Can the Part Replace the Whole? A Choice Experiment on Organic and Pesticide-Free Labels

Abstract

Chemical pesticides are a serious impediment to agricultural sustainability. A large-scale reduction in their use to secure food supplies requires more innovative and flexible production systems. Pesticide-free production standards bring together the strengths of all participants in the food value chain and could be the catalyst for this transition. Using a choice experiment approach and green tea as an example, this study investigated consumers’ preferences for organic and pesticide-free labels. According to the findings, organic and pesticide-free labels and brands are all major factors that affect consumers’ purchase decisions. Consumers are more willing to pay for organic labels than pesticide-free labels. There is a substitution effect between organic labels and pesticide-free labels. Complementary effects exist between organic labels and national brands, pesticide-free labels, and national brands. Consumer trust has an impact on consumers’ choice of organic labels and pesticide-free labels. The use of pesticide-free labels is an alternate approach for small- and medium-sized businesses in a specific market to lower the cost of organic certification.

Income Quality and Organic Food Purchase Intention: The Chain Mediating Role of Environmental Value, Perceived Consumer Effectiveness

“…Additionally, the educational levels and family members of this sample are similar to those reported in earlier organic food purchase intention studies (e.g., J. Wang et al, 2020; Zheng, Zeng et al, 2022). The majority of the sample (72.0%) reported that there was child and elder in their home.…”

“…Organic food has gained the trust of Chinese consumers (Yang et al, 2021;Zheng, Wen, et al, 2022). The organic label serves as a signal to convey information about the quality and safety of products to consumers.…”

Chinese and Thai consumers’ willingness to pay for quality rice attributes: a discrete choice experiment method

“…Branding is a unique symbol that distinguishes products from competitors and transmits quality information to consumers. It is a vital component in individual purchasing decisions and extrinsic attributes that signal quality and enhance individual trust (Zheng et al, 2022). Hence, customers are willing to pay a premium price for a preferred food product (Yin et al, 2019;Zheng et al, 2022).…”

“…It is a vital component in individual purchasing decisions and extrinsic attributes that signal quality and enhance individual trust (Zheng et al, 2022). Hence, customers are willing to pay a premium price for a preferred food product (Yin et al, 2019;Zheng et al, 2022). The implementation of brand labels in rice marketing can influence rice producers to improve and maximize product quality.…”

“…In China, branding is sometimes confused with the store image. For example, supermarkets usually carry selected brands of fresh pork, and brand awareness of pork was found to be positively related to store image (Grunert et al, 2015;Xu et al, 2018;Zheng et al, 2022). A study by Demont and Rutsaert (2017) showed that women from West African countries were willing to pay an average price premium of 5 cents per kilogram for branded rice.…”