Analysis of Consumer Preference for Green Tea with Eco-Friendly Certification in China

Abstract

The eco-friendly certification system is designed to ensure safe agricultural products to consumers while minimizing environmental pollution. However, despite its advantages, it is not widely adopted due to a possible decrease of farmers’ income. In order to provide implication for activating the eco-friendly certification system, this paper examines the attributes of green tea which affect consumers’ preferences and estimates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the eco-friendly certification in China. A choice experiment survey is employed for data collection, and the random utility model is used to estimate the preference for the certification and quality of green tea. The attribute that yields the highest marginal WTP turns out to be the organic certification for which WTP is $115.9/250g higher than for no certification. Also, the analytical results indicate that the group with high trust is willing to pay up to $214.6/250g more for green tea with organic certification compared to the one with no certification. The empirical results suggest that it is important to build the consumers’ awareness and trust toward the certification to activate the eco-friendly certification system.

Analysis of Consumer Preferences for Green Tea Products: A Randomized Conjoint Analysis in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam

“…In addition, it is essential to emphasize the difference between this study and previous investigations on consumer preferences for green tea products. For instance, in a study examining consumer preferences for green tea products with eco-friendly certification in China [15], significant influences of attributes such as place of production, size of production firm, certification, and type of green tea were observed. Specifically, green tea produced in different regions of China has been shown to have varying impacts on customer preferences, with South China, Jiangnan, and Southwest China influencing customer preferences by 16.2%, 23.2%, and 23.4%, respectively.…”

“…However, there is scarce research focusing on market research and consumer behavior, particularly regarding consumer preferences for specific attributes of green tea products. In China, Nam et al [15] studied consumer preferences for green tea with environmentally friendly certification, with the results showing that certain tea product attributes, such as the location of production, size of the production firm, certification, and type of green tea, affect consumer preferences, and thus, consumers are willing to pay more for green tea products with organic certification than for those without organic certification or without any certification at all. Another study by Yang et al [16] shows that the origin, organic labels, and brand attributes of Oolong tea are significant factors influencing consumers' purchasing decisions.…”

“…Moreover, consumers are becoming increasingly discerning, placing stricter emphasis on quality, design, and information provided on product packaging [13,14]. The behavior of food consumers is also evolving, with their preferences and considerations shifting toward food safety and health [15].…”

“…One of the key determinants influencing the green tea product market is consumer behavior. Several previous studies in some of the world's largest tea-producing countries, such as China, India, and Sri Lanka, indicate that tea product attributes such as brand, origin, price, organic labels, product, marketing, taste, and quality influence consumer behavior [15][16][17][18]. Meeting consumer needs and preferences and building trust among customers demand specific strategies and effective customer engagement from producers, enterprises, and distributors.…”

Study on the Influencing Factors and Willingness to Pay of Consumers Purchasing Ecological Agricultural Products

“…By studying the influencing factors and willingness to pay of consumers' purchase of ecological agricultural products, this paper believes that the core of consumers' purchase is health value and environmental value. With the frequent occurrence of food safety accidents in China, the basic requirement that consumers are willing to pay a premium for is the health and safety brought by its high quality [ 27 , 28 ]. Seubelt et al also found that price is a major factor in food choice from a sustainability perspective [ 29 ].…”