Wine Consumption Research Articles

Willingness to pay of Portuguese sparkling wine consumers: Econometric and machine learning approaches

Abstract Understanding consumer choices and their drivers of willingness to pay (WTP) for a bottle of wine has been a research challenge in wine economics, particularly in niche markets such as sparkling wine. This study investigates the determinants of WTP for sparkling wine based on data from Portuguese consumers. The results provided by two alternative methodologies are compared: a traditional econometric model, based on the estimation of an ordered probit model; and a modelling approach based on data-driven and using machine learning algorithms. Both approaches present similar results, highlighting the relevance of some determinants including income, Champagne brand, not being a protected designation of origin and being a red wine consumer as main predictors of WTP for sparkling wine in Portugal.

Drivers of brand love for organic wine brands: moderating role of ethnocentrism

PurposeThe consumption of organic wine has witnessed exponential growth, mainly because of changing lifestyles, rising disposable income, modernity aspects and claimed health benefits. Understanding the motivations and attributes affecting organic wine consumption (OWC) provides a limited perspective on consumption and behavioral patterns.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a set of screening criteria to arrive at the final choice of fine-dining restaurants and bars that serve wine in their outlets. Based on the selected locations, we gathered responses from 558 consumers aged 18 years and above with prior experience of buying organic and non-organic wine. The hypothesized model was validated using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM). From the perspective of organic wine consumption, the research findings exhibit significant links between the drivers.FindingsThe findings underscore the moderating impact of ethnocentrism toward shaping consumers’ attitudes and brand love. Additionally, gender and consumption frequency indicated significant variations among consumers of organic wine. Female consumers strongly believe that consumption of organic wine provides health benefits, societal acceptance and moments of joy. Additionally, men usually associate wine consumption with enhanced their affective, convivial and sensory pleasure.Originality/valueThis study examines the drivers and marketing outcomes of organic wine consumption using Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT) and the Theory of Hedonic Asymmetry (THA).

Chemosensory vocabulary in wine, perfume and food product reviews: Insights from language modeling

Chemosensory sensations are often hard to describe and quantify. Language models may facilitate a systematic understanding of sensory descriptions. We accessed consumer and expert reviews of wine, perfume, and food products (English language; about 68 million words in total) and analyzed their sensory descriptions. Using a novel data-driven method based on natural language data, we compared the three chemosensory vocabularies (wine, perfume, food) with respect to their vocabulary overlap and semantic properties, and explored their semantic spaces. The three vocabularies primarily differ with respect to domain specificity, concreteness, descriptor type preference and degree of gustatory vs. olfactory association. Wine vocabulary primarily distinguishes between white wine and red wine flavors and qualities. Food vocabulary separates drinkable and edible food products and ingredients, on the one hand, and savory and non-savory products, on the other. A salient distinction in all three vocabularies is between concrete and abstract/evaluative terms. Valence also plays a role in the semantic spaces of all three vocabularies, but valence is less prominent here than ingeneral olfactory vocabulary. Our method allows a systematic comparison of sensory descriptors in the three product domains and provides a data-driven approach to derive sensory lexicons that can be applied by sensory scientists.

Associations of alcohol intake with gut microbiome: a prospective study in a predominantly low-income Black/African American population

BackgroundAlcohol intake can the alter gut microbiome, which may subsequently affect human health. However, limited population-based, prospective studies have investigated associations of habitual and recent alcohol intake with the gut microbiome, particularly among Black/African American individuals. MethodsWe investigated the dose- and type-specific associations of habitual and recent alcohol intake with the gut microbiome among 538 Black/African American adults (150 males and 388 females). Habitual and recent alcohol intakes were assessed at cohort baseline (2002–2009) and stool collection (2018–2021), respectively. Gut microbiome was profiled using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Generalized linear models were employed to evaluate the associations between alcohol intakes and gut microbiome composition, with adjustments for sociodemographic characteristics, other lifestyle factors, and comorbidities. FDR <0.1 was considered statistically significant. ResultsThe mean age at enrollment was 53.2 ± 7.7 years, with a mean interval of 13.8 years (range: 9.0-18.1 years) between baseline and stool sample collection. Recent alcohol intake was not significantly associated with microbial taxa abundance. However, habitual alcohol intake, both total amount and types of alcoholic beverages, showed significant associations with several microbial taxa abundance, primarily in males, including species within classes Clostridia, Bacilli, and Mahellia within Firmicutes. Specifically, total alcohol, beer, and red wine intakes were all inversely associated with genus MGYG-HGUT-02719 within class Clostridia (β=-2.26 to -0.09 per 1 drink/day increase). Red wine consumption was also inversely associated with the abundance of genera CAG-110, Oscillibacter, and Gemmiger within class Clostridia (β=-3.88 to -2.69), while positively associated with genus Absiella (β=1.81) within class Bacilli. Most of these associations remained significant after additionally adjusting for BMI and baseline comorbidities. ConclusionsWe identified gut microbial taxa associated with habitual alcohol intake among Black/African American males, although the magnitudes of these associations were generally small. Further research is needed to determine if these bacteria modify alcohol-disease relationships.

