Quality Warranties and Food Products in Argentina. What Do Consumers Believe In?

Abstract

Consumers increasingly demand multiple-quality attributes in food products and value reliable means to identify them. For producers, the effective communication of their products quality is a marketing strategy. Therefore, another market of information associated with the new food markets emerges. This market is closely linked to the institutional environment and the level of trust in different information sources. In this article the emphasis will be put on how the different quality signals provided by the firms in their products affect the consumers´ behaviour. The objective is to investigate domestic consumers' perceptions and beliefs about food quality information in Argentina to identify the mechanisms that fully guarantee this quality. The results indicate that domestic consumers´ perceptions about high quality products are more related to brand names than seals and certifications in labels. This has consequences upon the competitiveness of domestic food market. Quality certification and seller´s reputation are quality warranties restringed only to certain domestic market niches. The households´situation and occupational status seem to be more complex variables that resume the interaction between attitudes, information-processing and actions.food quality, quality warranties, consumers, Argentina, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, D12, L15,