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Credence attributes such as environmental impact, origin, fairness/unfairness, and food safety/health are not available with certainty prior to or at the time of the consumer purchase decision. This creates a problem of imperfect or asymmetric information, leading to suboptimal supply and demand for products with these desirable attributes. Using a representative sample of 2001 Canadian consumers, we adopt, within an attribute‐based decision‐making framework, the asymptotically efficient double‐bounded stated preference approach, to estimate Canadian consumers' willingness to pay for origin, fairness, environmental impact, and food safety attributes associated with pork chops and fresh apples. We find that, on average, consumers are willing to pay significantly more for pork chops and fresh apples that are farmers‐advantaged, sourced from their own province, grown or raised under a production system designed to be environmentally sustainable, and chemical‐free. However, these findings differ significantly by the province of origin, gender, age, and income of the respondents, as well as by product type and attributes being valued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical consumerism is the conscious choice of purchasing or avoiding products for ethical or environmental reasons. As an increasing share of consumer attempts to purchase sustainably produced food, credence attributes, which are product qualities that are not easily observable or verifiable during purchase or consumption, gain importance. Variety ownership has so far not played any role in food consumption choices but is a new type of credence attribute that may gain relevance through the recent introduction of open‐source seed licenses. Such licenses aim to safeguard agrobiodiversity, ensure long‐term access to plant genetic resources and counter current privatization trends in the seed industry. The labeling of open‐source produce could help to upscale the concept and enable consumers to support the safeguarding of biodiversity through their consumption choices. However, as the first open‐source varieties become available for purchase, consumers' perspectives on open‐source seed licenses remain unclear. In this paper, we, hence, examine German consumers' perceptions of open‐source seed licenses. The analysis of 228 thinking‐aloud protocols, based on qualitative data collected in a conventional and an organic supermarket in Berlin, Germany, serves as an empirical basis. We find that most consumers have a highly positive evaluation of open‐source seed licenses, regardless of whether they fully understand the concept or not. The license is widely perceived to provide a counter‐model to current industrial seed‐ and agricultural production. Specifically, it is believed to (1) prevent the privatization of plant genetic resources, (2) contribute to the conservation and enhancement of agrobiodiversity, (3) support (small‐scale) farmers and (4) prevent market concentration. To what extent these perceptions coincide with personal preferences for taste, health, safety and quality remains to be explored. The concept may specifically cater to certain consumer segments, including highly educated, young to middle‐aged, organically minded consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to empirically investigate the role of claims of credence attributes in the launch of food and drink products using a large dataset of new product development by food companies in China. A multinomial regression model is employed to analyze the association between the type of product launch and the positioning claims adopted by firms. The results provide evidence that claims of credence attributes play an important role in the product launch strategy of firms. Food companies tend to choose the most cost‐effective strategies to launch products with credence attributes. Hence, claims that are seen as most important for consumers are more likely to be engendered for the more costly launch approach. For example, the attribute of food safety is highly important in China and its use is related to launching brand new products which generally is the most costly launch strategy. In contrast, other credence attributes, such as "environmentally sustainable," are linked to relatively simpler and cheaper strategies, such as new packaging. Given most studies on credence attributes have focused on the consumer side, results of this study fill in the gap of understanding how food suppliers respond to consumer demand for food products with credence attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the potential demand for a local food speciality product, saffron, with alternative labels, using a choice experiment. The paper contributes to the literature on credence attributes, by examining Willingness to Pay (WTP) for the local, organic and PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), their differences across experimental conditions (hypothetical and non‐hypothetical), and by identifying the effects of personal characteristics, in terms of socio‐demographics and level of product involvement on the differences in WTP. We find that the local saffron speciality has an important appeal that could be better reinforced with the PDO rather than the organic labelling, and that consumers show a consistent pattern of preferences across experimental environments. WTP tends to be higher in the hypothetical setting and, in particular, consumers with relatively more knowledge and deeper roots in the territory tend to exhibit a larger WTP premium for local origin and its certification. These results may help producers improve their marketing of agri‐food products with a high gastronomic value and differentiation potential, while they warn about an overstatement of WTP for socially desirable characteristics, such as organic labelling, which is also relevant for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock products, such as dairy and beef, are increasingly regarded as resource intensive and concerns are raised about animal welfare and environmental sustainability. As a result, consumer awareness of these issues has led to an increasing demand for products with high quality credence attributes (CAs) that cannot be directly experienced or identified. A number of empirical studies have attempted to estimate consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for CAs, which represents the additional value placed on the benefits that they derive from those products. However, there are significant differences in these WTP estimates, mainly because both consumers' perceptions of CAs and the conditions of the studies vary. We conduct a meta‐analysis to examine consumers' WTP for different CAs of livestock products based on a systematic review of relevant studies. Meta‐regression models are used to control for the heterogeneity of WTP estimates and investigate factors that affect the estimation of WTP. Overall 555 estimates derived from 94 papers reporting WTP are included in this study. Meta‐regression results establish the presence of systematic WTP variation associated with types of products, CAs, and locations, though also indicate that WTP is subject to systematic variation associated with study methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the common preference structure underlying purchase intentions for food products labeled with credence attributes. In three consecutive, hypothetical discrete choice experiments, consumers selected pork, eggs, and pasta containing egg based on the attributes organic, local, animal welfare, certified "free of antibiotics," and price. The data were analyzed using structural choice modeling, a factor‐analytic approach modeling latent sources of preference heterogeneity. The results of this analysis show that preference heterogeneity is stable across products and can be explained best by common characteristics in credence attributes. The article gives guidance as to how to use factors in the analysis of multiple discrete choice experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers' food choices are influenced by a wide variety of credence attributes, but the food industry faces problems assessing whether the price premiums that consumers are willing to pay for these attributes will be sufficient to offset higher production costs. In this context, consumers' willingness to pay ( WTP) for safer, cleaner and animal friendlier beef was investigated through a choice experiment. The relative importance of WTP for these attributes shows that consumers place the highest values on food safety, followed by animal welfare and finally environmental protection. WTP for different combinations of the three attributes cannot be obtained by independent valuation and summation due to the presence of significant substitution relationships. However, some suggestions for the relationships between these attributes can be proposed through an after-survey analytical solution. The bias involved in separately valuing closely related attributes can potentially jeopardise the success of a differentiation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The retail market for seafood is dynamic with substantial competition both amongst retailers and between private labels and national brands. New product attributes are added in attempts to differentiate products and to attract consumers. Credence attributes, in particular those related to eco-labels and fishing method, have become more common. But little is known about how these and other credence attributes are valued in the retail market. In addition, little is known about price differences between private labels. To estimate the value of these attributes, weekly in-store observations of selected frozen whitefish products were conducted in seven UK retail chains in the city of Glasgow. An estimated hedonic model shows a substantial price premium for fishing method (line-caught), a premium for both home ( Scottish) and non-home country of origin ( Icelandic) and a premium for the Marine Stewardship Council eco-label. An uncertified eco-label owned by a large seafood manufacturer leads to reduced price. The study also reveals substantial price differences between private labels for whitefish. The results contribute new insights regarding opportunities for differentiation by credence attributes which may lead to more sustainable and effective resource use along the value chain for frozen whitefish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]