Differences in Associations of Three Types of Alcoholic Beverages with Age-Related Cognitive Decline in Men.

To investigate the influence of wine, beer, and spirits consumption, respectively, on non-pathological, age-related cognitive decline from young adulthood to late midlife in a large follow-up study of Danish men. The study includes 2456 middle-aged Danish men from the Lifestyle and Cognition Follow-up study 2015, with information on adult-life consumption (from age 26) of wine, beer, and spirits self-reported in late midlife and age-related cognitive decline assessed using the same validated intelligence test administered in young adulthood and late midlife. Associations were adjusted for consumption of other alcoholic beverages, year of birth, age at follow-up, retest interval, education, young adulthood intelligence, and personality. Most of the men had wine (48%) or beer (42%) as their preferred beverage type. For all three alcoholic beverages, consumption of more than 14 units weekly was associated with a greater decline in unadjusted analyses, but this trend was only significant for wine. In contrast, adjusted models showed that moderate wine and spirits consumption was associated with less decline than abstention for these alcohol types (p = 0.03 for 8-14 units/week of wine and p = 0.03 for 1-7 units/week of spirits). Statistical tests suggested a difference between the estimated effects of consumption of 8-14 units/week of wine and beer on cognitive decline. While patterns of associations were similar across beverages, moderate wine and spirits consumption may mitigate cognitive decline, in contrast with beer. However, the results should be interpreted with caution due to inherent differences between men with different alcoholic beverage preferences.

Red Wine Consumption and the Impact on Cardiovascular Health: The Methodological Barriers of Observational Study Design.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among communicable and noncommunicable diseases, and its prevalence is going to rise even more by 2030. The discovery of different "functional" foods containing a plethora of bioactive compounds is considered an ally in the effort to reduce the global CVD burden in the context of primary prevention. It has been about 3 decades since the observation that red wine consumption in French population could lead to lower coronary heart disease risk despite the high dietary consumption of saturated fats, known as the "French paradox." Since then, numerous epidemiological studies, mainly observational, have emerged in order to investigate this association with great enthusiasm. However, due to the nature of these studies, the scientific community has raised concerns about the methodological approach of the studies and thus the generalization of their results. Therefore, the current review aims to summarize some of the major methodological issues deriving from observational studies on the association between red wine consumption and cardiovascular health and to highlight the importance of higher quality study design in the general effort of drawing safer conclusions on this topic.

What about QR codes on wine bottles? A statistical analysis of technology's influence on purchase decisions among Italian wine consumers

