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Background: Nowadays there is a strong debate on the need to introduce mandatory nutritional information on alcoholic beverages labels, and particularly on wine, as a tool to promote more health-conscious drinking patterns in society. In 2018, the European alcoholic beverages industry presented a self-regulatory proposal, now under assessment by the European Commission. The most critical issue is how to convey nutritional information to consumers, as producers should decide to apply information on label or off-label. Method: The current study measured, through a non-hypothetical, incentive compatible artefactual field experiment, Italian wine consumers (N = 103) preferences for four different formats of wine nutritional labelling, namely: back label with the indication of kcal for glass of wine, with the nutritional panel referred to 100 mL, without nutritional information (but with a link to an external website) and with the indication of key nutrients for glass of wine. Results: Findings reveal that respondents preferred the nutritional panel on the back label, assigning the lowest preference to the less informative wine label (only with a website recall). Furthermore, results show a low level of respondents&rsquo, knowledge of wine nutritional properties. Conclusion: Findings, while limited in terms of sample representativeness, seem to support the European Consumer Organisation and the European Alcohol Policy Alliance objection to an off-line label and the advocacy for a traditional and complete on label nutritional information on wine.

The introduction of health warnings on labels to correct externalities associated with alcohol consumption is heavily debated and has been explored from different perspectives. The current paper aims to analyse the interest and attitudes of Italian university students regarding health warnings on alcoholic beverages and to verify the existence of segments that differ in terms of attitudes towards such warnings. Our results show that young consumers consider health warnings quite important, although the degree of perceived utility differs in relation to the type of warning. Cluster analysis shows the existence of three groups of young consumers with different degrees of attention and perceived utility of warnings on alcoholic beverages, but also in relation to drinking behaviour and awareness of social and health risks related to alcohol consumption. In brief, Italian young adults with moderate consumption behaviour view label warnings positively, while this attitude is weaker among younger adults and those with riskier consumption behaviours. Our findings, albeit limited and based on stated and not revealed data, support the need for appropriate tools to improve the availability of information among young adults on the risks of excessive alcohol consumption and increased awareness of the importance of moderate drinking.

The aim of this study was to determine the (1) role of gender, age, and education in the evaluation of multidimensional criteria of the purchase of functional products, which were (a) quality and organoleptic attributes, (b) attributes of packaging and labeling, (c) healthful properties, (d) functional components, (e) base product (carrier) and (2) most important motives for the purchase and consumption of functional food among consumers of different sociodemographic profiles.The data were collected in direct interviews. The sample (n = 200) consisted of 137 women and 63 men age 18-60 years. The research tool was a questionnaire divided into 4 sections. The first one included quality attributes. The second one included healthful properties, functional components, and carriers. The third one concerned the motives for purchasing functional food and included the consequences and values. In the fourth section the participants were asked about gender, age, and education.Gender, age, and education differentiated the criteria influencing the decision to purchase functional food. Women, older people (35-60 years), and those with university education attach the greatest importance to naturalness, nutritional value, freshness, food safety, and quality guarantee. Clear differences between men and women appear in the field of functional components, which are significantly more important for women than for men. Gender, age, and education essentially differentiate the preferences for base product (carrier). Young men prefer meat products in the role of functional carriers. In turn, women and older men prefer cereal products as basic functional carriers. Young consumers are more open to high-technology food processing. Motivations are differentiated by age and gender. Young men, as opposed to women and older men, attach less importance to functional and psychological consequences: improvement of health, healthy eating, conscious choice, and health promotion. Women and older men are more interested in health safety and are more responsible for their health. Among young men, lower self-esteem can be found.The analysis conducted revealed that groups of consumers are significantly different from each other in the evaluation of the significance of each of the variables in the selection of functional food. Sociodemographic factors differentiate the motivations for consumption of functional food.

