The role of taste perception for the success of country of origin labeling in the case of organic pepper

Consumers associate with the quality of food its freshness (97%) and taste (93%) (e.g. GFK 2000). As the extrinsic cue country of origin serves as an indicator for the intrinsic cue taste it works as quality indicator (PETZOLDT ET AL. 2007; KROEBER-RIEL 2003). Indeed several studies reveal that country of origin labeling (COOL) plays an important role in consumers’ quality evaluation of food products (e.g. VAN ITTERSUM ET AL. 2001; HONG AND WYER 1989; ELLIOTT AND CAMERON 1994). Most studies investigating consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay for COOL focus on meat (e.g. VERBEKE AND WARD 2006; LOUREIRO AND MCCLUSKY 2000), olive oil (e.g. SANDALIDOU ET AL. 2002) or wine (e.g. SKURAS AND VAKROU 2002). Spices such as pepper have not been researched yet. Nevertheless, pepper for instance seems very interesting to analyze as we can note a shift from pepper being a low-involvement commodity to becoming a lifestyle product. This holds especially for consumers of organic products and for gourmets (KAUSCH 2008; NATUR AND KOSMOS 2007). For example freshly grounded pepper experiences an increasing culinary demand (DEAK 2004). Pepper experts state that pepper should be differentiated with respect to country and region of origin, as it is already common for wine, tea and coffee, because origin has a strong effect on peppers aroma (NATUR AND KOSMOS 2007; MCFADDEN 2008). Research reveals knowledge is a crucial factor for the use of country of origin labels as purchase criterion (e.g. SCHÄFER 1997; VAN ITTERSUM ET AL. 2001). We can suspect that conscious consumers know about a products’ diversity, e.g. taste variety as a result of its country of origin. Therefore it can be assumed that consumers’ knowledge and taste perception is of relevance for the success of country of origin labeling. Against this background, we carried out a standardized survey (n=100) in a organic grocery store in Bonn, Germany in August 2009 to investigate whether consumers expect taste differences with respect to pepper, olive oil, wine, rice and tea and if so, whether they assume these differences to be a result of country of origin. The word association test is used to gain insights into what comes to consumers mind when being asked about pepper. Based on these results we assess the relevance of country of origin (COO) in the case of pepper. In addition, we analyze consumers’ awareness and expertise with respect to the diversity of pepper as a result of country of origin and region. Finally, a blind tasting of black pepper of different origins and production methods (organic versus conventional) is conducted to assess whether consumers are able to identify aroma differences between the different varieties. The results show that consumers’ awareness of taste differences regarding product varieties differentiated by countries/locations depends on the familiarity with the considered product. For all products analysed, the correlation between COO and taste is positive (above 0.5) and highly significant at the 0.01 level. In the case of wine 82 % of the respondents expect taste differences due to the COO with 61 % indicating a preference for a specific country in their purchase decision. The preferred wine countries are Germany (34 %) and France (18 %). Also with respect to olive oil the majority of respondents (79 %) assume taste differences due to the COO and 66 % reveal a preference for a specific country (e.g. 52 % for Italy; 33 % for Greek). In the case of pepper only 44 % of the survey participants expect taste differences in view of country of origin. 16 % indicate a preference for a specific origin of which India is most often mentioned (56 %), followed by China, however with a considerable smaller relevance (13 %). The low relevance of the COO in the case of pepper might be a result of the fact that only organic brands label the producing country. Additionally advertisement for spices focusing on country of origin is in general rare. Therefore it is not surprising that the connection between COO and taste is less made for pepper compared to wine and olive oil which are, in contrast to pepper, considered as high involvement products and are often discussed in the context of country of origin. For these products advertisement focuses on and highlights this attribute (Becker 2000). Therefore we can assume that consumers’ knowledge and awareness of the producing country is more skilled and present for wine and olive oil. Based on these results, we conclude that COO serves as an indicator for taste for the products under investigation. On the basis of a word association test, the relevance of the attribute ‘country of origin’ is analysed in comparison to other product characteristics for pepper. The test reveals that country of origin (17 times mentioned) is only one of many relevant product attributes consumers associate with pepper. Most frequently mentioned are varietal diversity (64 times) and spiciness (54 times). Thus, the results of the word association test indicate that differences the majority of the respondents make between pepper varieties are rather based on the degree of maturity (e.g. black pepper versus green pepper) than on country of origin. The blind tasting test aims to analyse whether consumers are indeed able to perceive taste differences between pepper of different origins and production methods. Therefore in the blind testing pepper of two different regions (India versus Sri Lanka) and two different production methods (organically versus conventionally produced) was considered. Three of the four organic peppers were exclusively distributed in organic stores. One organic and one conventional pepper are distributed in the conventional retail sector. All peppers distributed in the organic stores are COO labelled, the ones in the conventional retail stores are not. The results reveal that consumers are able to identify taste differences - pungency, finish and aroma are the aspect respondents were asked to evaluate - between peppers of different countries of origin and production methods. We found out that aroma was the most important attribute for the appraisal of a pepper and consumers’ willingness to buy one. On a scale from 1(hardly any aroma) to 4 (very aromatic) the two organic peppers exclusively listed in organic stores were from India and were ranked first and third by consumers. The organic pepper without COOL distributed in the conventional retail sector was placed second with regard to aroma. The organic pepper brand from Sri Lanka (also exclusively listed in organic stores) ranked fourth and the conventional one last. Overall our results indicate that German consumers prefer a specific country of origin only if they assume that this is linked to differences in taste. Lacking awareness and knowledge hinders most of the participants of our survey to combine taste and country of origin in the case of pepper. This holds despite the fact that the survey was conducted in an organic grocery store and thus was directed at consumers of organic food who are in general considered to be more involved in purchase decision and are more knowledgeable with respect to production issues (see e.g. OLTERSDORF 1996; SENAUER 2001). In times of increasingly importance and renaissance of food culture, product differentiation by means of COOL can be appropriate to meet consumers’ preferences for geographical indication. With respect to pepper our study indicates that this is still a low involvement product even for consumers in organic grocery stores. A precondition for the success of COOL in the case of pepper would be to increase consumers’ knowledge of the relevance of country of origin for peppers taste.Crop Production/Industries, Marketing,