The growing significance of information availability about products for consumers represents a pivotal dimension in contemporary consumer behavior and decision-making processes. In the context of an ever-evolving global marketplace characterized by a huge number of choices, rapid technological advancements and increased consumer awareness, access to comprehensive product information has emerged as a fundamental factor affecting consumers' preferences, choices, and satisfaction levels. There is a significant scientific gap on Italian wine consumers' readiness to adopt emerging technologies. Therefore, the research objective is to investigate whether Italian wine consumers trust and are willing to use emerging technologies such as Quick Response (QR) code and Blockchain Technology (BCT) and to identify the factors influencing their acceptance. By examining and evaluating several crucial aspects in the context of wine purchases in Italy using an online survey, this work seeks to fill the gap in the literature. These crucial elements include customers' propensity for novelty, information-seeking behaviors, faith in new technology, and the intention to use them during wine purchasing. What can be derived is the positive interconnection between consumers novelty-seeking, information-seeking, intention to use the QR code and trust in emerging technologies. With other words, consumers' information-seeking and novelty-seeking is interconnected and they positively determine consumers trust in technologies and their adoption. The implications of this study are twofold. Firstly, it enriches consumer behavior theory by providing new insights into how information availability and emerging technologies influence consumers’ decision-making processes, particularly in the context of the Italian wine market. Secondly, businesses can leverage these insights to enhance consumer trust and satisfaction, enabling them to make more effective marketing strategies, improve product transparency, and gain a competitive edge in the increasingly competitive wine market.

Association of moderate alcohol intake with the risks of cirrhosis and steatotic liver disease: Results from a large population-based cohort study

Background&AimsThere is uncertainty about the associations between moderate alcohol consumption and liver-related outcomes. We aimed to explore the associations of moderate drinking with cirrhosis, steatotic liver disease (SLD), and liver cancer in a large cohort study. MethodsA total of 215,559 non-drinkers and moderate drinkers (< 20 g/day alcohol for females or < 30 g/day for males) were enrolled between 2006 and 2010 and followed up to 2022. The primary outcome is incident cirrhosis, and the secondary outcomes are the incidence of steatotic liver disease and liver cancer. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for liver-related outcomes in relation to moderate drinkers, as well as the quantity and type of their alcohol intake. All analyses were stratified by sex. ResultsA total of 705 cirrhosis, 2,010 SLD, and 350 liver cancer cases were documented during a median follow-up period of 12.7 years. Compared with non-drinkers, moderate drinkers had a lower risk of SLD (HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.89). Among the moderate drinkers, alcohol intake [per standard deviation (SD) increment] was associated with an increased risk of incident cirrhosis (HR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.20), but the association was attenuated after restricting alcohol intake to no more than 16 g/day. Wine consumption (per SD increment of the percentage of wine consumption of total alcohol intake) had an inverse association with incident cirrhosis and SLD (HR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.75, 0.89 for cirrhosis; HR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.87, 0.96 for SLD). The inverse associations between moderate wine use and SLD were likely to be sex-dependent (P for interaction = 0.01). ConclusionsThe excessive alcohol threshold of 30 g/day for males may be set high for liver health. Further work is needed to make sex-specific recommendations on moderate drinking for liver health.

Exploring Portuguese Consumers’ Behavior Regarding Sustainable Wine: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Although consumption is the cornerstone of economic growth, it is unquestionably one of the main reasons for the current degradation of the planet. Hence, it is necessary to understand consumers’ different perceptions and behaviors regarding sustainable goods, as the solution will inevitably involve changing behaviors and promoting more sustainable consumption. In light of the challenges posed by sustainability within the wine sector, namely issues related to climate change, chemical exposure, and the availability of water and energy, and considering the industry’s substantial environmental and social impacts, it is important to understand the factors influencing wine consumer behavior. This research explores sustainable wine consumption in Portugal. Based on a sample of 197 valid responses, collected in an online survey that took place from March 20 to April 30 of 2024, and applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework, the current study found that consumers’ intention to consume sustainable wine is influenced by their attitudes, subjective norms, and sustainability awareness. Regarding the individuals’ consumption of sustainable wine, this behavior is influenced by the intention to consume this wine, and by consumers’ perceived behavioral control. The results also concluded that individuals’ intention to consume sustainable wine is significantly different across marital status, professional occupation, level of education, and age. With these valuable insights, this study aimed to increase the available information on sustainable wine consumption, allowing different stakeholders, namely political decision makers, to develop and implement more efficient measures to promote sustainable wine consumption.

The Potential Effects of Red Wine and Its Components on Neurocognitive Disorders: A Narrative Review.

