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The organic food market grew steadily during the past decade (Hamm and Gronefeld 2004, Spiller 2006). This increase is accompanied by challenges in market structures, distribution channels as well as differentiation of expectations and buying motives of organic food consumers. On this regard, the “hedonistic” motives for purchasing of organic food, that also include sensory features like taste or appearance, gained importance in comparison to other motivations. Therefore, some scientists pointed out that sensory attributes are important elements that should be taken into account in the marketing strategies by organic food distributors (Brennan and Kuri 2002, Padel and Midmore 2005) than even before. The objective of this paper is to explore sensory experiences, expectations and perceptions of Italian and German organic consumers underlining differences between the two countries when purchasing and eating organic food. Ten focus group interviews composed by 6-10 consumers were performed during 2009 in different locations in Italy and Germany. The focus groups content was transcribed and then analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results indicated that, although sensory attributes are not the main purchase driver, taste and, especially for Italy, odour are the most important sensory features taken into account by organic consumers especially for the first purchase. However, it seems that the ability to differentiate between various categories of sensory perception is characterized by a low level of development which may limit the set of possibilities when trying to reach consumers by affecting their senses. Furthermore, consumers were able to mention several aspects such as intensity, naturalness and authenticity that they consider to be important when it comes to the sensory properties of organic products. Other findings suggests that sensory perception is a learnable ability which offers an opportunity for the actors of the organic food market to bring their customers closer to their products by a corresponding training of consumers’ sensory abilities. Regarding the concept of standardisation consumers pointed out that sensory properties should not be standardized, especially for heavy users. In both countries, one part of the organic consumers seem to appreciate sensory marketing activities whereas another part apparently does not. For Italian consumers who appreciate sensory marketing, non-subjective as well as subjective marketing information is considered to be suitable, whereas in Germany non-subjective aspects seem to be predominant. Further research may be useful in order to detect the right marketing tools that are able to support a sensory-based strategy of product presentation and positioning., Proceedings in Food System Dynamics, Proceedings in System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks 2012

We explore sensory experiences and expectations of Italian and German organic consumers when purchasing and eating organic food. Ten focus group interviews were performed and the results were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Outcomes indicated that although sensory attributes are not the main purchase drivers, flavor and odor are the most important in driving consumers' choice. Findings also suggested that training consumers' sensory abilities offers new market opportunities to organic marketers. From a marketing perspective, Italian consumers seem to equally appreciate nonsubjective as well as subjective marketing information about organic products, whereas in Germany non subjective aspects appear to be predominant.

This study aims to analyse the influence of information on consumers’ liking and sensory perceptions. A sample of 301 Italian consumers of organic food products participated in a survey performed from November 2010 to January 2011. Consumers were recruited according to age, gender and frequency of consumption of organic foods (they were divided into light and heavy users). Consumers stated their preferences for “core organic” attributes, labels and information on food products and performed blind tests and branded tests on strawberry yogurt and cookies. In the branded tests, sensory test was combined with provision of different information, such as ingredients and the organic logo. Overall liking and sensory perceptions were elicited after blind tasting and after tasting of labelled products. Data was analysed by using descriptive analysis, an independent T-test and a paired T-Test. Stated preferences revealed that consumers appreciate “core organic” attributes, like artisanal production and variability of products’ sensory attributes; heavy and light users show significant differences in preference for whole grain products. Considering labels and information on food products, heavy users appeared to be more familiar with label reading, thus implying higher awareness about usefulness of information delivered on labels. Comparing blind and branded tests, results showed that information affects the overall liking of products and consumers’ perception of product specific sensory attributes; moreover, we cannot find significant differences in the way heavy and light users are affected by information. In conclusion, the survey showed that the influence of food product information on sensory perceptions depends on product category, sensory attributes and the type of information provided. These findings suggest that information (e.g. ingredients, logos, etc.) could be used by the food industry to fill the gap between consumers taste expectations and their actual experience.