The Role of Trust in Explaining Food Choice: Combining Choice Experiment and Attribute Best−Worst Scaling

This paper presents empirical findings from a combination of two elicitation techniques—discrete choice experiment (DCE) and best–worst scaling (BWS)—to provide information about the role of consumers’ trust in food choice decisions in the case of credence attributes. The analysis was based on a sample of 459 Taiwanese consumers and focuses on red sweet peppers. DCE data were examined using latent class analysis to investigate the importance and the utility different consumer segments attach to the production method, country of origin, and chemical residue testing. The relevance of attitudinal and trust-based items was identified by BWS using a hierarchical Bayesian mixed logit model and was aggregated to five latent components by means of principal component analysis. Applying a multinomial logit model, participants’ latent class membership (obtained from DCE data) was regressed on the identified attitudinal and trust components, as well as demographic information. Results of the DCE latent class analysis for the product attributes show that four segments may be distinguished. Linking the DCE with the attitudinal dimensions reveals that consumers’ attitude and trust significantly explain class membership and therefore, consumers’ preferences for different credence attributes. Based on our results, we derive recommendations for industry and policy

Can COO Labeling be a Means of Pepper Differentiation: Quality Expectation and Taste Experience

Country of Origin (COO) labeling has been shown in several studies to be an important extrinsic cue for consumers in their quality evaluation of food products such as olive oil. COO has not been discussed in the context of pepper; a spice which’s quality is highly dependant on its heritage. This is the first study that combines face-to-face interviews regarding attitudes, image and knowledge with a bind tasting of pepper and an investigation of consumer's WTP for pepper from different origins and processing characteristics. The study reveals that organic consumes are able to experience taste differences to due COO. They expect taste differences. But also concerned and involved consumers are not to that extent informed about COO that they rely in their purchase decision on COO information. As a result consumers are not willing to pay a significant higher price for COO labeled pepper.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Measuring consumers’ willingness to pay for coffee differentiation using auctions: A comparison of Fair Trade, organic, and cause-related marketing coffees – and a mix thereof

auctions, coffee, Fair Trade, organic, cause-related marketing, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Marketing,

Are animal welfare aspects of relevance in consumers’ purchase decision?

