European and United States farmers’ markets: similarities, differences and potential developments

Farmers’ markets have always been the usual way of buying and selling rural products in the Western world. With the advent of supermarkets, farmers’ markets rapidly disappeared in many nations. However, in countries such as France and Italy, which place a high priority on food origin and regional specialisation, some farmers’ markets continued to exist, partly due to their mechanisms to identify and promote locally grown foods. The consumer’s desire to re-establish a bond with local food products, local growers and producers, together with the growing concern for food freshness and healthiness have been key drivers for the renaissance of farmers’ markets occurred in the latest years in many European countries and in the United States. Several studies, conducted across Europe and in the U.S., have shown rising consumers’ consideration of farmers’ markets as important sources of household food shopping and increasing attention of farmers to this sale channel, in a period in which their share of the “food dollar” is continuing to decrease. The objectives of this paper are to contribute to extend understanding of the main features of the European and United States farmers’ markets and raise critical questions about their potential development in the modern food system.Farmers’ markets, Local foods, Europe, U.S.A., Agricultural and Food Policy,

Italian Consumer Attitudes Toward Products for Well-being: The Functional Foods Market

Functional foods, Italian consumers, Market segmentation, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Do Consumers Want More Nutritional and Health Information on Wine Labels? Insights from the EU and USA

The global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol launched in 2010 by the World Health Organization includes, amongst several areas of recommended actions, providing consumer information about, and labelling, alcoholic beverages to indicate alcohol-related harm. Labelling requirements worldwide for alcoholic drinks are currently quite diverse and somewhat limited compared to labelling on food products and on tobacco. In this context, the current paper contributes to the academic and political debate on the inclusion of nutritional and health information on wine labelling, providing some insights into consumer interest in, and preferences for, such information in four core wine-producing and -consuming countries: Italy, France, Spain, and the United States of America. A rating-based conjoint analysis was performed in order to ascertain consumer preferences for different formats of additional information on wine labels, and a segmentation of the sample was performed to determine the existence of homogeneous groups of consumers in relation to the degrees of usefulness attached to the nutritional and health information on wine labels. Our results highlight the interest expressed by European and United States consumers for introducing nutrition and health information on wine labels. However, the results of conjoint analysis show some signi\ufb01cant differences among stated preferences of the information delivery modes in different countries. In addition, segmentation analysis reveal the existence of signi\ufb01cant differences between consumer groups with respect to their interest in receiving additional information on wine labels. These differences are not only linked to the geographic origin of the consumers, or to socio-demographic variables, but are also related to wine consumption habits, attitudes towards nutritional information, and the degree of involvement with wine. This heterogeneity of consumer preferences indicates a need for a careful consideration of wine labelling regulations and merits further investigation in order to identify labelling guidelines in terms of the message content and presentation method to be used

The Italian olive oil industry in the global competitive scenario

The current paper analyzes the reasons behind the diffi culties of the Italian olive oil industry to compete in the world markets. Th e analysis highlights that these complexities can be related with two core factors: stagnant demand in the main producer/consumer countries and strong competition arising from the Spanish olive oil industry increasingly involved also in processing and trade. In addition, these weakness factors are boosted by the market power exerted by large retail chains that are now the main channel in which olive oil is retailed in the domestic market

Functional foods development in the European market: A consumer perspective

Abstract An overview of the functional foods (FFs) market in Europe that ascertains the opportunities for further expansion of this segment is presented. Consumer behavior towards FFs was analyzed through a quantitative survey conducted on 400 Italian food shoppers. Our findings reveal that respondents are confused due to the ambiguity of what FF products are, and that consumers perceive products that are intrinsically healthy such as yogurt, cereals and juice, as preferable and credible carriers of FFs. Moreover, use of principal components analysis highlighted the key role played by the perception of healthiness in determining shoppers' attitudes towards FF

Will sustainability shape the future wine market?

Technical improvements in the sustainability of wine making will likely proceed thorough a progressive refinement of processing strategies without substantial discontinuities. The new varieties obtained through interspecific crossings represent a new technological paradigm with remarkable effects on cropping conditions. Indeed, vineyards planted with these new varieties require few treatments and result in a dramatic reduction in the pesticide use, production costs and carbon footprint. Wine consumption scholars should closely examine how the media will communicate these varieties to the general public, as we anticipate that this will influence consumers' perception of risk and, in turn, directly affect the market. Keywords: New varieties, Consumer preferences, Denomination of origi

Organic Farming and Sustainability in Food Choices: An Analysis of Consumer Preference in Southern Italy

AbstractIn recent years an important trend in sustainable food consumption is represented by organic consumers. Organic agriculture not only preserves the environment but it also improves public health, bringing significant benefits both to the economy as well as to the social cohesion of rural areas. Based on these considerations the proposed paper aims to analyze consumers demand for organic food as products that contribute to the sustainability of food choices. Cross-sectional data were collected through a web-based survey on 200 organic consumers resident in Campania Region between January and March 2015. Furthermore, this research assess the impact of local origin on consumer preferences for organic products using a conjoint analysis

One size does (obviously not) fit all: Using product attributes for wine market segmentation

The intense competition affecting the wine industry in recent decades has forced wineries and retailers to reshape their marketing strategies on the basis of consumer preferences. The current study aims to identify such preferences and the effects they might have in influencing consumer decisions. Preferences for different wine attributes as well as the psychographic traits of respondents were revealed through a web-based questionnaire administered to 504 wine consumers living in the wider metropolitan area of New York. Best-worst scaling (BWS) was used to detect consumer preferences for eleven wine attributes. Based on individual best-worst scores, a latent class segmentation analysis was implemented to classify consumers into four segments on the basis of psychographic characteristics such as involvement, subjective knowledge, innovativeness and loyalty proneness. The four segments identified (i.e. experientials, connoisseurs, risk minimizers and price-sensitive) differ significantly in terms of their preferences towards wine and psychographic characteristics, suggesting that a mass marketing approach is no longer suitable. Accordingly, managers need to adapt their marketing strategies to meet the preferences of different target groups. The results provide broad implications for marketers, wineries and retailers interested in successfully targeting consumers in a highly competitive market

corrigendum to will sustainability shape the future wine market

n/