What is local food? The case of consumer preferences for local food labeling of tomatoes in Germany

By S. Meyerding, N. Trajer, Mira Lehberger. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2019

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Abstract Given the lack of state regulation and the growing consumer demand for local foods, several retailers have started to promote “locally” grown food using different labeling strategies. However, there has been relatively little analysis of consumers' preferences for these different labeling strategies. The aim of the present study is hence to explore whether consumers prefer specific local food labeling strategies to others and where there is a difference between fresh and processed tomatoes. For this purpose, a choice experiment was conducted with a representative sample of 640 German consumers. The respondents had to choose the preferable alternative from various products (fresh tomatoes/ketchup), varying in origin, production method, and price. The main findings of the choice-based conjoint analysis revealed the highest part-worth utilities for the generic “local” food label. The results did not differ greatly between processed and fresh tomatoes in the choice experiment setting. Additionally, the findings indicated that most of the consumers view food as local if it is sold in the same state as it was grown. This finding is particularly interesting in view of the absence of a unified definition of the term local. Latent class segmentation of the data identified four segments, of which two placed high importance on local food origin. Thus, the findings indicated high market potential for locally grown tomatoes in Germany. This is an important finding, as most tomatoes in Germany are imports from either European Union member states or non-European Union countries.

Subfields: Food Science, Plant Science, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/132db72de05598d7bfe19ee5003073291b51642e