CONSUMERS’ AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION OF TOMATO WINE IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Tomato is a very important fruit vegetable in Nigeria, and value-added products such as paste, puree, and dried tomato have been developed from it to minimize post-harvest losses during the peak season of production. However, tomato wine, which is another innovative product from tomatoes, is not common in Nigeria; thus, the study investigates consumer knowledge and opinions of tomato wine in southern Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select five hundred and fourteen respondents. A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect data, which was analyzed using descriptive statistics and probit regression. The findings revealed that 51.6% of consumers were female and between the ages of 21 and 30 (48.4%). The majority of consumers (77.4%) had a tertiary level of education. Most consumers were aware (64.8%) and drank conventional wine (79.4%). About thirty three percent (32.9%) of consumers were aware of tomato wine, and 64.2% would be willing to consume the product. The chosen colour for the wine was red (77.6%), followed by a fruity taste (55.5%), and the preferred mode of package was a glass bottle (45.8%). The most significant quality indicators for wine consumption were taste, nutrition and health benefits, freshness, flavour, and colour. The factors influencing wine consumption in the study area were consumers' education, employment status and awareness of conventional wine. The study proposes incorporating the desired attributes to increase the acceptance and sustainability of the developed product.