The aging population is associated with a net increase in the incidence and prevalence of chronic-degenerative diseases, particularly neurocognitive disorders. Therefore, the identification of preventative strategies to restrain the burden of such chronic conditions is of key relevance. Red wine and its components have accumulated evidence regarding their positive effects in terms of neurological pathologies associated with neurocognitive symptoms. Based on this background, the present narrative review aims to summarize the state-of-the-art evidence on the effects of red wine and its components on neurocognitive disorders in both preclinical and clinical settings. The main findings highlight a protective effect of wine polyphenols present in red wine on dementia in different preclinical models of cognitive decline. The current translational clinical evidence remains uncertain, especially considering the risk-to-benefit ratio of alcohol consumption on brain health. Given the overall health risks associated with red wine consumption and consistent with the prevailing guidelines in the literature, there is insufficient evidence to support light-to-moderate red wine consumption as an effective strategy for preventing these diseases. However, the largely preclinical findings on polyphenols derived from red wine remain of significant interest in this context.

The Research on Influence Factors of Red Wine Quality

Nowadays, product quality certificates are being used by enterprises to market their products. This is an expensive and ineffective process that takes a long time and requires assessments from customers and human experts. Determining the relationship between a red wine's chemical composition and subjective quality is a difficult task. This paper investigates the use of statistical methods, such as linear regression, to predict the values of target variables and ascertain how dependent the target variable is on the independent factors. It is more accurate than previous methods. These results contribute to the understanding of how different red wine consumers perceive quality and can help the red wine industry identify the primary sensory-active ingredients that influence quality in different red wines. The paper uses linear regression to solve the problem. The research examines at those factors' VIF value and significance in order to assess the efficacy of this operation. It turns out that volatile acidity, chlorides, total sulfur dioxide, sulphates and alcohol have a significant linear relationship with red wine quality, while the other factors have less influence on red wine quality. Overall, red wine quality can be evaluated based on how much these variables affect them.

Strategies for achieving the sustainable development goals across the wine chain: a review

In the face of escalating climate change impacts, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set forth by the United Nations present a comprehensive blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all. The wine industry, with its extensive global reach and significant economic impact, holds a unique position to contribute toward these goals. This review examines how the wine industry can, directly and indirectly, support all 17 SDGs through a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating extensive literature analysis. The study explores the alignment of wine industry practices with the SDGs across three key pillars: social, environmental, and governance goals. Social initiatives focus on enhancing livelihoods, food security, fair and safe working conditions, inclusive and ethical development among the workers and communities, education, and economic growth. Environmental efforts emphasize reducing the industry’s carbon footprint, conserving water, improving water and energy use efficiency, improving grapevine resilience against adverse environmental conditions, minimizing pollution, protecting biodiversity, creating more sustainable cities, and promoting moderate wine consumption. Governance goals highlight the importance of regulatory frameworks, wine industry standards, and stakeholder engagement in promoting sustainable, responsible and ethical practices, contributing to effective partnerships and institutional capacity. Conclusions highlight the wine industry’s commitment to sustainability as a catalyst for positive change, demonstrating that profitability and environmental stewardship can coexist. Future perspectives call for enhanced collaboration, research, education, supportive policies, robust monitoring, and equality initiatives. By embracing sustainable practices, the wine industry can play a vital role in advancing the global agenda for a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable future.

The role of alcohol consumption in the lives of older Australian women: qualitative insights and an agenda for further research, policy and practice

BackgroundAlcohol consumption presents a threat to the health and wellbeing of women. The alcohol industry often pushes back at global efforts to prioritise the prevention of alcohol harms to women. Qualitative researchers have investigated how younger and midlife women conceptualise their alcohol consumption, but there is very limited research relating to older women (those 60 years and over).MethodsUsing data collected from an online qualitative survey, this paper explored the factors that influence how older Australian women drinkers (n = 144. 60–88 years) conceptualised the role of alcohol in their lives. The study used a ‘Big Q’ reflexive approach to thematic analysis, drawing upon sociological theories of risk and symbolic interactionism to construct four themes from the data.ResultsFirst, alcohol consumption was viewed by participants as an accepted and normalised social activity, that was part of Australian culture. Second, alcohol played a role for some participants as a way to cope with life changes (such as retirement), as well as managing stressful or challenging life circumstances (such as loneliness). Third, alcohol was part of the routines and rituals of everyday life for some women. For example, women discussed the consumption of wine with their evening meal as an important part of the structure of their day. Fourth, participants had clear personal expectancies about what it meant to be a ‘responsible drinker’. They had clear narratives about personal control and moral obligation, which in some cases created a reduced perception of their own risk of alcohol-caused harm.ConclusionsThis research provides a starting point for future public health research examining the factors that may shape older women’s alcohol consumption beliefs and practices. Public health activities should consider the unique needs and potential vulnerabilities of older women drinkers, and how these may be potentially exploited by the alcohol industry.

