Exploring Perceptions of Raspberries and Blueberries by Italian Consumers

Abstract

Consumers can be important active contributors to a sustainable society by selecting foods that are produced respecting environmental and socially ethical standards. In the fruit sector, sustainability issues are often associated with imprecisely defined concepts such as "locally grown", "freshness" and "local product". This study has investigated raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.) and blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) purchases in order to identify how berry fruits choice attributes are ranked by consumers in two Italian Regions, using a choice experiment (best-worst methodology). Twelve attributes-that indirectly refer to the concept of environmental sustainability-have been investigated. According to the preferences expressed by our sample of retail purchasers (n = 669), the results show that the reasons for the purchase of berries are associated with numerous parameters among which freshness and product origin are the most important and price was not ranked as so relevant. These findings indirectly testify the consumer attention towards the sustainability of local production and the link between sustainability and territory. Therefore, we can presume that the improvement of consumer familiarity with attributes such as "locally grown" and "local product" could support more eco-friendly consumption of raspberries and blueberries.

Household Behavior with Respect to Meat Consumption: Differences between Households with and without Children

“…It wasn’t until 2005 that a more rigorous methodological explanation was presented [ 19 ]. The Best-Worst (BW) methodology is a measuring technique in which respondents are asked to choose their favorite attribute (the best) and their least favorite attribute (the worst) from a set of attributes [ 20 , 21 ].…”

“…As the average BW scores take positive and negative values, and therefore sum to zero, they are often perceived as difficult to interpret. For instance, in the case of importance measurement, a negative BW value does not indicate negative importance, but rather low (below average) importance [ 20 ]. Rescaling can be applied for the total sample or the subsamples, such as segments, to allow an easier comparison than using raw BW scores [ 20 ].…”

“…For instance, in the case of importance measurement, a negative BW value does not indicate negative importance, but rather low (below average) importance [ 20 ]. Rescaling can be applied for the total sample or the subsamples, such as segments, to allow an easier comparison than using raw BW scores [ 20 ]. The total responses for each best and worst attribute were calculated using Sawtooth MaxDiff (SSI-version 8.4.6; Sawtooth Software, Orem, UT, USA, ) using the cyclical algorithm, k(k − 1)/2 (where k is the total number of attributes) making paired comparisons possible.…”

Blueberry Supply Chain in Italy: Management, Innovation and Sustainability

“…This great differentiation of fruit proposed and the growing availability of information on health and the increasing risk of disease in relation to lifestyle, is resulting in a new, much more informed consumer who discloses the intention to purchase sustainable foodstuffs [44]. Therefore, the new role of the consumer must be highlighted, no longer a passive target of marketing but a driver in food production and a significant sequence in the FFSC [40,45]. In 2002, Feenstra [46] rightly highlighted the need to create models in which sustainable production, transformation, distribution and consumption are integrated, permitting the development of coherent policies which will lead to benefits for agriculture, human health and the environment.…”

Integrated Methodologies (SWOT, TOWS, LCA) for Improving Production Chains and Environmental Sustainability of Kiwifruit and Baby Kiwi in Italy

“…'Hortgem Tahi ® ' analysed in the present study is a patented variety. Its production and sale are part of a European programme managed by the Nergi ® Consortium, which protects farmers from the risks of supply market excesses [56,57].…”