Co-operation and economic relationship as determinants for competitiveness in the food sector: the Spanish wheat to bread chain

The objective of the paper is to investigate the impact of co-operation amongst stakeholders of the food chain on enterprise competitiveness. The analysis focuses on the Spanish wheat to bread chain. A theoretical model is developed which covers the main components that define competitiveness (profitability, turnover, market share, customer loyalty and product quality), quality supply chain relationship (trust, commitment and satisfaction) and the main factors explaining supply chain relationship (i.e. quality and frequency of the communication, personal bounds, etc.). The Spanish wheat to bread supply chain has been chosen to empirically test the model. This sector is very fragmented all along the chain, with a high number of wheat farmers, millers and bakers. Exchanges in the sector are mainly done in the open market but there is an increasing tendency to maintain stable relationships with suppliers to assure quality. Therefore, stakeholders in the wheat to bread chain are mainly using two types of economic relationships: “repeated market transactions” and “spot market” but the former is by far the most used. Based on data from a standardised survey with farmers, processors and retailers a structural equation modelling approach has been applied to empirically test the influence of relationship quality on stakeholders’ competitiveness in the Spanish wheat to bread chain. The main conclusion of the study is that, as the quality of the relationship in the Spanish wheat to bread chain improves the stakeholder’ competitiveness increases. The results also reveal that quality of the relationship in the Spanish wheat to bread chain is based on trust, satisfaction and commitment with buyers/sellers and strongly influenced by communication quality and quantity. In addition, the outcome shows that the quality of communication has an indirect positive effect on stakeholders’ competitiveness through the relationship quality. Finally, the only factor that will influence the quality of the relationship is the equal power distribution along the chain. Moreover, personal bounds positively influence the quality of communication in the bread Spanish supply chain.competitiveness, food, Spain, Agribusiness,

When more is less: the effect of multiple health and nutritional labels in food product choice

Consumers are facing increasing information on health and nutritional aspects of foods, an important source of which is that presented in food packages. Prior research has identified that this information is positively valued, but the effect of multiple information items simultaneously is not so well understood. A choice experiment has been conducted to identify the effect of multiple health and nutrition information sources in two products which represent both a healthy and less-healthy food (pork Frankfurt sausages and plain yoghurt respectively). Results show that although highly heterogeneous, preferences seem to positively value individual information items and negatively value the presence of more than one item, specially if the item is a health claim. Premiums consumers are willing to pay represent a significant percentage of retail price, specially for the less healthy food product which also faces lower retails prices.Nutritional information, nutritional claims, health claims, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Information Bias Condemning Radical Food Innovators? The Case of Insect-Based Products in the Netherlands

In this paper we analyze whether information bias is affecting consumers’ WTP for radical food innovations. We collect data in the Netherlands on consumers’ WTP for insect-based products. We used product attributes directly affected by information and EU legislation such as the visualization of insects on the products, the use of logo and health claims, different information treatments on positive environmental and social effects of eating insects as meat-substitutes. Results indicate that visualization negatively influenced consumers’ WTP while information treatments do not mitigate this effect. We derive that EU legislators need to move fast in clarifying the status of insect-based foodsradical innovationinsect-based food productsconsumer acceptancethe NetherlandsPublishe

Do Consumers Pay Attention to the Organic Label When Shopping Organic Food in Italy?

Medical imagin

Short communication: Consumer’s willingness to pay for indigenous meat products: The case of a Spanish sheep breed

European farmers of indigenous local breeds have benefited from European Union economic support in the past and it is forecast to continue being supported in the future. However, it is in the public debate that economic support cannot last forever. Then, for the long-run maintenance of indigenous local breeds to be possible, the derived meat products from these breeds should be demanded by consumers or at least by a group of local consumers. This is the aim of this paper, to study consumers’ demand for indigenous local meat products. In particular, to assess how much consumers are willing to pay for a Spanish lamb meat from an indigenous sheep breed (“Ojinegra de Teruel”). To do that, a non-hypothetical experimental auction with local consumers (those living in a medium-size town around 150 km from the producing area of this meat) was used. Results indicated that consumers were willing to pay, on average, €0.45 (15% of the market price) more for the lamb meat with the “Ojinegra de Teruel” breed claim than for the one without breed indication (as it is now sold in the market). Then, local consumers clearly accept the differentiated meat through the indigenous breed indication. Then, producers in the area could have more opportunities to sell in the local market if they differentiate their meat using the indigenous “Ojinegra de Teruel” claim than using the undifferentiated strategy they are undertaken now

IDENTIFYING CONSUMER VALUATION PATTERNS OF ALTERNATIVE NUTRITION AND HEALTH LABELS COMBINATIONS: EVIDENCE FROM SPAIN

The provision of nutrition and health information on food labels is increasing as an industry and regulation answer to the growing consumer concern with diet-health relationships. Prior research has shown that the presence of this information on food labels is valued by consumers; however there is still no clear pattern on which labelling options are more valued and how different consumers value the different options. This paper analyses the results of a choice experiment conducted to identify the effect of multiple health and nutrition information sources on consumer food choice, taking into account preference heterogeneity using a latent class approach. Results show that different consumer groups can be identified with clearly distinguishable valuation and behavioural patterns. A minority of consumers attaches high WTP to the provision of additional information in the nutrition facts panel, however this is not show for a vast majority who value claims. Moreover, not taking into account this preference heterogeneity can lead to policies that do not maximize consumer welfare. Based on the characteristics of consumers identified in each group, recommendations are made as to how both industry and public administration can move forward with the development of nutritional labelling guidelines or policies.Nutrition facts panel, latent class, choice experiments, consumer, interactions, health claims, nutrition claims, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy,

