Connecting Product Attributes with Emotional Benefits. Analysis of a Mediterranean product across consumer age segments

Due to a high level of product substitution in the food market, it often proves difficult to strike a balance between supply and demand. This is especially true in sectors with a such high level of competition and product differentiation as the wine producing sector. Faced with the difficulty of differentiating the product in terms of its technical characteristics, quality and price, therefore, a useful alternative is to explore what consumers perceive to be its "emotional benefits", since these have been shown to have a decisive effect on consumer purchasing decisions. For marketing purposes, an understanding of how consumers' personality traits condition their choice of products can help manufacturers to improve their strategic positioning in the market. The aim of this study is to check for the presence of emotional factors in the consumption of wine, a traditional component of the Mediterranean diet, and, if such factors are found, test them for variation across consumer age segments. An understanding of this issue may help the various agents in the distribution chain to differentiate their products, and enable them to set up more effective communication policies to improve their strategic positioning in the market. The study uses the laddering technique to interview wine consumers in Navarra.