Cheers to anxiety: Granger causality insights on alcohol consumption patterns across 13 South American countries.

The relationship between alcohol consumption and mental health is complex; drinking may exacerbate anxiety, and in turn, anxiety can lead to excessive drinking. This study explores the relationship betweenalcoholconsumption patterns including wine, beer, and spirits,and anxiety prevalence in selected 13 South American nations. This study utilises secondary data spanning 29years from 1991 to 2019 obtained from the Our World in Data database. It investigates the causal link between the prevalence of anxiety and alcohol consumption in the selected countries using the Granger causality test. Anxiety was found to have a unidirectional effect on wine and beer consumption in Chile, Suriname, Uruguay, and Trinidad and Tobago. Additionally, drinking alcohol consumption appears to impact anxiety levels in Brazil. Argentina demonstrates a bidirectional relationshipbetween anxiety and all three types of alcohol consumption, with similar patterns observed in Brazil (wine and beer), Chile (spirits), and Paraguay (spirits). No significant causal relationships for alcohol consumption patterns were found in other nations. The identified Granger causal links follow four distinct directions in this study. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, governments, and international investors for informed decision-making regarding regulation and policy tools.

Exploring consumer sentiments and opinions in wine E-commerce: A cross-country comparative study

Wine e-commerce has witnessed a substantial surge in popularity over the past decade, with China, the United Kingdom, and the United States emerging as pivotal players in the global wine market. E-commerce, crucial for the food sector especially post-COVID-19, influences consumer choices through reviews and feedback, significantly affecting consumer engagement, satisfaction, trust, and purchase intentions. Despite extensive research on consumer behavior, there's a gap in understanding post-purchase satisfaction, especially within wine e-commerce. This study aims to address this by examining wine consumer feedback on leading wine e-commerce platforms in three prominent markets: China, the UK, and the US. It aims to help online wine sellers in developing targeted marketing strategies to enhance consumer satisfaction and sales in each unique wine market. Through text mining, the study reveals market-specific differences in consumers' sentiments, preferences, and aversions arising from their online wine shopping experiences, providing a detailed guide for wine producers and e-commerce platforms to optimize their products and online services.

Consuming place: Women, wine and imagination

AbstractThis paper examines wine drinking among English and Australian women to discover and analyse the connection between their consumption of wine and their experiences, thoughts and imaginings. Comparing the experiences of women from the English town of Halifax with women from the southern suburbs of Adelaide and McLaren Vale (South Australia), I show how imbibing wine enables both groups of women to consume place, space and time, thus extending a liminal experience. Importantly, both groups of women engage with notions of national or regional identity. However, whereas English women typically experience wine drinking as a temporal engagement of social imagination involving a form of armchair alco‐tourism, Australian women mostly engage their social memory, and experience wine drinking as embedded within imagined communities of belonging. As such, this study demonstrates that wine drinking is not just gendered, but a complex, culturally situated practice and experience.

Overcoming the reproduction of the value(s) system in wine: insights from Southern Arizona

ABSTRACT The underrepresentation of the diversity of wine production around the globe, the standardization of varieties, wine styles, and taste, as well as the imbalance between grapes and place specificity, are global effects of the reproduction of the wine value(s) system. From the context of emerging winegrowing places and through a qualitative analysis of diverse experiences among the first generation of Sonoita-Elgin (Arizona, USA) wine producers, this paper explores the influence of wine value(s) system hierarchy on their practice, knowledge, and development. Despite its low representation and visibility globally, emerging wine places like Arizona are introducing new actors to the global wine scene, questioning the homogenization of varieties and styles, the efficiency of evaluation and classification programs based on geographical indication models, and the challenges of achieving collective representations and global recognition of quality. The particularities of Sonoita-Elgin wine producers facing these challenges reveal alternative perspectives and attributes of the relationship between place of origin, value, and quality. In that regard, this work illustrates how these new interpretations represent the current transformation of the practices, ideas, and meanings in the production and consumption of wine, contributing to critical debates on change.

The regulatory mechanism of mannan from millet Huangjiu on flavor release

Huangjiu, the national wine of China, has the characteristics of low grain consumption, low alcohol content and high nutrition, which aligns with the world's beverage wine consumption trend. The research on glutinous rice huangjiu from southern China is more extensive, while millet huangjiu from northern China has received less attention, hindering the diversified development of huangjiu. Polysaccharides play an important role in huangjiu's health activity and flavor characteristics. In this study, the polysaccharide components in millet huangjiu were separated and identified for the first time, and the influence of polysaccharides on the flavor release was explored through sensory evaluation, SPME-GC–MS, threshold determination and isothermal titration calorimetry. The millet huangjiu polysaccharide HJ-1 was composed of →3)-α-Manp(1→, α-Manp-(1→, →2,6)-α-Manp-(1→, →3)-α-Xylp-(1→ and →3)-β-Arap-(1→. HJ-1 (0.1–1 mg/mL) could regulate the release performance of key flavor compounds in millet huangjiu, inhibit the herbal, fruity and alcoholic aromas, and promote the sweet and rice aromas. Further studies showed that HJ-1 formed complexes with ethyl acetate, acetic acid, 2,3-butanediol and γ-butyrolactone through van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds, and the process was a spontaneous exothermic entropy reduction reaction. This study provides a new idea for optimizing the overall aroma of huangjiu and improving its sensory quality.

The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Small Wineries in Cyprus and Reflections on Wine Tourism: Entrepreneurs’ Perspectives

Tourism-dependent countries like Cyprus, have been seriously affected by the shockwave that COVID-19 pandemic has generated to their sociocultural/economic fabric. One of the industries of Cyprus impacted is the wine industry. Indeed, the consequences of the pandemic have been reflected on various angles of the island’s wineries; from the day-to-day operations to their overall strategy. Moreover, they influenced their relationship to tourism and the provision of wine tourist experiences. This is even more apparent in the case of small wineries. In this respect, the paper examines how tourism related wine enterprises, and more specifically, small wineries in Cyprus, handled the crisis and its impacts, through the analysis of the wine entrepreneurs’ views. This study explores the dimensions of the pandemic imprinted on wineries’ business and highlights the pertinent measures taken to deal with them. Additionally, it illustrates how wine tourist activities have been affected, enhanced, and reformed for the smooth wine tourist experience to be provided. To do so, exploratory research was utilized to collect data through secondary sources and face-to-face in-depth interviews with winemakers/managers/owners of small wineries in Cyprus. Findings reveal that the greatest challenge that small wineries faced, was the high degree of uncertainty, as Hotels, Restaurants, and Catering companies (HO.RE.CA.) were temporarily closed and consequently, the wine consumption related to tourist flows was reduced. Small wineries took a series of measures to handle the crisis, such as emphasizing communications through online media, improving the provided -tourist- experience in the wineries, or enhancement of direct marketing and distribution strategies. The paper concludes with recommendations for small winemakers to deal with the shocks of crises and for their sustainable competitive advantage.

The eyes have it: How do gender cues in wine labels influence U.S. women wine consumers?

Little is known about women wine consumers’ reactions to gender cues in marketing communication despite their increasing purchasing power. This research examines the effects of gender cues (feminine vs. masculine) in wine labels on women wine consumers' attitudes, sensory expectations, sensory evaluations, and purchase intentions. Two online experiments and one field test involving 462 valid responses from U.S. women consumers reveal that they hold more favorable attitudes and intentions towards feminine (vs. masculine) wine labels. The moderating effects of in-group gender identification and wine knowledge were discussed. This study responds to calls for more research about women consumers in the hospitality field and extends the application of gender schema theory to hospitality literature. The findings offer updated knowledge on how to approach gender in hospitality marketing, particularly wine marketing. This research enriches hospitality literature in terms of gender marketing and provides substantial practical implications for the wine industry.