The global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol launched in 2010 by the World Health Organization includes, amongst several areas of recommended actions, providing consumer information about, and labelling, alcoholic beverages to indicate alcohol-related harm. Labelling requirements worldwide for alcoholic drinks are currently quite diverse and somewhat limited compared to labelling on food products and on tobacco. In this context, the current paper contributes to the academic and political debate on the inclusion of nutritional and health information on wine labelling, providing some insights into consumer interest in, and preferences for, such information in four core wine-producing and -consuming countries: Italy, France, Spain, and the United States of America. A rating-based conjoint analysis was performed in order to ascertain consumer preferences for different formats of additional information on wine labels, and a segmentation of the sample was performed to determine the existence of homogeneous groups of consumers in relation to the degrees of usefulness attached to the nutritional and health information on wine labels. Our results highlight the interest expressed by European and United States consumers for introducing nutrition and health information on wine labels. However, the results of conjoint analysis show some significant differences among stated preferences of the information delivery modes in different countries. In addition, segmentation analysis reveal the existence of significant differences between consumer groups with respect to their interest in receiving additional information on wine labels. These differences are not only linked to the geographic origin of the consumers, or to socio-demographic variables, but are also related to wine consumption habits, attitudes towards nutritional information, and the degree of involvement with wine. This heterogeneity of consumer preferences indicates a need for a careful consideration of wine labelling regulations and merits further investigation in order to identify labelling guidelines in terms of the message content and presentation method to be used.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ interest and preference for health warnings on wine label, and the key socio-demographic and attitudinal variables driving this interest. Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered, by a professional marketing company, through an on line survey with a sample of 300 Italians, aged over 18, consuming wine at least once a month. Findings – Respondents were interested in receiving more information on nutritional and health features of wine through the label, and would also like to obtain information about the warnings about possible side effects related to excessive wine consumption. The most relevant variables influencing positive interest toward this information are gender (female), age (younger cohort), education level (higher), presence of children in the household and being the main responsible of grocery shopping. Research limitations/implications – The research was limited by being conducted only in Italy, using explorative methodology. Social implications – Outcomes provide useful evidence for advocates calling for the introduction of health warnings on wine labels and policy makers. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to analyze Italian consumer interest toward health warnings on wine label.

Activists and policy makers strongly encourage consumers to act as responsible citizens when purchasing everyday products. Accordingly, retailers and brands are competing on the market introducing a plethora of sustainability labels that should address increasing customer demand. Nevertheless, the usefulness of these labelling schemes in aiding consumers to make informed purchase decisions is still heavily debated. Results of a survey on Italian young consumers (N = 500) reveal low levels of individuals' familiarity with sustainability labels and highlight that several socio-demographic characteristics and food habits have a significant impact on consumers' knowledge of these labels.

As widely acknowledged functional foods (FFs) may contribute to improve human health due to the presence of specific components useful for their protective action against several diseases. However it is essential that consumers are able to comprehend and assess the properties of FFs health claims play a central role in helping consumers to select among food alternatives, beyond providing protection against unsupported or misleading statements about foods properties. At the same time health claims are the main marketing tool that the food industry could use to differentiate FFs from other products. Clearly, massive investments in research and development are necessary to enter the FF market segment, together with the possibility to protect innovation through patents. Current paper aims to examine factors influencing consumer understanding and use of food health claims on FFs, as well as providing several indications for developers, marketers and policy makers. After a brief review of the literature the results of a quantitative survey conducted online on 650 Italian consumers are presented. Results show that consumer use and understanding of health claims on FFs depend on different variables such as socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and confidence with nutrition information but also wording and variables related specifically to the product. Furthermore, different segments with a diverse degree of use and understanding of health claims have been identified. Therefore, to boost market growth, more efforts are needed by policy makers and marketers to provide better information on nutrition and health aspects of FF using an approach capable to ensure truthful, significant and clear information. Finally some recent patents related to the FFs market with specific regard to components and/or functionality investigated in the current paper are reviewed.

We evaluate the effects of monetary and nonmonetary endowments on willingness to pay (WTP) bids in Becker–DeGroot–Marschak (BDM) experimental auctions. Results indicate that subjects provided with a monetary endowment bid more than those that received a nonmonetary endowment.

