3 Reasons Why Natural Cork Stoppers Are Worth the Investment
Natural cork stoppers are often seen as a more expensive alternative to other closures—such as aluminum or plastic stoppers—and even to other types of cork closures, like microagglomerate and colmated cork stoppers.
However, just because natural cork stoppers represent a larger investment doesn’t mean choosing them isn’t worth it. There are plenty of reasons to choose natural cork stoppers over synthetic alternatives. Let’s look at some of them.
Natural cork is associated with high-quality wine
A study conducted in Italy confirmed that wine drinkers have a stronger cognitive and emotional response to smelling, tasting, and even listening to a wine sealed with a cork stopper than they do to a wine sealed with a screw cap.
In fact, on a global scale, cork is associated with high-quality wine, which makes it the preferred sealant for many consumers around the world. This becomes particularly interesting when you consider that consumers in high-income countries increasingly prefer higher-quality wines.
The data speaks for itself:
85% of Italian wine enthusiasts consider natural cork to be the best closure for preserving the wine's qualities.
93% of U.S. consumers associate natural cork closures with high-quality wine.
84% of Chinese consumers prefer to buy wines sealed with a natural cork closure
84% of French consumers agree that natural cork is synonymous with quality
80% of Brazilian consumers believe that fine wines should be sealed with cork stoppers and are willing to pay more for a bottle of wine sealed with a natural cork closure
86% of Spanish consumers agree that natural cork stoppers preserve the quality of wine more effectively than alternative closures
Consumers are willing to pay more for wines sealed with cork
According to the same Italian study mentioned earlier, sealing a bottle of wine with a natural cork stopper also increases the perceived value of the wine.
Participants in the survey estimated that the cost of wine sealed with a natural cork was €7.69—a 16% increase over the cost of wine sealed with a screw cap. They were also willing to pay €7.78 per bottle, €1.21 more than for wine with a screw cap.
A study conducted in Brazil revealed that consumers are willing to pay up to 5 euros more for a bottle of wine sealed with a natural cork stopper.
Natural cork is the most sustainable packaging option
Finally, consumer demand for sustainable packaging has been on the rise. Consumers are 57% less likely to buy a product if they consider the packaging harmful to the environment, with 44% of consumers stating that they “won’t buy” products in packaging that is harmful to the environment.
In fact, the value placed on environmentally friendly production is increasing across all business segments, especially among new consumers —and natural cork outperforms the competition in that regard as well.
Cork oak trees naturally sequester CO2, and harvesting cork actually contributes to this process: a stripped cork oak absorbs, on average, five times more CO2 during its regeneration than a regular cork oak. Furthermore, these trees prevent soil degradation, regulate the hydrological cycle, combat desertification, and contribute to biodiversity. Cork is a natural material that is renewable, recyclable, and biodegradable.
Compared to aluminum and plastic stoppers, the production of cork stoppers uses 75% less non-renewable energy, produces 25 times fewer greenhouse gases, and generates half as much solid waste.
In conclusion
While natural cork stoppers—especially those of a higher cosmetic grade—represent a more significant investment than their more processed counterparts, the ROI (return on investment) makes it worth the investment. This is true not only because of the price consumers are willing to pay, but also because of the effect it has on the product’s perceived quality.