Parents’ preferences for a plant-based game for shifting to sustainable healthy diets

Some of the major issues of this century are environmental damage, availability of resources and health concerns, especially, obesity. Food production and the current model of food consumption contribute to make these issues bigger. From this perspective consumers can make the difference depending on their eating behavior and their consciousness to minimize food waste. One way to make children more aware of environment and induce them to eat healthier food in the future might be the introduction of educational games made by food waste through which they learn by playing the importance of the environment and the impact of their health of food they eat. In this study we investigated the parent’s behavior and how much they are willing to pay for a kind of food products with educational and eating scope.The study took place in Spain. The sample was set at 300 individuals randomly stratified by sex, age and province and the target sample were parents of children aged 4 to 12 and a hypothetical choice experiment was used to estimate parent´s preferences for different alternative of game food product. The results indicate that the behavior showed by these parents are in line with the European strategy “From farm to fork” where it is recommended moving to a more plant-based diet in order to reduce life-threatening diseases, and also environmental impact of the food system. In our investigation consumers are willing to pay more for the product with a storybook related to healthy eating habits or recyling better than no storybook.This research was funded by FP7-MC-CIG-332769, fighting against obesity in Europe: the role of health-related claims in food products (OBESCLAIM). The authors would like to thank to Iberfunghi start-up to provide us all the information about their novel mushroom-plant game product

The role of participants’ competitiveness in consumers’ valuation for food products using experimental auctions

The aim of the paper is to assess the effect of the participants’ competitiveness on their valuation for food products. Specifically, to investigate the effect of the participants’ competitiveness on their bids in a non-hypothetical experimental auction. Then, we designed an experimental auction to measure the consumers’ preferences for food products with two treatments. Both treatments had all the same designed characteristics except that in the second treatment, the participants who reported the highest levels of competitiveness were not allowed to participate in the auction. Then, we could directly compare bids from the participants with two different levels of competitiveness (higher competitiveness and lower competitiveness). Because the bids from the two treatments were found statistically the same, we can conclude that the consumer’s valuation for food products using the non-hypothetical experimental auctions are independent on the level of the participants’ competitivenessPublishe

Consumer preferences for food labeling: what ranks first?

In the EU food market, different food labeling schemes co-exist with the aim of informing customers and providing trust on different quality characteristics of food products. To understand which food labeling schemes are the most and the least important for consumers is very relevant because a labeling strategy will be useful for food companies if consumers, or at least one segment of consumers, value food labeling. The aim of this study was to measure the importance consumers attach to different labeling schemes available in the food market. Seven different food labeling schemes, some regulated by the EU (the EU organic logo, the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) indication and the nutritional fact panel) and some of them not yet regulated at the European level (the food miles indication; the local origin; the carbon footprint information; and an improved animal welfare indication), were assessed by consumers. To do this, the direct ranking preference method was used and a rank-ordered mixed logit model was estimated with the data from a survey conducted with food shoppers in a medium-sized Spanish town. The results indicate that the most preferred labeling scheme was the PDO indication, closely followed by the nutritional fact panel and the EU organic logo. In other words, consumers clearly valued labeling schemes that are regulated by EU law. Moreover, consumer preferences for food labeling were heterogeneous and three segments of consumers based on preferences were found: PDO lovers, organic EU logo lovers and the nutritional information lovers.Peer ReviewedPublishe

Organic food product purchase behaviour: a pilot study for urban consumers in the south of Italy

The aim of this paper is to explain factors that influence organic food purchases of urban consumers in the South of Italy. To achieve this goal, a multivariate limited dependent variable model has been specified to simultaneously analyse consumers¿ organic food purchases, the intention to purchase organic food products and the level of organic knowledge. This study uses survey data gathered from 200 consumers in Naples in 2003. Results indicate that consumers who are more willing to buy organic food products are more likely to buy a larger amount of those products. The intention to purchase depends on attitudes and organic product knowledge. Moreover, consumers¿ attitudes towards health and environmental benefits provided by organic foods are the most important factors explaining, both, the intention to purchase and the final decision. Finally, income and organic knowledge positively influences the final decision to buy organic food products.El principal objetivo del trabajo es analizar los factores que influyen en la decisión de compra de los alimentos ecológicos. Para ello se plantea un modelo de ecuaciones simultáneas con variables dependientes limitadas para medir el proceso de compra de alimentos ecológicos, la intención de compra y el conocimiento de los alimentos ecológicos. Se han utilizado datos procedentes de una encuesta realizada a 200 hogares en la ciudad italiana de Nápoles en 2003. Los principales resultados indican que los consumidores más dispuestos a comprar alimentos ecológicos son los que acabarán comprando mayores cantidades de estos productos. Esta intención de compra depende de las actitudes y del conocimiento de los consumidores. Además, las actitudes de los consumidores hacia los beneficios para la salud y para el medio ambiente de los alimentos ecológicos son los principales factores determinantes, tanto de la intención de compra como del consumo final de estos productos. Finalmente, la renta y el conocimiento ecológico de los consumidores influyen positivamente en el consumo final de alimentos ecológico