was employed. Two hundred people participated in a bilingual survey that assessed wine involvement, environmental concern, perceived sustainability, and willingness to buy. Half of the participants were exposed to sustainability information in an experimental condition. Furthermore, industry viewpoints on packaging decisions and consumer responses were obtained through a qualitative interview with a Swiss wine producer. According to expected results, Swiss consumers exhibit greater loyalty to traditional formats, whereas Australian consumers are more open to alternatives. It is anticipated that sustainability messaging will increase acceptance, especially among consumers who are not very involved. This effect might be limited by high involvement. By taking behavioural and cultural factors into account, this study advances sustainability marketing. It encourages sustainable transformation in accordance with consumer values by giving producers advice on how to customise packaging and messaging strategies by market.