Delicato Family Wines Consumer Study

{ "overall_summary": "Across 18 respondents, boxed wine is widely normalized as a pragmatic, occasion-driven format rather than an inherent indicator of poor quality. Acceptance cuts across ages, incomes and locales: consumers primarily view boxed wine as an everyday, multi-night or outdoor solution (weeknights, cooking, camping, backyard gatherings) while reserving bottled/corked wine for gifting, hosting and special occasions. Trial is driven more reliably by value cues (price, sale tags, 'great value' messages) and practical packaging (spouts, screw caps, clear dryness labeling) than by premium positioning. Taste profile (not excessively sweet; dry/clean) remains a gatekeeper across segments. A small subset abstains for religious reasons or follows strict price heuristics, and a minority show stronger emotional responses to poor boxed-wine experiences.", "key_segments": [ { "segment": "Mid-life, family-oriented, moderate income", "attributes": { "age_range": "35-53", "locale": "suburban / rural / secondary cities", "occupations": "customer success, recruiting, project management", "income_bracket": "$50k-$75k", "household": "married, children implied" }, "insight": "Sees boxed wine as a practical household staple: convenient for multi-night use, cooking and casual family settings. Price and convenience are primary purchase drivers; bottled wine is saved for celebration or guests. Clear dryness labeling and approachable flavor are needed to convert trial into repeat purchase.", "supporting_agents": [ "Kimberly Martinez", "Debra Hutton", "Jared Maine" ] }, { "segment": "Younger, high-earning professional (utilitarian usage)", "attributes": { "age_range": "late 20s", "locale": "suburban/affluent", "occupation": "tech / computer/mathematics", "income_bracket": "$150k+", "household": "single / owned with mortgage" }, "insight": "Despite higher disposable income, adopts boxed wine for convenience and weeknight use rather than status. Willing to pay more for perceived quality but still prefers box format for casual contexts-indicating that income alone is not a reliable predictor of boxed-wine rejection.", "supporting_agents": [ "Caroline Whitaker" ] }, { "segment": "Older, rural, lower income", "attributes": { "age_range": "60+", "locale": "rural", "occupation": "not employed / blue-collar background", "income_bracket": "$10k-$25k", "education": "< high school" }, "insight": "Price-first orientation: discovery and trial are triggered by sale cues and pragmatic packaging. Brand signals matter less than unit price and convenience; readable dryness cues and spout/screw-cap features increase purchase likelihood.", "supporting_agents": [ "Kenneth Winters" ] }, { "segment": "Religiously abstaining / very low income", "attributes": { "age_range": "early 30s", "locale": "urban", "occupation": "job seeker / food service background", "income_bracket": \"$1k-$9k\", "cultural": "religious abstention (LDS)" }, "insight": "Does not consume alcohol for faith; evaluates boxed wine only as a social/observational product or as an economical purchase on behalf of others. Messaging aimed at drinkers has limited direct influence; social norms and visibility in community contexts shape perception.", "supporting_agents": [ "Ashley Parks" ] }, { "segment": "Rural / price-sensitive retail shoppers relying on in-store cues", "attributes": { "locale": "rural / small grocery / warehouse shoppers", "behaviors": "discovers via endcaps, shelf tags, staff picks, neighbor recommendations", "price_sensitivity": "high-to-moderate" }, "insight": "Promotions, shelf placement and staff/neighbor recommendations are primary trial levers. 'Great value' claims and endcap visibility outperform premium storytelling for driving first-time purchase in these contexts.", "supporting_agents": [ "Kenneth Winters", "Debra Hutton", "Jared Maine" ] } ], "shared_mindsets": [ { "trait": "Contextual acceptance", "explanation": "Boxed wine is broadly accepted for casual, multi-night and outdoor contexts; it functions as a utilitarian format rather than a category perceived as uniformly inferior.", "agents": [ "Kimberly Martinez", "Debra Hutton", "Jared Maine", "Caroline Whitaker", "Kenneth Winters" ] }, { "trait": "Value-forward trial motivation", "explanation": "Messages and retail cues emphasizing value (price-per-glass, sale tags, 'great value') are more effective at prompting trial across price tiers than premium or status-oriented positioning.", "agents": [ "Kimberly Martinez", "Debra Hutton", "Jared Maine", "Kenneth Winters", "Ashley Parks", "Caroline Whitaker" ] }, { "trait": "Packaging practicality matters", "explanation": "Functional features-spouts, screw caps, lighter/portable packaging and readable cues on dryness/food pairings-are strong purchase influencers for everyday use across demographics.", "agents": [ "Kimberly Martinez", "Jared Maine", "Debra Hutton", "Caroline Whitaker", "Kenneth Winters", "Ashley Parks" ] }, { "trait": "Bottled wine as presentational signal", "explanation": "Consumers consistently reserve bottled/corked wine for events where presentation and perceived quality matter (gifts, formal hosting), while boxes serve utilitarian use cases.", "agents": [ "Kimberly Martinez", "Debra Hutton", "Caroline Whitaker" ] }, { "trait": "Taste as gatekeeper", "explanation": "Across segments, 'not too sweet' and 'dry/clean' profiles are preferred; overly sweet or heavy/chemical-tasting boxed wines create strong rejection and regret, undermining repeat purchase.", "agents": [ "Kimberly Martinez", "Jared Maine", "Caroline Whitaker", "Kenneth Winters", "Debra Hutton" ] } ], "divergences": [ { "segment": "High-income younger professional vs income-based expectations", "contrast": "Caroline Whitaker (high income) uses boxed wine routinely for weeknights, challenging the assumption that higher income predicts rejection of boxed formats; convenience and context beat status signaling for everyday consumption.", "agents": [ "Caroline Whitaker" ] }, { "segment": "Religious abstainer vs typical consumer drivers", "contrast": "Ashley Parks abstains entirely for faith reasons and thus evaluates boxed wine observationally-value and packaging features matter only in indirect or delegated purchase contexts, unlike typical sensory or convenience-driven motives.", "agents": [ "Ashley Parks" ] }, { "segment": "Emotionally invested mid-lifer vs pragmatic majority", "contrast": "Kimberly Martinez shows a stronger emotional reaction to poor boxed wine (sulking/pouring out) than the predominantly transactional responses of peers, suggesting a subset whose affective experience can drive disproportionate brand advocacy or aversion.", "agents": [ "Kimberly Martinez" ] }, { "segment": "Rural sale-driven discovery vs label/marketing-aware shoppers", "contrast": "Kenneth Winters relies heavily on sale cues, endcaps and neighbor recommendations for discovering boxed wine, contrasting with shoppers who reference labeling (dryness, grape, food pairing) and perceived structure when choosing products.", "agents": [ "Kenneth Winters", "Debra Hutton" ] } ], "next_questions": [ "What is the price-per-glass threshold at which different segments (mid-life family, high-income younger professionals, older rural shoppers) switch from boxed to bottled for everyday use?", "How much do specific package features (spout, screw cap, visual dryness indicator, food-pairing label) move purchase intent when tested quantitatively across segments?", "Which retail triggers (endcap, shelf tag, staff pick, neighbor recommendation, e-comm promo) produce the highest trial and repeat rates in rural vs urban settings?", "Can a 'premium boxed' positioning (better varietal callouts, provenance cues, tasting notes) effectively compete for gifting/hosting occasions, or are those occasions irreversibly tied to bottled presentation?", "How salient are sustainability and portability claims for boxed wine across demographics, and do they create incremental willingness-to-pay?", "What sensory profile (sweetness range, acidity, oak profile) optimizes repeat purchase for boxed wine among pragmatic weekday drinkers vs occasional/host-oriented buyers?", "How do non-drinking household members (religiously abstaining or designated non-drinkers) influence purchase dynamics-do they act as gatekeepers for household buying or purchase as delegated errands?", "What messaging creatives (value-per-glass, 'keeps open for X days', 'food-friendly/dry') should be A/B tested to maximize trial-to-repeat conversion by segment?" ], "stats": { "total_responses": 18 } }

Boxed wine is broadly accepted as a situational, utility format for weeknights, cooking, and outdoor gatherings. Buyers prioritize convenience, value, and dry/clean taste; price acts as a ceiling (bottles ~$6–12; 3L boxes ~$17–22 on promo). Discovery is driven by endcaps, shelf tags, staff picks, and friends; framing as great value outperforms premium cues.

Packaging that simplifies decisions and usage (clear grape/dryness/food pairing, easy-open spouts that fit the fridge, readable date/lot info) boosts trial. Bottled wine remains the signal for gifting/hosting. Whites and lighter styles are perceived more favorably than reds, and quality inconsistency (esp. reds: too sweet/oaky/flat) is a key driver of rejection.

0–30 days: Quick wins (shelf tags, clerk cards, coupons, spout QA spot-checks).
30–90 days: Launch retail activation pilot; initiate Packaging Clarity 2.0 design; begin red profile QA program.
90–180 days: Scale winning retail tactics; execute label refresh pilots; run 1.5L/375–500 ml format tests; first NPS and repeat readouts.
180–270 days: Roll out packaging updates to core SKUs; refine red profiles; decide on occasion-bridge expansion based on A/B results.