Samenvatting

The aim of the conducted research is to understand wine consumption in South Africa compared to historical wine-consuming countries and why it is wasted at consumer level. This report is destined to professionals of the wine industry but also to consumers and environmental institutions. Food waste can be observed at all stages of the food supply chain and affects all food categories – and that includes alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The South African market is growing and maturing regarding wine consumption. But there is a growing concern within the wine industry that waste at consumer level is becoming an important issue. Wine waste exists in wine consuming countries and has already been studied in some of them. But there is very little documentation regarding wine waste at consumer level in South Africa. This report describes and discusses the research behind estimating and evaluating this topic. In order to answer the main question, research is conducted according to relevant sub-questions, following specific methodology. An international literature and article review is conducted to find and compare the most effective ways to evaluate wine waste at consumer level. The most effective and most adaptable method is intended to be applied to South Africa to estimate wine waste at consumer level. Moreover, surveys are carried out directly and online to a sample of South African consumers. An interview is also carried out to representatives of on-trade businesses. These methods are used to support previous research and to try to explain the causes for wine waste which are then included in a diagram. The results of the conducted research show that the most effective way to quantify wine waste is to focus on households and on-trade businesses separately, as data often conflicts between the two. By carrying out waste composition studies and household diaries, it would be possible in the future to estimate wine waste at consumer level more effectively. When applying an existing method, wine waste in South Africa is judged significant for an emerging country and can be estimated at nearly four percent of total wine consumption. This result is backed by consumer surveys and ontrade businesses interviews. However, the exact consumer habits and behaviours responsible for this issue are unknown by consumers and representatives. While wine waste is a growing concern at consumer level in the world and in South Africa, most wine consumers do not value this as a serious matter compared to similar issues. To conclude, the existing insufficient information regarding this topic limits the ability to reach a valid conclusion or result. Wine consumers and representatives are aware of the existence of wine waste at consumer level but it had never been evaluated for South Africa. The results and discussion of this report are intended to evaluate the scope and challenges of wine waste at consumer level in South Africa for possible future research.