Image: Andrew Shedden, Endeavour Drinks Group head of fine wine.

By Samuel Squire

Drinks retailers are reacting positively to the launch of a new sustainability trust mark, saying it will aid the purchase decisions of conscientious consumers.

The new logo, launched by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA), will help sustainably produced wines, and other alcoholic beverages, stand out with clear certification.

The mark, which will be used by certified members on wine labels, communications and marketing materials, provides a visible demonstration of their commitment to sustainable practices. Consumers will know that the vineyard and winery have met rigorous standards of sustainability from seeing the trust mark. Endeavour Drinks Group’s head of fine wine Andrew Shedden says the surge of consumers actively looking to purchase sustainably-produced beverages, whether wine, beer or otherwise, has been on the rise. Shedden believes having an easily-identifiable trust mark, backed by industry, will aid in many consumers’ purchase intentions.

“We are definitely seeing an increase in customer awareness of how their wines are produced and an increased propensity to make wine purchase choices based on attributes,” he said.

“Qualitative research we’ve seen indicates that a multitude of attributes (organic, vegan, sustainable, bio-dynamic, lower alcohol etc.) are becoming more serious purchase decision drivers.

“The difficulty customers are having at present is navigating all of these different attributes, labels, certifications, etc.

“There’s so many it’s often difficult to know where to start. So having a sustainability trust mark that’s easy to recognise and is backed by the industry (incl. AWRI, Wine Australia and AGW) is a really positive step forward.”

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