Le imprese operanti nel comparto agroalimentare, in costante evoluzione, sono alla ricerca di nuovi approcci per soddisfare le aspettative dei consumatori. Negli ultimi anni si e diffuso un nuovo approccio di marketing, basato su un paradigma chiamato gmarketing esperienzialeh, che si propone di coinvolgere i clienti in indimenticabili esperienze emotive. In questo contesto, il marketing sensoriale potrebbe diventare uno strumento strategico per rispondere alle nuove esigenze ed aspettative dei consumatori. Con particolare riferimento al comparto biologico, attualmente sembra che i consumatori prestino piu attenzione agli aspetti "edonistici" (salute, gusto e benessere) durante l'acquisto di alimenti biologici, piuttosto che ad aspetti "altruistici" come la protezione dellfambiente e il benessere animale. Cio conferma il ruolo svolto dagli attributi sensoriali nell'orientare le scelte alimentari in generale (Shepherd et al. 2005) e motiva lfimportanza conferita da parte degli operatori alimentari biologici agli attributi sensoriali nellfimpostazione delle strategie di marketing (Brennan, Kuri 2002; Padel, Foster 2005). Numerosi studi hanno infatti rivelato che gusto e aspetto sono tra i criteri di scelta piu importanti per lfacquisto di prodotti alimentari biologici (Aertsens et al. 2009; Castellini et al. 2008; Kuhar, Juvan.i. 2010); gli attributi sensoriali diventano inoltre estremamente importanti per specifici segmenti di consumatori di prodotti biologici, che hanno un approccio piu pragmatico (Pellegrini, Farinello 2009; Zhao et al. 2007) e tendono a valutare i prodotti secondo gli stessi parametri applicati ai prodotti convenzionali (Berardini et al. 2006). Il presente lavoro analizza le esperienze di alcuni operatori della filiera biologica italiana, con particolare riferimento agli attributi sensoriali dei prodotti biologici e alle preferenze dei consumatori relative alla qualita sensoriale dei prodotti alimentari biologici. La ricerca ha un duplice obiettivo: a) fornire spunti utili per lo sviluppo di ulteriori indagini presso i consumatori; b) identificare alcuni elementi chiave che potrebbero costituire la base per indagini piu approfondite sullo stato dellfarte del ruolo svolto dagli aspetti sensoriali nel business degli operatori biologici italiani.

This paper explores in-depth sensory experiences, expectations and perceptions of organic producers regarding the role played by sensory properties in organic market, using a qualitative marketing research technique. Ten in-depth interviews supported by semi-structured questionnaire were performed in Italy during 2009. Findings shows that organic producers stated that sensory tests are mainly carried out empirically, they are not systematic and often performed by non trained assessors, even if they are completely aware of the importance of sensory information. Interviewees think that sensory attributes may play a primary or at least complementary role in consumer choice in order to adding-value and drivers for purchase motivations, but at the same time highlighted also the negative influence of variability in sensory features and the key role played by sensory education and training. Finally, organic producers expressed the need and the intention to plan scientific sensory tests with trained personnel in order to improve sensory properties of organic food although smallest companies declared difficulties since the high costs of sensory analysis., Proceedings in Food System Dynamics, Proceedings in System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks 2011

