Millennial consumers\u2019 wine consumption and purchasing habits and attitude towards wine innovation

The work is focused on Italian Millennials, currently representing one of the most interesting target for wine producers. In the US, Millennials\u2019 wine consumption behaviour is already well surveyed; however, in the Old World, this phenomenon is an unexplored area. The aim of this study is to identify wine consumption and purchasing behaviour of Italian Millennials and to explore their reluctance or readiness to purchase and try unfamiliar or new wines or wine styles. The methodology includes two steps: (1) an explorative analysis, carried out through focus groups; and (2) a quantitative survey based on a specific questionnaire submitted vis a vis to consumers in 2017. Wine Neophobia Scale studied by Ristic et al., 2016, has been applied to assess whether Italian Millennials are neophobic or neophilic. Data elaboration includes an Exploratory Factor Analysis to identify latent factors on wine consumption and purchasing habits and a multivariate linear regression to explore the level of Neophilia and wine consumption and purchasing habits. Results show that Italian Millennials are rather neophilic, that is have a positive approach to unfamiliar or new wines. The wine purchasing and consumption habits show an uncertain Millennial consumers\u2019 approach to wine novelties

Consumers\u2019 perceptions of coffee health benefits and motives for coffee consumption and purchasing

Coffee is popular worldwide and consumption is increasing, particularly in non-traditional markets. There is evidence that coffee consumption may have beneficial health effects. Consumers' beliefs in the health benefits of coffee are unclear. The study aimed at analyzing consumers' perceptions of coffee health benefits, consumption and purchasing motives of coffee consumers with positive perceptions of coffee health benefits, and willingness to pay for coffee with associated health claims. Data were collected through a face-to-face survey with consumers, resulting in a convenience sample of 250 questionnaires valid for data elaboration. Results were elaborated with factor analysis and logistic regression analysis. Findings revealed that a relevant minority of consumers believed that coffee could have positive health effects. The consumer with a positive perception of coffee health benefits is mostly male, young, works, is familiar with non-espresso-based coffee, consumes a limited amount of coffee (generally not for breakfast and often in social settings), and buys coffee at retail outlets. Consumers drink coffee for its energetic and therapeutic effects. Coffee consumption is still price-driven, but consumers are interested in purchasing coffee with associated health claims. There is the opportunity to improve the perception of coffee health benefits in consumers' minds

Fairness-Enabling Practices in Agro-Food Chain

Fairness in the agro-food system is an increasingly important issue. Ensuring fair and ethical practices in the agro-food chain is essential for sustainable, effective, and resilient agro-food systems. Identifying and understanding fairness-enabling practices and existing business applications in the agro-food chain is crucial to create a sustainable system. This research study is an extensive literature review analyzing academic and grey literature. Thus, this study aims: (i) to conceptualize fairness in the agro-food system; (ii) to identify the fairness-enabling practices contributing to a fair agro-food system; and (iii) to explore existing agro-food chain business applications relevant to achieving a sustainable and fair agro-food chain. Fairness-enabling practices have a vital role in achieving fairness in the upstream and downstream operational stages of the agro-food chain. On the one hand, the upstream cycle includes many elements, from a ban on unfair trading practices to ethical treatment to farmers, from transparency through technology and innovation to ensuring fair remuneration. The key goal is to improve the position of farmers in the chain. The study considers the following five upstream focused business applications to enable fairness practices: blockchain, cooperatives, interbranch organizations, business applications for small-scale farmers, and Fairtrade. On the other hand, achieving success in the downstream operational stage of the chain depends on fairness-oriented consumer food choice, consumer intention to buy fair food, consumer perceived value of fair food, and increased information and transparency on agro-food costs and price. This paper takes into account two consumer-focused business applications which provide downstream fairness practices: dual entitlement and dynamic pricing. To conclude, agro-food chain actors should learn how to find profit in fairness, and turn fairness-related costs into profitable business models

European rural development policy approaching health issues: An exploration of programming schemes

