To meat or not to meat? Comparing empowered meat consumers’ and anti-consumers’ preferences for sustainability labels

An increasing awareness of the impact of high levels of meat consumption on health and environmental sustainability is leading to a growing number of consumers reducing or avoiding meat. To address gaps in the literature, we compare and contrast the importance of the seven sustainability-related labels for three consumer groups (meat eaters, meat reducers and vegetarians) using a choice experiment involving 600 UK respondents (200 meat eaters, 200 meat reducers, 200 vegetarians). Type of meat, price and fat content labels have the largest overall impact on consumer choices. The impact of carbon footprint, method of production, origin and brand labels varies across consumer groups.We subsequently use latent class analysis to identify heterogeneous intra-group consumer segments, based on their preferences, and highlight the socio-demographic differences between them. For meat eaters, three consumer segments are identified (empowered, traditional and price conscious meat eaters). Meat reducers are divided into health curtailers and sustainable consumers, while only one segment of vegetarians is identified. By drawing on signalling theory and the consumer empowerment and anti-consumption literature, we identify links between sustainable consumption, consumer empowerment and anti-consumption and provide valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to utilise food labels to encourage more sustainable consumption.     

Preferences for lamb meat: A choice experiment for Spanish consumers

This paper analyzes consumers' preferences for different lamb meat attributes using a choice experiment. In particular, preferences for the type of commercial lamb meat (“Ternasco” and “Suckling”) and the origin of production (locally produced “Ojinegra from Teruel”) were evaluated. Moreover, we endogenously identify consumers' segments based on consumers' preferences for the analyzed attributes. Data come from a survey administrated in Spain during 2009. A latent class model was used to estimate the effect of the attributes on consumer utility, derive the willingness to pay and determine consumers' segments. Results suggest that consumers' preferences for both attributes are heterogeneous and two homogenous consumers' segments were detected. The largest segment (79%) did not value any of the analyzed attributes while the smaller one (21%) valued both of them positively. In particular, consumers in this second segment are willing to pay an extra premium for the “Ternasco” lamb meat, around double the premium they are willing to pay for the locally produced lamb meat “Ojinegra from Teruel”.     

Consumer perceptions,preferences, and behavior regarding pasture-raised livestock products: A review

Intensive cattle production is one of the primary causes of biodiversity loss. Pasture-based animal husbandry has the potential to reverse this negative trend. Pasture-raised livestock products represent a premium niche with an extra value through a cleaner environmental footprint and care for animal welfare, including wildlife. This review focuses on recent scientific findings in consumer behavior regarding pasture-raised products. A systematic literature search was conducted in online databases using a fixed search term. Thirty-nine relevant consumer studies published between 2000 and 2019 in the English language were selected for the review. The Alphabet Theory was applied as a theoretical framework to analyze the findings.Consumer behavior regarding pasture-raised products is largely defined through health and environmental attitudes and depends substantially on the context of a purchase decision. There are a variety of consumer groups willing to pay a premium for a pasture-raised attribute even on top of an organic price premium. Consumer knowledge of the subject is rather low and confusion exists regarding the terminology: consumers often mistake the production system behind pasture-raised products for organic or conventional. This calls for communication of the environmental and social benefits of pasture-based production and the importance of individual food choices. This article is the first to review scientific consumer studies on perceptions, preferences, behavior regarding and willingness to pay for pasture-raised products. Further research, especially research based on real market data, is recommended to explore the effect of specific environmental attributes, social and personal norms, informational content, and product types on consumer preferences and willingness to pay for pasture-raised products.     

Different shades of grey: Compromise products to encourage animal friendly consumption

Contemporary production and consumption are often characterised by negative externalities, for example regarding animal welfare. Despite consumer concerns about animal welfare standards in livestock production systems, the market share of organic meat is still low. The current paper investigates to what extent a more differentiated product assortment including “compromise alternatives”, providing consumers with more options to trade-off animal welfare against other attributes, increases the choice share of meat produced at beyond-regulatory standards for animal welfare. Results from a choice experiment in The Netherlands reveal considerable heterogeneity in consumer preferences regarding the trade-off between animal welfare level and price level. Two out of six segments, typically consumers with a lower education level and shoppers at discount supermarkets, are not or hardly prepared to pay a price premium for welfare enhanced meat. Two other segments show a preference for small increases in animal welfare level and associated costs. The remaining two other segments seem to reflect “protestors” against mainstream meat production in that they hold negative attitudes, beliefs and feelings regarding the consumption of conventionally-produced meat, either by turning to meat produced at high animal welfare standards (including meat replacement products) or by reducing meat consumption. It is concluded that an assortment that better caters for this heterogeneity in consumer preference by including “compromise meat products” is of the benefit to both the individual consumer (preferences), the animal (animal welfare levels) and the meat sector (clientele).     

