By Scott Lyon, Wisconsin DNR Forest Products Team Leader
A new study published in the Forest Products Journal examines how Wisconsin consumers perceive established and underutilized wood species and identifies opportunities to expand markets for Wisconsin-grown wood products.
“How Established and Underutilized Wood Species Are Perceived: Perspectives from Wisconsin Consumers” evaluated consumer perceptions of 10 Wisconsin-native wood species, including walnut, cherry, oak, maple, ash, white pine, tamarack, honey locust, and ambrosia maple. The study collected 326 responses from consumers attending home shows in Madison and Appleton in 2023.
The results demonstrate that several underutilized species compare favorably with more established species. Honey locust and ambrosia maple, for example, were selected among consumers’ top three preferred species by 33.2% and 30.2% of respondents, respectively. Tamarack was selected by 17.5%, while ash was selected by 18.3%. Overall, the findings indicate that consumers have diverse preferences and that underutilized species have potential for greater use in value-added products.
The Wisconsin DNR Forest Products Services team played an important role in the research. DNR Forest Products Team Leader Scott Lyon and Forest Products Specialist Alex Anderson are co-authors of the publication. The study also incorporated a rustic-to-clean perception scale at the request of the Wisconsin DNR to better understand opportunities for utilizing low-quality fiber.
The research provides useful information for Wisconsin forest products manufacturers, designers, marketers, and others working to develop markets for underutilized wood resources. Understanding how consumers perceive characteristics such as warmth, durability, sustainability, formality, and rustic appearance can help businesses select species and develop products and marketing strategies that better align with consumer preferences.
The study highlights the potential to expand the use of Wisconsin’s diverse wood resources by matching species characteristics with consumer preferences and product design objectives. This type of market research supports the DNR Forest Products Services team’s efforts to promote value-added utilization and develop new markets for Wisconsin forest resources.
The entire publication is available online.