Malnutrition, obesity, type 2 diabetes, micronutrient deficiencies, and the increase in non-communicable diseases are among the future European key challenges in health and welfare. Agriculture and rural development policies can positively contribute to a healthier and nutritious supply of food. The objective of the research is to analyze to what extent European 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 rural development programmes address the nexus between agriculture, food, health, and nutrition to respond to the evolving dietary needs. The research carries out a quali-quantitative content analysis on all 210 European rural development programmes. Results show that the interconnection between agriculture, food, health, and nutrition is present, with differences in the European agricultural and rural policy programming periods. The main interlinking issues of the nexus are food safety, food quality, diseases, nutritional aspect, animal health and welfare, plant health, and environmental health. Healthier and nutritious food-related issues are emerging, addressing dietary needs, and sustaining consumer food trends. Healthy and nutritious food is pursued by combating foodborne communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases. The future Common Agricultural Policy, including its rural dimensions, should support the consumption of healthy foods produced in ways that are environmentally and economically sustainable

Innovative digital technologies for purchasing and consumption in urban and regional agro-food systems: A systematic review

The use of digital technologies in the agro-food sector is growing worldwide, and applications in the urban and regional food systems represent a relevant segment of such growth. The present paper aims at reviewing the literature on which and how digital technologies support urban and regional agro-food purchasing and consumption, as well as their characteristics. Data collection was performed on Scopus and Web of Science. Articles were selected using a research string and according to specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow approach was adopted to explain data screening and selection. The 57 resulting studies were included in the final qualitative analysis, which explored the characteristics of the research studies and of the digital technologies analysed. Most of the studies analysed concerned the implications of digital technologies on local food consumption, especially focusing on consumption, primary production and hotel-restaurant-caf\ue9-catering sector (HORECA), and to a limited extent on the retail sector. Consumers and farmers are the main targets of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools, whose principal aims are providing information on agro-food products and enhancing networking along the food supply chain. Analysing digital technologies allows a better understanding of their most popular features in order to support their spread among citizens. Digital technologies, and particularly Apps, can be a valuable instrument to strengthen agro-food chain actor relations and to promote urban and regional food systems

Chocolate consumption and purchasing behaviour review: Research issues and insights for future research

Chocolate is consumed all over the world. Since its origin, it has undergone many transformations to meet changing market demand. A better understanding of consumer behaviour is a key objective of any business, and so it is for chocolate businesses. In order to fulfil this aim, the current study presents a systematic literature review of consumers' consumption and purchasing behaviour towards cocoa and chocolate. Two databases have been used to collect the literature: Scopus andWeb of Science. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram was used to identify the articles through the process of data screening and extractions. A total of sixty-four scientific articles have been selected. Research topics, methodological approach and data collection method were identified for each article selected. Then, the identified topics were grouped into four categories in order to obtain a model of major determinants in chocolate consumption: personal preferences, product attributes, socio-demographic factors and economic attributes. Results show that there is a strong focus on Fair Trade in chocolate. Moreover, the current literature review supports the fact that the price and promotion are under-investigated issues. This research represents a valuable tool, especially from a marketing point of view, by creating new channels and new sales opportunities for chocolate products

Does fairness matter? Consumers' perception of fairness in the agro-food chain

IntroductionDefining 'fairness' in the agro-food sector is a challenging task. There is no single definition of fairness and the literature does not provide a complete conceptualization from the consumer's point of view. The current research seeks to explore the consumers' interest in fairness and ethics in the agro-food chain by exploring (i) a comprehensive theoretical framework to conceptualize fairness from a consumer perspective, and (ii) the consumers' perceived importance of different food attributes as fairness-related aspects. MethodLiterature review and focus groups allowed for the creation of the final survey to be submitted to consumers. 529 valid responses from a predominantly Italian female sample were collected. Data were elaborated with Exploratory Factor Analysis and ANOVA test. ResultsThe research identified five dimensions of fairness: Fair price, environment, networking, short chain, and working condition. Also, it emerged that age influences consumers' perceived importance of products with fair attributes. DiscussionThis research contributes to the development of a fairer and more sustainable food system by identifying perceptions of agro-food chain fairness and establishing a link with food shopping intentions. The research provides companies with suggestions on how to expand sales by reaching a greater number of consumers

