The current paper aims to explore consumers’ preferences for wine attributes related to tradition, sustainability, and innovation. A total of 419 regular wine consumers participated in an online survey that took place in Italy. Consumers’ preferences were assessed through a Best-Worst experiment with 11 wine attributes drawn from the literature. The result shows that the wine attributes, more important for consumers, are mainly related to tradition and sustainability. More specifically, the most important attributes for consumers when purchasing wine are “geographical indications”, “grape variety”, “sustainable certification”, “vintage”, and “price”. By contrast, the innovative wine attributes investigated were ranked among the least important ones, namely “canned wine”, “alcohol-free wine”, and “vegan wine”. The study findings offer several implications for wineries and marketers involved in the wine sector. They specifically provide suggestions on the wine attribute wineries should focus on to meet the current consumers’ preferences.

The current study investigates the willingness of Millennial consumers towards several corporate social responsibility initiatives carried out by food companies. More specifically, it explores four cause related marketing campaigns implemented by food companies to spread corporate social responsibility. The analysis was carried out in Italy by administering a structured questionnaire to 308 consumers. The willingness of participants to switch a chocolate snack of their favourite brand to another with similar characteristics but produced by a company supporting different social and environmental causes was assessed in four different scenarios. The study uncovered the effects of both loyalty towards the brand and trust in cause related marketing on consumers’ willingness to support different corporate social responsibility initiatives. The findings unveiled the willingness of Millennials to support companies’ social and environmental initiatives. Both trust and loyalty played a key role in affecting consumers’ willingness to support corporate social responsibility initiatives of food companies. Social and environmental concerns as well as socio-demographics aspects are also significant in supporting cause related marketing campaigns. The study has shed light on the preference of consumers towards corporate social responsibility and cause related marketing. Specifically, it provides marketing insights on the initiatives most preferred by consumers to which companies should address their efforts.

The current paper investigates consumers’ consumption behavior and preferences for craft beer. More specifically, it uncovers consumers’ consumption habits and perception about craft beer, as well as their preferences for 13 beer attributes drawn from the literature.The analysis was carried out in Italy by administering a structured questionnaire to 323 consumers. Best-Worst Scaling was used to detect consumers’ preferences towards the 13 craft beer attributes. The latter were then ranked on the basis of their best-worst scores to identify the level of importance Italian consumers assign to the different attributes.The study findings reveal that Italian craft beer consumers are young, well-educated, and employed. They drink craft beer more than once per month, mainly in pub and with friends and colleagues. Craft beer is perceived with higher quality and different flavors, while compared with a commercial beer, it results tastier, more genuine, and natural. As for the beer attributes, Italians prefer taste, fermentation process, and color, while store promotion, brand, and price rank as the least important.The study findings offer several implications for brewers and marketers involved in the beer sector. Based on the preferences detected, breweries should adapt their product offer to meet craft beer consumers’ expectations.

The current study examines the impact of health claims on consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for functional snack bars, focusing on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Through an experimental auction involving 175 participants, this study investigates how providing clear information on product health benefits influences consumer interest and WTP while analysing the role of individual health consciousness (HC) in shaping these preferences. The results indicate that detailed health claims positively affect consumer WTP for functional snack bars compared to standard options. Although both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant claims attract consumer interest, no significant difference in WTP was observed between the two, suggesting similar perceived value for these distinct benefits. However, highly health-conscious consumers demonstrate a stronger preference and WTP for anti-inflammatory options, indicating that HC influences specific health claim valuation. These findings underscore the importance of effective health-related messaging in promoting functional foods and suggest that general health claims may resonate more broadly with consumers than specialised ones. This study’s results enhance the current knowledge on functional foods, especially snack bars, offering valuable insights for manufacturers aiming to implement targeted marketing strategies and public health initiatives focused on promoting healthier dietary choices.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate sparkling wine consumption behavior and preferences of a large sample of US consumers (n=1,096) exploring the differences among genders and generational cohorts. Design/methodology/approach: The sample has been drawn from Wine opinions, a specialized market research company with a large online panel of US wine consumers. Data were collected through a survey mailing model, administering a structured questionnaire. Findings: Findings reveal that consumption frequency between genders is not statistically different and women generally prefer sparkling wines priced below $15. Baby Boomers is the generation with the lowest sparkling wine consumption frequency. Furthermore, Generation X and Baby Boomers have the highest consumption frequency in the price range $15–$19.99, while Millennials in the $10–$14.99 one. Originality/value: The study sheds light on the changing consumer attitudes to create competitive advantages for wineries. Specifically, it provides valuable marketing insights into the peculiarities of sparkling wine consumption for each generation (e.g. price-point preferences and type of wine).