Consumers’ willingness to pay for beef products derived from RNA interference technology

This study estimates, for the first time in the meat sector, consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for genetically modified foods produced using RNA interference (RNAi), a new gene editing technology. We examine WTP in four different choice experiment designs involving beef steaks with varying number of attributes, label setting and label wording to assess consumer demand. Results suggests consumers will require a discount for beef products produced using RNAi, with specific magnitudes varying substantially based upon the labeling wording faced by consumers. Therefore, ultimate RNAi adoption will reflect the magnitude of inner-supply chain, cost reductions given consumer demand.     

How much is a bottle of conventional,organic or biodynamic wine worth? Results of an experimental auction

Today, worldwide, we note a growing demand for wines made following techniques with an eye to environmental sustainability. Consumers readily find organic wines at sales outlets, along with other products made following techniques that comply with even more restrictive environmental constraints, such as biodynamic techniques. While on one hand, winemakers are encouraged to market products obtained in respect of certain environmental standards, on the other, they are asked to evaluate the economic convenience of this operation. In view of structuring coherent company strategies, and faced with clearly higher production costs, understanding the premium price consumers are willing to pay for sustainable wines assumes fundamental importance. Our paper focuses on this problem, attempting to analyse consumer preferences and willingness to pay for wines produced following conventional, organic, and biodynamic methods. Implementing a second-price experimental auction, we elicited the willingness to pay for the three types of wine and assessed premiums based on scenarios that considered both information and tasting. We found that the willingness to pay for biodynamic wines was lower than for organic wines, and higher than for conventional wines. With organic wines, credence attributes play a much more important role than experience attributes in determining consumer preferences. Moreover, familiarity with biodynamic wines positively affects the willingness to pay for them. Our study highlights interesting management and marketing implications for producers and retailers of organic and biodynamic wines: in particular, the importance of increasing knowledge about the production technique adopted and, specifically, developing information campaigns that target the biodynamic production technique.     

Importance of additional information,as a complement to information coming from packaging,to promote meat substitutes: A case study on a sausage based on vegetable proteins

Scientific literature has shown that a partial replacement of meat-based foods with plant-based foods would be beneficial for public health and the environment. However, both lack of sensory attractiveness and lack of consumer awareness regarding benefits of rebalancing diets in favor of plant protein partially explain the low market shares for meat alternatives. In the context of a possible substitution of a meat product (pork-based sausage) by a visually very close counterpart based on vegetable proteins, the objective of this work was to study the possibility of changing consumer preferences towards the plant-based product by gradually providing information concerning the health or environmental consequences of producing and consuming both types of products. We studied consumers’ preferences after a blind tasting, after a tasting in the presence of the packaging, and after the dissemination of two stages of information. The assessment of consumer preferences was carried out using purchase preferences (PP) and willingness to pay (WTP). After the blind tasting, PP were clearly oriented towards the meat product. After the tasting with packaging information, the gap between the two products narrowed, but PP were still turned towards the meat product. The dissemination of a first informative message about either health or the environment was not enough to modify consumers' WTP. Adding a second message concerning health led to an equivalence of the two products studied in terms of WTP and PP. The combination of the two environmentally informative messages also made it possible to obtain an equivalence of the WTP for both products, but the PP were still turned towards the pork product. This suggests that the impact of additional information depends on the information disseminated. Overall, these results militate in favor of the dissemination of information presenting the consequences of the consumption of meat-based or vegetable protein-based products.     

Consumer preferences for iced coffee determined by conjoint analysis: an exploratory study with Norwegian consumers

The main aim of this study was to investigate consumer preferences for extrinsic attributes of iced coffee, explore consumers' coffee consumption habits, find new market opportunities and segment consumers based on similar products preferences. A sample of 101 consumers of iced coffee was recruited during 2012 in Norway. Twelve iced coffee products combining different levels of attributes such as coffee type, origin, calories and price were presented on screen and rated according to consumers' willingness to buy (WTB). Mixed model anova , principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS‐DA) were applied to analyse data. Results show that the most preferred products for the consumer sample as a whole were low‐price low‐calorie products, while age has a significant effect on WTB for different iced coffee products. Four different consumer segments based on type of iced coffee and country of production preferences were identified and discussed.     

Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for value-added chicken product attributes

A growing demand for convenient and ready-to-eat products has increased poultry processors' interest in developing consumer-oriented value-added chicken products. In this study, a conjoint analysis survey of 276 chicken consumers in Edmonton was conducted during the summer of 2009 to assess the importance of the chicken part, production method, processing method, storage method, the presence of added flavor, and cooking method on consumer preferences for different value-added chicken product attributes. Estimates of consumer willingness to pay (WTP) premium prices for different combinations of value-added chicken attributes were also determined. Participants'"ideal" chicken product was a refrigerated product made with free-range chicken breast, produced with no additives or preservatives and no added flavor, which could be oven heated or pan heated. Half of all participants on average were willing to pay 30% more for a value-added chicken product over the price of a conventional product. Overall, young consumers, individuals who shop at Farmers' Markets and those who prefer free-range or organic products were more likely to pay a premium for value-added chicken products. As expected, consumers' WTP was affected negatively by product price. Combined knowledge of consumer product attribute preferences and consumer WTP for value-added chicken products can help the poultry industry design innovative value-added chicken products. Practical Application: An optimum combination of product attributes desired by consumers for the development of a new value-added chicken product, as well as the WTP for this product, have been identified in this study. This information is relevant to the poultry industry to enhance consumer satisfaction of future value-added chicken products and provide the tools for future profit growth.     

Consumers’ preferences for Iberian dry-cured ham and the influence of mast feeding: An application of conjoint analysis in Spain

This paper analyzes consumers’ preferences for Iberian dry-cured ham, one of the most typical and highly prized meat products in Spain. The data were obtained by a survey carried out between April and May 2006 with a sample of 417 consumers in Extremadura (SW Spain). Conjoint Analysis was used to estimate the relative importance of the main attributes affecting preferences for Iberian ham and to create consumer segments with similar preference profiles. Results have shown that Price and Type of ham are the most important attributes for the choice of ham. Simulation analyses determined the surcharge that consumers are willing to pay for an Iberian mast-fed ham instead of an Iberian ham, thus identifying an ideal cluster for Iberian mast-fed ham.     

Does the origin of inputs and processing matter? Evidence from consumers’ valuation for craft beer

In this study we aim at exploring consumer valuation for craft beer brewed locally and made with locally grown hops. The research is motivated by the fact that, although existing literature shows that consumers generally pay a price premium for locally produced foods or those made with local ingredients, it is still unclear how consumers value localness of production (i.e., brewing location) over localness of inputs (i.e., hops origin) and whether consumers value these attributes as either complements or substitutes. Moreover, little is still known regarding consumer preference for local ingredients in beer. Thus, we address these research questions by means of a choice experiment survey on craft beer consumers in the State of Indiana, United States. Results show that consumers have the highest willingness to pay for craft beer brewed in-state, but preferences over hops origin are heterogeneous. We find evidence of complementarity between brewing and hops origins among frequent craft drinkers and evidence of substitution between these claims for casual drinkers. Segmenting consumers based on how they define local beer, we find one consumer segment that has the highest willingness to pay for beer brewed in-state and made with hops that are grown in-state. These results can inform product differentiation, marketing, and pricing strategies. They are also relevant to state policymakers supporting local hops production and local brewing.     

Discrete choice experiments in the analysis of consumers’ preferences for finfish products: A systematic literature review

Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) have become an important tool for assessing the preferences of consumers for finfish seafood products. This investigation presents a systematic literature review of studies performed in the last 20 years (2000–2019) that use DCEs to analyse consumers’ preferences for finfish products, with the purpose to identify the main insights of consumer behaviour towards these products, the most used attributes for this type of experiments and to discuss and compare some willingness to pay estimations. We found that origin was the most used attribute for this kind of experiments, while other important factors were the harvest method, a specific certification label and the species or products considered. The WTP estimates evidenced that consumers are willing to pay premiums for domestic products, while similarly, wild products were preferred over farmed products. Also, there were higher WTP estimates for certified products, in which specific certification labels were better options rather than just claiming that the product was certified or not. All claims and labels related to sustainability, nutritional, health and safety information provided premiums that consumers were willing to pay, however, the importance differed depending on the type of label or claim, the country and species. Future research should consider the influence of being or not the main purchaser in the household, as it might affect the WTP values. Also, given the importance, future research extensions using DCEs are needed on the Chinese and Asian finfish market.     

