COVID-19 Drives Consumer Behaviour and Agro-Food Markets towards Healthier and More Sustainable Patterns

This study examines the extant state of research into our understanding of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in its early stages on food-purchasing behaviour. As such, it includes a summary and categorisation of the findings, extending to consumption preferences worldwide. After the indiscriminate stockpiling of food, which was witnessed in many countries following the implementation of the lockdown, the impact of COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease-2019) on consumer habits has inversely varied in function of personal attitudes, individual and household experiences, and characteristics. Specific contexts, and the financial, economic, and logistic nature of these contexts, have also been found to be of relevance in examining the research relating to the coronavirus pandemic and food-purchasing behaviour. Concurrent with the pandemic, some worldwide trends have emerged-home cooking has been rediscovered, leading to an increase in the demand for staple foodstuffs, and purchases from small, local retailers and online food shopping have been accorded preferential treatment. Despite price volatility and concern about future household incomes, a significant proportion of consumers have shifted to buying healthier, more sustainable food. Moreover, food wastage has seen a notable decrease in volume. Such an occasion should be strategically exploited by manufacturers and retailers in satisfying this consumer demand. Finally, the COVID-19 crisis would seem to offer an unparalleled opportunity to re-engineer the agro-food market by driving the transition toward more sustainable supply and production patterns. Thus, stronger and more equitable partnerships between farmers, manufacturers, retailers, and citizens may be in the process of being forged

The intersection of blockchain technology and circular economy in the agri-food sector

A transition towards a circular economy within the agri-food sector requires the improvement of efficiency in resource utilization, the prevention of food loss or waste, whilst adopting regenerative agricultural practices. In addition to the technical challenges, the agri-food industry needs to address the food safety concerns resulting from biomass recycling processes. Increasingly, blockchain technology is gaining traction, moving towards more sustainable and precision agriculture. The blockchain is a decentralized, immutable, and shared database that records the provenance of digital assets, making it a suitable platform for traceability and food supply chain management. Despite its growing importance, the existing literature regarding these themes and the empirical evidence of blockchain-based solutions for a circular economy is rather fragmented. This paper offers a scoping review regarding the role of blockchain technology in the transition towards a circular food system. A total of 44 papers published in peer-reviewed journals were reviewed to identify new scientific insights into the application of blockchains within the agricultural sector. The results indicate that blockchain technology has a great potential in reducing food loss through optimized eco-efficiency (e.g., digitalization and integration with the Internet of Things) and by alleviating asymmetric information (by increasing transparency and reducing dependence on intermediaries). However, in the case of recycling efficiency, despite its potential, there remains a paucity of evidence regarding the use of blockchain technology in improving the residual valorization processes. Furthermore, there is a stream of literature focusing on the ability of blockchain-enabled traceability (e.g., for organic production or supply chain management). Yet, the role of blockchain traceability in the monitoring of risks from recycled biomass and the reporting of the sustainability performance in the supply chain has received scant attention within research literature. These results provide insights for supply chain management operations with the view of shifting towards a circular economy whilst also suggesting an agenda for future research areas

Fruit-Related Lifestyles as a Segmentation Tool for Fruit Consumers

Purpose- This study develops a modified food-related lifestyle (FRL) instrument to analyse Kosovo consumers' fruit consumption behaviour and attitudes. Design/methodology/approach- The research is based on a structured questionnaire designed using a reduced version of the FRL instrument including evaluation factors related to fruit consumption, useful to describe a fruit-related lifestyle. Data was collected through a face-to-face survey with 300 consumers in three main cities in Kosovo. A principal component analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation and Kaiser Normalization was performed to interpret and investigate fruit-related lifestyles. Cluster analysis was performed to analyse market segments, using the identified factors obtained from the PCA, a hierarchical clustering algorithm with a Ward linkage method and the K-means clustering technique. Findings– Consumption behaviour is motivated by health concerns, (perceived) fruit (nutrition) content, and consumption habits. Four distinct consumer clusters were identified based on the fruit-related lifestyle instrument and analysed considering the different fruit purchase and consumption behaviour, attitudes towards health, quality, taste, and safety. Originality/value- The fruit-related lifestyle instrument can be used in studies focused on fruit consumer segmentation. Results provide insight to fruit marketing and distribution companies which can adjust their marketing strategies and customer-oriented initiatives tailored for specific consumer segments. Results can be useful also for policy-makers to promote increased fruit consumption. Research limitations/implications- We adapted a survey tool based on a reduced FRL instrument, to elaborate a specific survey instrument suitable to describe the fruit-related consumer’s lifestyles. The instrument was not designed according to the standard scales design procedure, but it is a first step towards creating a fruit-related lifestyle instrument