Search

Extensive livestock grazing has proved to be a valuable tool to reduce wildfire risk in Mediterranean landscapes. Meat from herds providing wildfire prevention services exhibit sustain-ability traits that can appeal to ethical consumers and find a suitable niche in local markets. This study assesses the preferences of a consumer sample in the province of Girona (north-eastern Spain) for different lamb meat labeling options from herds providing wildfire prevention services. The aim is to disentangle consumer profiles, providing evidence for improved product labeling. This may increase the added value and the viability of small farms providing this service. Employing a latent class modeling approach, we explore how meat consumption patterns and socioeconomic features may contribute to explain preferences for different meat labeling options. Our results have identified three consumer profiles: traditional rural consumers relying on trust with producers, younger consumers more akin to new labeling schemes, and urban consumers that support local butchers as a trusted information source. Different labeling mechanisms may work in a complementary way to arrive to different audiences of potential consumers. Geographical indication labels can serve as a good departure point, complemented with information cues on environmental factors related to wildfire protection.

Purpose: This study explores the determinants of growth of credence-based exports of yerba mate from Paraguay, potential for increased export growth, and the fragility of the credence-based export model. Much of the growth in value of yerba mate exports from Paraguay is due to positioning of the good within the universe of products where consumption is driven by perceptions of sustainable production and health benefits to consumers. Credence claims for yerba mate—benefits to indigenous producing communities, environmental sustainability under certain production processes, healthful alternatives to energy drinks—are now widely known, but the growth of this awareness came via a new entrepreneurial strategy of a single firm. Design/methodology/approach: Primary information was collected through interviews of actors in the Paraguayan yerba mate value chain during spring/summer 2020. These included representatives from three exporting companies, processors, public institutions and indigenous producers. Findings: The Paraguayan yerba mate export boom was stimulated through the careful cultivation of an image of healthful consumption and sustainable production processes. The cost of this cultivation was borne mainly by a single firm. Findings suggest that future marketing efforts will need to reinforce credence claims, highlighting the benefits to indigenous producers. Research limitations/implications: This case study explores the determinants of growth of credence-based exports of yerba mate from Paraguay, potential for increased growth, and the fragility of the credence-based model. Originality/value: Findings are supported by field interviews with value chain participants and detailed analysis of extant data. The paper is the first to discuss the fragility of relying on credence attributes for long-term demand growth.

[Abstract] Neophobia has become an increasingly researched phenomenon given its importance on the evaluation and acceptance of new products such as seaweeds, especially in a country where these products are not a part of the culinary tradition, for example, Spain. Seaweed is a form of algae, a nutritional and healthy product. Studies have investigated not only the influence of neophobia on the satisfaction and intention to consume seaweed, but also on its impact on the evaluation of the seaweed’s credence attributes such as health benefits. Previous research has concluded that consumers who are willing to consume novel products, like cooking and also demand elements of modernity and naturalness in their food. Considering this finding, a convenience sample comprising attendees of cooking workshops and young consumers was selected. Participants were evaluated about their opinion and attitude toward seaweed as food item, credibility of chefs, and the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS) prior to the tests. After the seaweed tasting, consumers were asked about their feedback and willingness to consume seaweed again. The results confirm that neophobia affects the intention to consume algae. However, consumer assessments of the credence attributes and confidence in the cues sent out by chefs regarding seaweed-based dishes are not influenced by neophobia. Hence, promotion of credence attributes such as health and natural properties of algae should be used to engage consumers potentially interested in new experiences. Simultaneously, the use of credible cues from chefs also represents an excellent way to increase consumer confidence and surpass the barrier created by neophobia.

Food manufacturers that offer credence attributes, whose presence cannot be determined a priori, may fail to differentiate their products effectively and achieve higher prices if asymmetric information (on the producers' side) impairs their ability to reach consumers with higher willingness to pay. In this article, we assess whether manufacturers carrying products with credence attributes in their portfolio are able to obtain higher prices. To this end, we use a large database of yoghurt sales in Italy and a hedonic price model estimated using a stochastic frontier estimator. The results indicate that manufacturers that offer more credence attributes in their portfolios have the ability to price their products systematically at higher levels.

The role of government and intergovernmental mechanisms to assure food safety is well established. However, government also has a role in establishing and verifying a range of acceptable production approaches and consequential outcomes relating to credence attributes. The role of government in providing baseline information on the supply side and competent inspection services to verify the effectiveness of control measures at the production and processing levels of the value chain is identified. A meta-accreditation process, whereby government endorses various food safety and quality certification schemes that are coupled with credence attribute assurances is the most cost effective mechanism for government to pursue.

Considerations for food safety, quality assurance and the increasing importance of credence attributes are directly influencing market access for developing country producers in the world's most developed markets. Voluntary quality assurance systems building on and additional to the regulatory requirements (for safety) increasingly define end market requirements. While some schemes offer superior characteristics in addition to management advantages in the supply chain, other schemes are regarded as deficient and sometimes misleading in delivering proclaimed quality and safety criteria. Producers and exporters in developing economies must understand and recognise the appropriateness of these various schemes and their value in the growing international trade for agri-food products.