The organic food market is characterized by an uninterrupted growth during the past decade (Fibl, 2010; Spiller, 2006; Hamm and Gronefeld, 2004). Between 2006-2007, the organic food market in Europe is growing on average about 10% per year with an average per-capita spending of 27 Euros across all European countries (Padel et al., 2009). This increase is accompanied by challenges in market structures, distribution channels as well as differentiation of expectations and buying motives of organic food consumers. On this regard, the “hedonistic” motives for purchasing of organic food such as health, taste and wellness gained importance in comparison with the “altruistic” purchasing motives such as environmental protection and animal welfare. Therefore, some scientists pointed out that sensory attributes are important elements that should be taken into account in the marketing strategies by organic food distributors (Brennan and Kuri, 2002, Padel and Foster, 2005) than even before. On this regard, available literature lacks of empirical research investigating experiences and expectations of organic consumers which may support organic food producers, processors and distributors in drafting their marketing strategies. The objective of this paper is to explore in-depth sensory experiences, expectations and perceptions of organic consumers when purchasing and eating organic food, using qualitative marketing research techniques. The output of this research will be the identification of some key elements which may make researchers able to address further research and may provide useful recommendations to food industry practitioners interested in marketing organic food. Focus group interviews supported by semi-structured questionnaire were performed during 2009; five groups composed by 6-10 organic food consumers in different locations in Italy were invited to join group discussions focused on their approach to sensory characteristics of food. Each interview had a duration of about 1 hour has been video recorded. The interviews content was transcribed and then analyzed with the method of content analysis. The results indicate that some consumers still appear to be confused about the meaning of the term „organic food‟. The term is often associated with a set of desired features of food such as naturalness, freshness, but without any reference to the method of production, or with other types of niche products, such as artisanal or “home made” foods, etc. Although it is not possible to draw reliable conclusions on the basis of a qualitative approach like this, we may make an attempt to raise hypotheses that can be tested in a following research based on a quantitative approach. Based on the analysis of interviews contents, the sensory and safety attributes seem to be more relevant to consumer choice for older participants (46-75 years) than younger (18-45 years), the latter paying more attention to environmental protection, animal welfare, absence of chemical preservatives or additives when they purchase organic food. This is presumably because childhood memories seem to be important for older participants, as they apparently serve as a “personal sensory-quality term of reference” when taste experiences of the childhood or former times are compared with nowadays sensory characteristics of food, suggesting that education and training on food taste may play a role in shifting preferences. However, basically sensory attributes still appear to be less important than other attributes such as environmental protection, animal welfare, absence of additives, etc., consumers take into account when purchasing and eating organic food. Consumers largely agree that organic food should be different from conventional ones in terms of shape, odour, colour, taste, texture, etc, but variety is also expected and between organic food themselves. Few consumers, however, also expect that organic food may mimic some successful branded products. Appea...

Organic food’s initial attraction to the public was that it was perceived to be healthier and tastier, but scientists and policy makers have mainly stressed the benefits to the environment of organic and sustainable farming. Scientific support for marketing actions addressed to those who want to be healthier and who want to enjoy better taste, and are willing to pay more for these benefits is scarce. Past research has produced little clear evidence about the importance of sensory characteristics such as taste, smell, appearance etc in consumers’ preferences with regard to organic food. The Ecropolis project, funded by the E.U., was set up with the aim of investigating the role of the senses in consumers’ preferences regarding organic food, and leading to research into how best to satisfy those preferences. This deliverable is aimed at providing a solid basis for such research with an in-depth review of, and two reports on, the relevant scientific literature. The first report (Annex I) regards what consumers expect from organic products in terms of taste, smell, appearance, etc and how these expectations are (or are not) met; the second is about the science of the senses (Annex II). The first project tasks included creating and agreeing on a glossary of terms, deciding on search criteria (key words, etc.), setting up a bibliographical data base, preparing then circulating the above-mentioned reports, and finally preparing a summary of the reports. The report on consumers expectations highlights the suggestion that while organic food has traditionally been marketed through specialized retailers, its market share will only grow significantly if it is promoted by multiple retailers. Research literature from all over the world seems to agree in indicating that consumers’ choices are largely motivated by health, the environment, price and social status. Other considerations include ethics, the localness of the product and lifestyle choices. The literature also indicates that the organic market will expand significantly only if consumers are more willing, and able, to recognize quality, but this presents serious issues. When buying the product they cannot personally verify its quality and genuineness and thus must rely on regulation and inspection bodies. The recognition of quality can also be encouraged by effective communication by producers and retailers through appropriate branding, labelling and presentation. There are connections between this information and questions of sense perception, but researchers disagree about how important the latter is in influencing the customer, and in which ways it does so. The following report focuses, in fact, on the science of the senses, which tries to analyze in detail people’s responses to food, despite the many potential pitfalls in carrying out the research which might influence the reliability of the results. There is broad agreement on two points: - there is no proof that organic food is more nutritious or safer, and - most studies that have compared the taste and organoleptic quality of organic andconventional foods report no consistent or significant differences between organic and conventional produce. Therefore, claiming that all organic food tastes different from all conventional food would not be correct. However, among the well-designed studies with respect to fruits and vegetables that have found differences, the vast majority favour organic produce. Organic produce tends to store better and has longer shelf life, probably because of lower levels of nitrates and higher average levels of antioxidants. The former can accelerate food spoilage, while antioxidants help preserve the integrity of cells and some are natural antibiotics. The first conclusion may, however, depend on factors not directly connected to organic farming, such as harvesting and storage methods and the type of land used for growing the food. About the second finding it must be considered that measuri...