Recurring reports on animal husbandry conditions as well as the maltreatment of animals during transport to slaughterhouses in the last years increased public concerns about animal welfare conditions showing the need to act for all stakeholders throughout the meat supply chain (e.g. Bánáti, 2011). As a consequence animal wel-fare has become one of the priorities on the agenda of politicians (see the coalition agreement in 2013; CDU et al., 2013), consumer policy and protection agencies and is intensively discussed in the private sector as well as in academia. In Germany, in particular the ‘Initiative Tierwohl’ continuously gains in importance and in 2013 for the first time an EU animal welfare label was established.However, the increasing stated interest in animal welfare is not yet reflected by sales figures in the meat mar-ket. In literature different reasons addressing multiple levels of the topic are discussed for this discrepancy (e.g. Hartmann et al., 2014). One factor is the lack of a universally accepted definition and understanding of animal welfare due to its multidimensional character (Lagerkvist and Hess, 2014). Another reason is the potential so-cial desirability bias which occurs to different extent depending on the survey method used to elicit the prefer-ences of the actors.Therefore, the aim of the present study is to get deeper insights into first, consumers’ understanding of animal welfare by identifying the relevant aspects of animal welfare in consumers’ decision making process while pur-chasing meat. Second, we use two methods to assess the relevance of animal welfare issues for consumers when thinking about the purchase of meat to quantify the extent the different survey methods construct sur-vey results rather than elicit consumer preferences.For this purpose an online survey with N = 926 participants was conducted in July 2012. The investigated meat products were chicken and pork cutlet. Consumers’ preferences for different product attributes were meas-ured via a questionnaire as well as by an individualized Information Display Matrix (IDM). As to the first research question, the results indicate that with respect to animal welfare aspects the one of especially high relevance to consumers is animal husbandry conditions while e.g. slaughtering or feeding is of lower importance. The results also indicate that animal husbandry conditions are much more relevant for consumers when thinking about the purchase of chicken cutlet compared to pork cutlet. With regard to the second question survey results show that respondents’ preferences obtained via questionnaire and IDM deviate to a considerable extent regarding the attribute price. While participants stated in the questionnaire that price is of minor importance, the analysis based on the IDM displays clearly that price plays a paramount role in consum-ers’ meat information search process. Thus, we see evidence that the two survey methods are prone to suffer to a different degree from the social desirability bias.The results can help policy makers, manufacturers and retailers as well as NGOs in promoting and selling meat produced according to higher animal welfare standards. Successful promotion of such products is only possible if there is a good understanding of the animal welfare characteristics important to consumers

When A Combination of Nudges Decreases Sustainable Food Choices Out-of-Home—The Example of Food Decoys and Descriptive Name Labels

This paper reports results from three consecutive studies focusing on the comparison of the effectiveness of different nudges and their combinations to increase sustainable food choices out of the home. The nudges compared are the use of descriptive name labels (DNLs) for the most sustainable dish of a choice set (menu) and the decoy effect (DE), created by adding a less attractive decoy dish to a more attractive target dish with the goal of increasing the choice frequency of the target dish. In the literature, both nudges have been found to influence consumers’ choices. In the first study, six category names of sustainability indicators were deduced from a focus group. These were tested with 100 students to identify the most attractive DNLs. Study II, a randomized choice study (n = 420), tested the DE, the DNLs and a combination of the DNLs and the DE used on four different dishes in a university canteen. In study III, 820 guests of a business canteen voted during four weeks for the special meals of the following week (identical to the four choice sets displayed in study II). Results indicate that the combination of DNLs and the DE is not recommended for fostering sustainable food choices. Pure DNLs were more efficient in increasing the choice frequency of the more sustainable meal, whereas the decoy effect resulted in decreased choice frequencies. Regional and sustainable DNLs were favoured by consumers.BMBF, 01UT1409, Entwicklung, Erprobung und Verbreitung von Konzepten zum nachhaltigen Produzieren und Konsumieren in der Außer-Haus-Gastronomie (NAHGAST)DFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2019 - 2020 / Technische Universität Berli

Chocolate Brands’ Communication of Corporate Social Responsibility in Germany

Signalling CSR activities by firms have gained considerable relevance over the last decade with enterprises having a large variety of instruments to design their CSR communication. Different communication means can complement one another as the information distributed refers to different elements of the overall CSR concept. Some information provided by firms relates more to a single (selected) product(s) of the firm (e.g. product labels) while other presents the firm’s overall involvement regarding CSR (e.g. websites, CSR reports). Among the many potential communication channels that allow disseminating information about a (food) company’s CSR involvement to consumers (certified) labels on product packages are the ones most easily visible and accessible for consumers while information on websites addresses, in addition, and in many cases primarily, other key stakeholders such as employees and NGOs. Chocolate is one of the most favoured luxury foods in Germany. Cacao, the main ingredient of chocolate is largely produced in the Ivory Coast. There, child labour, non-sustainable producer wages etc. are serious deficits in the field of cacao production. Chocolate manufacturers are seen to have responsibility for these issues as their business practices influence producers’ livelihood. Given this background, the form and extent of CSR communication of chocolate brands is addressed in this paper.CSR related communication was investigated by two means. In December 2011 a market study was conducted regarding CSR related information on chocolate products in several food stores and content analyses of the websites of chocolate manufacturers were carried out. Results indicate that all retail stores but Aldi offer some chocolate bars with CSR related information. The relevance of chocolate bars with CSR labels in the overall chocolate assortment, however, considerably differs between the stores under investigation. The findings also reveal that most companies in the chocolate sector do communicate their CSR involvement in the internet, often to a considerable extent, though in many cases only in foreign languages such as English