Social media exploration for understanding food product attributes perception: the case of coffee and health with Twitter data

Purpose: Food companies and consumers are increasingly interested in healthy food and beverages. Coffee is one of the most commonly consumed beverages worldwide. There is increasing consensus that coffee consumption can have beneficial effects on human body. This paper aims at exploring Twitter messages' content and sentiment towards health attributes of coffee. Design/methodology/approach: The research adopted a utilitarian and hedonic consumer behaviour perspective to analyse online community messages. A sample of 13,000 tweets, from around 4,800 users, that mentions keywords coffee and health was collected on a daily basis for a month in mid-2017. The tweets were categorized with a term frequency analysis, keyword-in-context analysis and sentiment analysis. Findings: Results showed that the majority of tweets are neutral or slightly positive towards coffee’s effects on health. Media and consumers are dynamic Twitter users. Findings support that coffee consumption brings favourable emotions, wellness, energy, positive state of mind and an enjoyable and trendy lifestyle. Many tweets have a positive perception of coffee health benefits, especially relating to mental and physical well-being. Research limitations/implications: The high number of users and tweets analysed compensates the limited amount of time of data collection, Twitter messages' restricted number of characters and quantitative software analysis limitations. Practical implications: The research provides valuable suggestions for food and beverage industry managers. Originality/value: This work adds value to the literature by expanding scholars' research on food product attributes perception analysis by using social media as a source of information. Moreover, it provides valuable information on marketable coffee attributes

Food chains and value system: the case of potato, fruit, and cheese

The aim of the paper is to analyse patterns of value system sharing along food chains, so to explore the agro-food enterprises capacity to be competitive and sustainable. The research focused on three food chains: potato, fruit, and Grana cheese of Emilia Romagna region. The paper adopts the value system approach. The methodology is aimed at creating a consolidated financial statement for each food chain so to re-create the chain operating profit and identify how this is shared among the different food chain stages. The analysis is carried out on 189 enterprises for the potato chain, 187 for the fruit chain and 203 for the cheese chain. The number of enterprises was invariable over the 5 year 2003-2007, leading to some 2,900 financial statement analysis. The chains analysed show differences. In the potato and fruit chains 35% of value is created by distribution, whereas in cheese chain only 13.6%. Over the five years value decreases 5% in fruit and potato and 9% in cheese. The lack of adequate strategic food chain partnership allows an increasing retail market power over the whole chain at the expenses of the primary sector entailing a declining sustainability for all chain actors.food chain, value system, profitability, potato, fruit, cheese, Agricultural and Food Policy,

Governance in the Italian Processed Tomato Value Chain: The Case for an Interbranch Organisation

Collective action among producers is a corrective measure for power imbalance, which affects primary producers in agro-food supply chains. As associations of producers and processors, Interbranch Organisations (IBOs) promote dialogue, best practice, and market transparency. However, interbranch cooperation is still a less explored subject in agro-food governance studies. Therefore, the present paper aims to analyse the role of IBO North Italy for Processing Tomato (IBO NIPT) in the governance of the processed tomato value chain. The IBO for Processing Tomatoes of Northern Italy was chosen as a case study as it is one of the eight recognized IBOs in the country and Italy is the third biggest producer of tomatoes for processing worldwide. Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in the processed tomato value chain were carried out to reach this aim. Abridged transcripts were analysed through thematic analysis by two or three researchers. The present study has three research steps: first, to explore the history of the IBO NIPT; second, to explore its current role as collective institution acting towards power imbalances; third, the IBO’s role in reference price streamlining. A multi-theoretical approach based on the following three theoretical frameworks was used to analyse the interviews: New Institutional Economics (NIE); Devaux’s framework for collective action; and Transaction Cost Economics. The paper highlights the role of local institutions in bringing innovations in the food supply chain and suggests that the future of IBOs in Italy has to be expanded beyond reference price streamlining and could benefit from the cooperation of retailers