summary Agri-food Innovation and the Functional Food Market in Europe: Concerns and Challenges Europe has recently experienced an increase in several chronic diseases linked to dietary and lifestyle habits. As a result, enormous progress has been made to establish the scientific basis for food developments in the areas of health, nutrition and processing. The food industry has rapidly reacted to this trend by developing a growing variety of new products with health-related claims and images, including functional foods that are selected by consumers for their health-promoting properties. The European markets for functional foods are less developed in general than those in North America and Japan. This has often been ascribed to an inconsistent legislation and there is a broad consensus that there is a need for a regulatory framework in the European Union to protect consumers, promote fair trade, and encourage product innovation in the food industry. This article reviews the regulatory aspects of functional foods in Europe and offers an overview of the current market situation. Moreover, the main cognitive, motivational and attitudinal determinants of consumer acceptance of functional foods in different European countries are discussed, providing several practical insights. The insights presented could help practitioners make more effective strategic and tactical marketing decisions. L’Europe a recemment enregistre une recrudescence de plusieurs maladies chroniques liees aux habitudes alimentaires et au style de vie. En consequence, d’enormes progres ont ete faits pour etablir un fondement scientifique a l’evolution alimentaire dans les domaines de la sante, de la nutrition et de la transformation. L’industrie alimentaire a rapidement reagi a cette tendance par le developpement d’une variete croissante de nouveaux produits aux revendications et a l’image liees a la sante, y compris les alicaments choisis par les consommateurs pour leurs proprietes en termes d’amelioration de la sante. Les marches europeens des alicaments sont en general moins developpes que ceux de l’Amerique du nord et du Japon. Cela a souvent ete attribuea une legislation incoherente et il y a un large consensus reconnaissant la necessite, dans l’Union europeenne, de mettre en place un cadre reglementaire pour proteger les consommateurs, promouvoir le commerce equitable et encourager l’innovation sur les produits dans l’industrie alimentaire. Cet article passe en revue les aspects reglementaires des alicaments en Europe et presente une vue d’ensemble de la situation actuelle du marche. En outre, les principaux determinants au plan cognitif, des motivations et des attitudes de l’acceptation des alicaments par les consommateurs dans differents pays europeens sont examines, et plusieurs suggestions pratiques sont proposees. Ces suggestions pourraient aider les acteurs de terrain a prendre des decisions tactiques et strategiques plus efficaces. In Europa gab es vor kurzem eine Zunahme von zahlreichen chronischen Krankheiten, die im Zusammenhang mit Ernahrungs- und Lebensgewohnheiten stehen. Infolgedessen wurden grose Fortschritte zur Schaffung der wissenschaftlichen Grundlage fur die Entwicklung von Lebensmitteln in den Bereichen Gesundheit, Ernahrung und Verarbeitung erzielt. Die Lebensmittelindustrie reagierte sehr schnell auf diesen Trend und entwickelte eine zunehmende Anzahl neuer Produkte mit gesundheitsbezogenen Aussagen und Images, unter anderem auch funktionelle Lebensmittel, die von den Verbrauchern wegen ihrer gesundheitsfordernden Eigenschaften ausgewahlt werden. Die europaischen Markte fur funktionelle Lebensmittel sind im Allgemeinen weniger entwickelt als jene in Nordamerika und Japan. Dies wurde haufig auf eine uneinheitliche Gesetzgebung zuruckgefuhrt; es besteht weitgehend Einigkeit daruber, dass ein rechtlicher Rahmen in der Europaischen Union erforderlich ist, um Verbraucher zu schutzen, lauteren Wettbewerb zu fordern und Produktinnovation in der Lebensmittelindustrie anzuregen. Dieser Beitrag bewertet die regulatorischen Aspekte von funktionellen Lebensmitteln in Europa und gibt einen Uberblick uber die aktuelle Marktsituation. Desweiteren werden die wichtigsten Bestimmungsgrosen im Hinblick auf Wahrnehmung, Antrieb und innerer Haltung fur die Verbraucherakzeptanz von funktionellen Lebensmitteln in verschiedenen europaischen Landern erortert, wodurch sich zahlreiche zweckmasige Erkenntnisse ergeben. Die vorliegenden Erkenntnisse konnten die Fachleute dabei unterstutzen, effektivere strategische und taktische Marketingentscheidungen zu treffen.

The current paper reviews published academic research on European consumer attitudes towards Functional Foods (FFs). The main goal is to rationalize the vast existing body of evidence on consumers' understanding and use of FFs and identify further interesting research avenues. Almost all the studies analyzed in the current review reveal that consumer acceptance of the concept of FFs together with a better understanding of its determinants are core factors for market orientation, development and success. However, failure rates have shown that consumer acceptance is often neglected or at least far from being understood.

Among the various information and telecommunication technologies available today, internet is certainly the most innovative and useful in terms of marketing potentialities. However, it requires that enterprises (especially small and medium sized ones) develop specific strategies in order not to be excluded from the advantages offered by the virtual market. An empirical investigation, carried out by browsing the websites of 107, randomly selected, Italian companies engaged in the production of typical and traditional foods has shown that these firms invest very little in web marketing. Focusing their efforts on the internet only as a secondary promotion tool, while web-based direct selling is confined to market niches.

The current study, performed on a sample of 600 respondents responsible of household food shopping, explored consumers evaluation of four attributes of probiotics functional foods: base product (yoghurt, orange juice and biscuits), health claim (generic, psychological and prevention), price (high, regular and low) and brand (familiar and unfamiliar). Conjoint analysis ascertained that consumers consider the base product as the most important attribute in selecting a probiotic functional food and asses prevention claim as the most valuable. In addition cluster analysis revealed that customer groups significantly differ in their evaluation of perceived healthiness of functional foods and in the importance attached to price and brand.

In the past years, European population has experienced an increase in several chronic diseases linked to dietary and lifestyle factors. In particular obesity is increasing at an alarming rate all over Europe, while warnings about its diffusion have intensified. As a result nutrition-related measures are highly ranked in the agenda of the European Union political priorities. Specifically, at the end of 2011 the EU introduced new rules on food labelling requirements by adding a nutritional declaration. In this context the current paper explores factors affecting use and understanding of nutrition information on food labels in Italy and provides potentially useful assistance for the implementation of new nutrition labelling. Results of a direct survey on a random sample of 400 food shoppers identifies different profiles of consumers, through the use of PCA and Cluster Analysis. Main findings reveal the need to focus primarily on education campaigns and provide specific indications for developers and marketers as well as government bodies that are interested in designing consumer communication strategies and effective health programs.

An overview of the functional foods (FFs) market in Europe that ascertains the opportunities for further expansion of this segment is presented. Consumer behavior towards FFs was analyzed through a quantitative survey conducted on 400 Italian food shoppers. Our findings reveal that respondents are confused due to the ambiguity of what FF products are, and that consumers perceive products that are intrinsically healthy such as yogurt, cereals and juice, as preferable and credible carriers of FFs. Moreover, use of principal components analysis highlighted the key role played by the perception of healthiness in determining shoppers’ attitudes towards FF.

The current paper investigates the factors which influence Italian consumers' behaviour towards functional food products and verifies the opportunities for further expansion of these products through a survey with a sample of 340 consumers responsible for family shopping. Findings show that there is a large number of factors that influence consumer purchasing behaviour. The empirical analysis emphasizes that, although Italian consumers are rather confused on the exact meaning of the term functional foods, their high interest on the bond between diet and health can be a potential element for the development of the demand of these food products. The work also provides a segmentation of the sample to verify the existence of homogeneous groups of consumers characterized by a different propensity towards functional foods.

Healthier food products have entered the global markets with force in the past few years and have rapidly gained market shares. The food industry has reacted to this trend by developing a growing variety of new products with health-related claims and images. This article, applying factor and cluster analysis, elicited consumer behavior toward functional foods (FF). Data were gathered through a quantitative survey conducted on 400 Italian food shoppers. Principal components' analysis highlighted the key role played by the perception of healthiness in determining shoppers' attitudes toward FF. Cluster analysis revealed three groups of respondents with different levels of confidence, satisfaction, and perceived healthiness of FF. In addition, demographic characteristics appeared to be only partially correlated with the acceptance of these products, a fact that confirms previous literature. Findings bring to light interesting market opportunities for policy makers and food companies.

The ability of Italian consumers to recognize and distinguish food products protected by the European Union denomination of origin trademarks PDO and PGI through the information provided on the label was explored with 400 face-to-face interviews of consumers, responsible for household food purchasing. Cluster analysis showed that the PDO and PGI logos are commonly the main purchasing motivation for shoppers with an excellent knowledge of the EU certification labels, while consumers with no knowledge of the European origin trademarks tend to base their decision to buy on the product's lower price, better appearance and Italian origin.

Interest in organically produced food is increasing throughout the world in response to concerns regarding the environment, conventional agricultural practices, food safety and human health. However many uncertainties related to the factors which influence consumer behaviour towards organic products persist. A survey on 300 consumers of organic products, living in the Campania region of Italy, demonstrates that respondents are unsatisfied of the current level of available information and consider the lack of information as a major deterrent in buying organic products. The paper suggests some European Union communication tools as response to the current information asymmetry. A further consideration regards the development of short supply chain alternatives, through which the consumer has the opportunity to receive more information on particular aspects of organic production and, consequently, has a better understanding of the quality of the products. The findings of this paper may contribute to derive indications for better strategic and tactical marketing decisions of organic producers.