NEW CONSUMER TARGETS TOWARDS A TRADITIONAL SPIRIT: THE CASE OF GRAPPA IN PIEDMONT (NORTHWEST ITALY)

A choice experiment was conducted in Piedmont, Italy, to define purchasing preferences and behaviours of Grappa consumers. A total of 667 individuals were interviewed at different points of Grappa purchase/consumption. The most important attributes considered during Grappa purchase by consumer were defined using the Best-Worst Scaling methodology. The Latent Class Analysis was employed to identify consumer clusters characterized by different Grappa preferences and consumption styles. For Piedmont consumers, Grappa choice was related to previous experience, product knowledge and origin. Conversely, consumers considered "alcohol content" and "packaging" the two least important factors to be considered during purchase. The lClass analysis allowed the identification of four clusters of Grappa consumers that were described in function of socio-demographic variables.