Explaining attention and choice for origin labeled cheese by means of consumer ethnocentrism

This study examines the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism, visual attention and choice for origin labeled cheese. It evaluates the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on preferences for domestic products, as well as, on the visual attention paid to the origin labeling during the decision-making. Using a choice experiment, this study investigates US respondents’ preferences for product attributes of cheddar cheese including country of origin (US, Mexico, Ireland), region of origin, hormone use, biodegradable packaging, and price. It provides empirical evidence that the level of consumer ethnocentrism among US consumers influences the preference for US labelled cheese and the visual attention to origin labeling. Specifically, higher consumer ethnocentrism leads to a higher preference for US cheese as compared to Irish cheese. Further, the study reveals that the level of consumer ethnocentrism affects visual attention paid to origin labeling. However, this is only the case in less complex decision situations, when there is little information on other product attributes.     

Consumer choice of broiler meat: The effects of country of origin and production methods

An increasing interest and concern among consumers in the ways in which food is produced has led to a need for differentiation in production methods in directions valued by consumers. In this study we used a choice experiment to analyse the importance of the production method, such as organic production and methods emphasising animal welfare or consumer health, and country of origin on the selection of broiler meat by Finnish consumers. The results revealed very strong positive perceptions of domestically produced broiler products. The effect of production method was significant but minor. Emphasising animal welfare in production particularly increased the probability of consumer choice. We also tested the effect of providing production information either in labels or verbally, and found that well-established labels have positive impacts whereas non-familiar labels may be counter-productive. Latent class analysis revealed the heterogeneity of consumer preferences, but did not facilitate the profiling of consumer groups based on socioeconomic data.     

Labelling information demanded by European consumers and relationships with purchasing motives, quality and safety of meat

Meat labelling can be an important way of informing the consumer on the quality attributes of meat. However, the type of information consumers demand is not well known and there is a lack of consumer-oriented information. Thus, meat labelling requires special attention. The objectives of this paper were: to identify the type of information that is most demanded by European consumers on beef and lamb labelling; to analyse the relationships between the importance of informational cues and other aspects concerning consumer attitudes towards meat consumption and meat quality, and socio-demographic characteristics; and to identify groups of consumers according to their labelling preferences. The information cues considered most important related to the deadline for meat consumption and the origin of meat. Other important cues were nutritional information, maturation time, name of cut and, especially for beef consumers, information on the system of production and on the traceability and the quality control of the meat. Some groups or segments of consumers were identified that had significant differences in relation to the type of information demanded, purchasing motives, quality preferences, sources of information on quality they trusted most and socio-economic features. They could be briefly profiled as: 'quality/safety orientated'; 'traditional'; 'quality unconcerned/ convenience-driven' and 'origin motivated' consumers.     

Effect of information about animal welfare on consumer willingness to pay for yogurt

This study aimed to verify whether consumers confirm their willingness to pay extra costs for higher animal welfare standards in a situation where a potential purchase performed by consumers, such as the Vickrey auction, is used. A 104-member consumer panel was asked to rate its willingness to pay (WTP) for plain and low-fat yogurts in 3 information conditions: tasting without information (blind WTP), information about animal welfare without tasting (expected WTP), tasting with information about animal welfare (actual WTP). Information was provided to the consumers under the form of labels indicating the level of animal cleanliness and freedom of movement (5-point scale, from poor to very good). Consumers were influenced by information about low standards of animal welfare (low cleanliness and low freedom of movement) and moved their willingness to pay in the direction of their expectations. However, the discrepancy between expectancy and actual WTP was not totally assimilated, indicating that WTP was also expressed in relation to other aspects (e.g., the sensory properties of the products). Conversely, the information concerning high standards of animal welfare (high cleanliness and high freedom of movement) was able to affect expectancy but had an effect on actual WTP only when the most acceptable yogurt was offered to the consumers. In the case of discordant information on animal welfare, partly indicating high levels of welfare (freedom of movements) and low levels of welfare (cleanliness), expected WTP was always lower than blind WTP. However, when the least acceptable product was presented, they completely assimilated their actual WTP to the expectations. Conversely, with the most acceptable yogurt, no assimilation occurred and sensory properties prevailed in orienting consumer WTP. Within each product, consumers expressed a higher WTP for products with labels indicating high welfare standards as compared with yogurts with labels reporting intermediate and low welfare standard. These results show that information about animal welfare, if given to the consumers, can be a major determinant of consumer WTP for animal-based food products. However, information about high standards of animal welfare should be paired with products presenting a good eating quality.     

