EU Consumers’ Perceptions of Fresh-cut Fruit and Vegetables Attributes: a Choice Experiment Model

The fresh-cut sector is constantly evolving and innovating in order to enhance quality and safety of products, which attributes are generally valued by consumers. Quality and safety are multifaceted attributes because they arise from a wide set of methods/technologies, therefore the knowledge about consumers’ preferences for food technologies is still matter of debate. The present paper tests whether new fresh-cut fruit and vegetables (F&V) attributes influence consumers’ choices and preferences. At the same time, we are able to verify the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on consumers’ preferences. A Latent Class Multinomial Logit Model has been fitted for four different European countries: Greece, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom, in order to divide the consumers in different latent classes based on their choice and their characteristics. Fresh-cut F&V consumers for the four European countries, have a similar behavior in terms of preferences. We can divide the consumers in two different latent classes: the first made by consumers that do not appreciate any fresh-cut F&V attributes, and the second that include consumers that appreciate the several fresh-cut F&V attributes

Trends in EU Consumers’ Attitude Towards Fresh-cut Fruit and Vegetables

Although there is a long-term decrease in the consumption of fruits and vegetables (hereafter F&V), fresh-cut products, because of their convenience, represent a valid alternative to counteract this negative trend. In fact, the fresh-cut sector is showing positive figures, and innovation in product quality and safety attributes, which are generally valued by consumers. Nonetheless, which product innovations will effectively take place in the coming years? Will they be accepted by consumers? Will they increase the probability of switching from fresh to fresh-cut F&V? Our study, with the help of on-field research, aims at analysing the trending attributes in the fresh-cut F&V industry, and evaluating their impact on segments of F&V consumers’ preferences in terms of attitude and willingness to pay. Therefore, we applied a latent class discrete choice model with an original dataset consisting of face-to-face interviews conducted across EU. Results of the study highlight the similarities in preferences of consumers across the EU countries and the relevance of shelf-life and food safety attributes in orienting choices

Can social innovation make a change in European and Mediterranean marginalized areas?:social innovation impact assessment in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and rural development

Abstract Social innovation (SI) impacts are long-term changes that affect different dimensions of territorial capital (i.e., economy, society, environment, governance) for the territory in which SI occurs. Yet, systematic empirical evidence and theoretically sound assessments of the impacts of SI are scarce. This paper aims to fill the gap and assess the different aspects of SI’s impacts in European and Mediterranean areas that are characterized by marginalization processes. To assess the impacts of SI in marginalized areas, we use the evaluation framework developed within the Social Innovation in Marginalized Rural Areas (SIMRA) Horizon 2020 project and apply it to nine SI initiatives related to the fields of agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and rural development. Our findings show that SI produces cross-sectoral (societal, economic, environmental, and governmental) and multi-level impacts (on individuals, community, and society), which have improved the societal well-being, and contributed to the reduction of certain forms of marginality, mainly inside the territory in which SI occurred