Direct selling in the wine sector: lessons from cellars in Italy’s Apulia region

Purpose – Buying process directly from producers is an expanding trend in advanced economies; then direct sales can be considered a crucial driver in wine sector in order to cope with global challenges and achieve a competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to investigate if management aspects and marketing innovation propensity could have an important role in choosing direct sale tool. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative analysis in Apulia region (Italy) was carried out. Data have been collected through a face to face and web-based exploratory survey submitted to a sample of 280 cellars participating in an Integrated Projects of Food Chains. A logit regression model was run in the research design. Findings – Findings showed that most of interviewed wineries, mainly characterized by agricultural production and direct approach to customers, are more likely inclined to direct sales choice. Research limitations/implications – The sample size could be expanded (e.g. to include farms from other regions or not belonging to an integrated projects). Practical implications – Managerial implications give insight on the role of direct sales as an opportunity to obtain aggregated value for agri-products and to increase bargaining power of farmers. Social implications – Food direct sales could have the important task of straightening the social proximity between rural and urban stakeholders, increasing trust and connection between producers and consumers. Originality/value – This paper can shed some light on this topic, since direct food sales across regions is less investigated than direct marketing.