Consumer Valuations and Preference Heterogeneity for a Novel Functional Food

ABSTRACT:  Recent trends in the marketing of functional foods suggest that multiple-benefit products are becoming more common. Yet it is unclear which consumers are most interested in, or best served by, such novel or new generation functional foods. With emerging scientific evidence of efficacy and more diverse products offered for sale, a broader range of consumers are likely to become interested in dietary interventions to enhance health. Consumers will likely respond based on a range of motivation, health conditions, and knowledge levels suggesting "one size will not fit all." Given such an evolving marketing environment, this paper presents 1 research technique exploring differences in consumer preferences and valuations for a novel functional food product—a tomato juice containing soy. A discrete choice experiment is applied to examine consumer valuation of this novel functional food. Data were collected from 1704 households in Ohio through a mail survey. The choice experiment manipulates whether or not the product is organic, whether it contains natural or fortified nutrients, and product price. Estimates of consumer willingness to pay a premium price are based on conditional logit and mixed logit models, which permit an examination of consumer preference and valuation heterogeneity for key product attributes. Results indicate that health benefits and ingredient naturalness are positively valued, but such preferences and valuations depend on an individual's education, income, and food purchase behavior. Naturally occurring nutrients are preferred over fortification. Considerable heterogeneity is found in the data suggesting that a range of market segments may exist.     

The effect of moderating variables on consumer preferences for sustainable wines

Previous studies have shown that credence attributes play an important and often undervalued role in consumers’ product evaluation and purchasing behavior. By contrast, the factors moderating these effects have received less attention by scholars. The current study uncovers the moderating effects of consumers’ psychographic characteristics (i.e.: subjective knowledge, wine involvement, and sustainability concern) on their preferences for wine with different credence attributes related to sustainability. A non-hypothetical economic experiment, consisting of three rounds (blindtaste, info, infotaste), was performed in Italy and Germany to assess consumers’ preferences in terms of willingness to pay for conventional wine and wine differentiated by wine sustainable certifications (i.e.: Organic, VIVA sustainable wine, Vignaioli Indipendenti, Carbon footprint). Wine sustainable certifications positively affect consumers’ preferences, and these effects are mainly moderated by individuals’ wine involvement and sustainability concern. This holds if respondents have information about the wine but do not taste it. After tasting the wine consumers’ preferences are moderated only by respondents’ sustainability concern.     

Influence of intramuscular fat content on the quality of pig meat - 2. Consumer acceptability of m. longissimus lumborum

The present study is part of a project which aimed to examine the influence of intramuscular fat (IMF) content on sensory attributes and consumer acceptability of pork. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate consumer acceptability of pork chops with varying IMF level in muscle Longissimus lumborum (LL). Each experiment used 32 castrated male pigs selected after slaughter either from 125 Duroc × Landrace (Experiment 1) or 102 Tia Meslan × Landrace (Experiment 2) crossbred animals, and showing large variability in LL IMF content: from <1.5 to >3.5% in Experiment 1 and from 1.25 to 3.25% in Experiment 2. A group of 56 consumers evaluated various items on rib-eye (LL muscle trimmed of backfat) (Experiment 1) and on entire chops trimmed of backfat (Experiment 2). Data from Experiment 1 indicate that an increase in IMF level is associated with an increase in visual perception of fat and a corresponding decrease in the willingness to eat and purchase the meat, when expressed before tasting. The latter effect disappeared after the consumers had tasted the meat, probably due to a positive effect of increase IMF, up to 3.5%, on the perception of texture and taste. In Experiment 2, where entire chops were evaluated, the perception of visible fat was not affected by IMF level, probably due to the lack of variation in the level of intermuscular fat between the four IMF groups. The willingness to eat and purchase the meat were unaffected by IMF level, whereas the perception of texture and taste was enhanced with increased IMF levels up to 3.25%. The present data suggest that the acceptability of pork may be improved by increasing IMF level but: (1) this effect disappeared for IMF levels higher than 3.5%, which are associated with a high risk of meat rejection due to visible fat and (2) the positive effect of increased IMF probably holds true as long as it is not associated with an increase in the level of intermuscular fat.     

Consumers' preferences for beef in the Spanish region of Extremadura: a study using conjoint analysis

The study of consumers' preferences is of great interest in the beef sector, where the BSE crisis generated deep changes in the basic conditions of demand for meat and in the behaviour of consumers. Previous qualitative research showed that ‘price’, ‘origin’, ‘production system’ and ‘labelling’ were the main attributes affecting preferences for beef in Extremadura (SW Spain). The data were obtained by a survey carried out between February and April 2002 with a sample of 575 regular consumers of beef. Conjoint Analysis has been used to estimate the relative importance of those attributes and to determine the existence of consumer segments with similar preference profiles. Results show that the origin of the product is the most important attribute for the choice of beef, followed by quality labelling, production system and price. Three groups of consumers were identified through cluster analysis, according to their preferences for beef. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry