Tag: Robert Williams

Canned wine is increasingly popular these days, but there’s a mismatch between the size of cans wineries are using and the size the consumers want.

That conclusion comes from a study conducted by WICResearch.com, an entity formed by a couple of PhDs who have been associated with Susquehanna and Texas Tech universities, and a doctoral candidate at Texas Tech.

The research company is urging stakeholders to use their data to lobby for a change in wine package regulations overseen by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB.) The bureau regulates standardization of package size, labeling and how the packages can be sold.

Robert and Helena Williams, along with Matthew Bauman, surveyed 1,700 consumers about their preferences on canned wine, and paired that with data on more than 300 wineries that are packaging their wine in cans.

According to their data, most consumers (79 percent) prefer small can sizes – 187ml (approximately 6 ounces) and 250ml (8.4 oz.) — but only 58 percent of winemakers employ both those sizes.

Meanwhile, the TTB allows wine to be packaged also in 375ml cans, and in three- or four-packs of the two smaller sizes, but currently prohibits selling the most popular size — 250ml —  individually.

“We are convinced that if the TTB changes the regulations to allow sales of wine-in-a-can in a single 250ml size, the total wine market will grow in order to satisfy consumer preferences,” the firm said in releasing its results.

The two biggest mismatches between production and consumption revealed in the study were:

• 36% of consumers prefer the 187ml can, while only 8% of producers offer it
• 21% of consumers prefer the 375ml can (12.7 ounces, or half a bottle of wine,) while 42% of producers offer it.

The Williams presented some of their past findings at the BEV-NY conference in Henrietta Feb. 27.

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