Is there Need for more Transparency and Efficiency in Cause‐related Marketing

“Growing awareness among consumers about sustainability issues ( ranging from recycling to fair wages for workers) are starting to shape consumer buying patterns” (Partos 2009). Especially for conscious consumers ethical and sustainable consumption are becoming mainstream.With regard to ethical consumption the popularity is shown for instance by a growing relevance of Causerelated Marketing (CrM) campaigns in Germany. CrM is an increasingly applied marketing tool, where product purchase leads to target oriented donations regarding a designated cause, promoted on the product by label. However, research reveals that German consumers are sceptic with regard to the amount of money spent and have doubts towards unselfish motives of firms. At present little information is provided in CrM campaigns on how much of the sales price is spent on the ‘cause’ by the respective organization. If the gap between the sum consumers assume to be contributed and the amount really spent by the companies is too large this could lead to mistrust among consumers once they become aware of this. In the long run, this might decrease willingness to pay for those products in general. Also, firms’ reputation could be harmed (see e.g. Webb and Mohr 1998). Against this background, we aim to answer the question of (1) how much consumers assume to be contributing to the ‘cause’ by purchasing the respective product and (2) whether this information is of relevance for the consumer. We investigate (i) whether consumers want products to carry a label indicating the percentage or absolute amount of money being spent on the ‘cause’, (ii) how much money should be contributed to the ‘cause’ in the case of CrM, and (iii) how much consumers think companies do actually spend on the ‘cause’.In this regard, we conducted a consumer survey (n=217) in Germany in 2009. Results show that (i) consumers want to be able to evaluate the efficiency of the CrM donation. 71% want this information given in percent and 63% would like to know the exact amount of money reaching the addressee. (ii) Regarding CrM results show that 46% of respondents would pay 5.00€ for a pound of CrM coffee if they can be sure that 20% reaches the ‘cause’. At the same time (iii) 54% of respondents believe that a  maximum of 6% of the CrM price premium reaches the ‘cause’. Overall, consumers desire transparency with regard to CrM. Hence, our study enables marketers to develop efficient and effective consumer oriented communication strategies

Sustainability as Sales Argument in the Fruit Juice Industry? An Analysis of On-Product Communication

Purpose/Value – The objective of this paper is to determine (1) the extent to which sustainability serves as a sales argument and (2) which areas of sustainability are communicated in the fruit juice industry. This seems promising against the background that there are several ethical challenges the fruit juice chain is increasingly confronted with and consumers demand for sustainable products is also rising.Design/Methodology – A market investigation at the Point-of Sale (POS) was conducted in July 2013. On-product communication of all fruit juice products (direct fruit juices, fruit juices from concentrate, fruit nectars and smoothies) from five retailers (two full-range retailers, two discounters, one organic store) was analyzed. The data was evaluated using content analysis.Results/Findings – Overall, 562 fruit juices were examined. Results reveal that nearly one quarter of the prod-ucts has labels signaling sustainable aspects. However, most of those products were found in the organic food retailer and are organic juices. Only a small number of products consider other areas of sustainability, such as social concerns or regional production.Discussion/Conclusion – Communicating sustainability aspects of fruit juice production via on-package labels is scarce in conventional retail stores. In view of the ethical challenges present in the fruit juice chain and dis-cussed in the paper, the increasing demand of consumers for sustainable products and the high competition in the sector, communicating different sustainability aspects can be an opportunity for fruit juice producers and retailers to differentiate their products on the highly saturated fruit juice market

GO-Sustainable. Mobile raised beds with integrated worm box: A multidisciplinary project on sustainable nutrition

Die Umsetzung der Vorschläge der EAT-Lancet Commission für die globale nachhaltige (Welt-)Ernährung kann nur Erfolg haben, wenn eine Veränderung im Essalltag aller Menschen sowie eine Steigerung der Wertschätzung von Lebensmitteln gelingt. Der Beitrag diskutiert am Beispiel des Projektes "GO-Sustainable Berlin" die Chancen für Ganztagsschulen als Lern- und Lebensort durch fächerübergreifende Projekte. (DIPF/Orig.)The implementation of the proposals of the EAT-Lancet Commission for global sustainable (world) nutrition can only be successful if a change in the everyday eating habits of all people and an increase in the appreciation of food is achieved. Using the project "GO-Sustainable Berlin" as an example, the article discusses the opportunities for all-day schools as a place of learning and living through interdisciplinary projects. (DIPF/Orig.