The “healthy = (un)tasty” intuition concerning colour in organic wine labels

Abstract

Organic labels certify a product's commitment to ecological balance. However, the association between organic products and health benefits can inadvertently promote overconsumption, particularly in the case of alcoholic beverages such as red wine. In research conducted with participants from the United States, we demonstrate that consumers implicitly link organic wine with health and pleasure, which is explicitly reflected in heightened purchase intentions and anticipated consumption volume. Interestingly, our findings indicate that these effects are moderated by label colour. Implicitly, red organic labels are associated with a less healthy but tastier drink than green labels. Explicitly, organic labels overall stimulate higher purchase intentions regardless of their colour. Nevertheless, our results highlight a moderating role of label colour. Compared to green labels, red organic labels elicit increased purchase intentions, driven by greater expectations of tastiness associated with the red label. Additionally, red labels convey a perception of higher alcohol strength and an intention to consume wine in smaller quantities versus green labels. Thus, the use of a red label may signal both pleasure and potential danger, facilitating organic wine sales without necessarily increasing consumption. These findings have implications for marketers and policymakers interested in supporting responsible wine consumption.