Logos indicating environmental sustainability in wine production: An exploratory study on how do Burgundy wine consumers perceive them

Abstract Logos on environmental sustainability could consist of an effective strategy to provide consumers with accurate, understandable and trustworthy information to encourage them to buy environmentally sustainable wines. However, the large number of different logos indicating environmental sustainability available in the market raises the question of whether their associated messages are successfully conveyed to consumers. In this context, the aim of the present exploratory study was to investigate how Burgundy wine consumers perceive a series of logos indicating environmental sustainability in wine production. Fourteen logos available in the French market were selected: three logos being specific to wine and eleven non-specific. The logos were presented to 127 wine consumers from Dijon area (France), following an incomplete balanced block design. For each logo, participants had to answer the question: “What does a bottle of wine with this logo suggest to you?”. Responses were qualitatively analyzed and grouped into different categories. Chi-square tests and Correspondence analysis were used to identify the relationship among logos and categories. Results showed large differences in how consumers perceived the logos. Biodyvin, the former European AB and the French AB organic logos were the logos that most successfully conveyed their messages, being strongly associated to organic wine. Most logos did not communicate a message related to environmental sustainability, which reaffirms the need to provide consumers with adequate information on environmental sustainability and to conduct further research on this subject.