Is Local Better? Consumer Value in Food Purchasing and the Role of Short Food Supply Chains

Abstract

This paper investigates the current research on how consumers select the foods they buy and how they define 'quality'. Consumer decisions are complex and whilst a few consumers prioritise local above all other factors when selecting food, for most local is simply one of multiple factors which influence the food choices they make. Short Food Chains are not necessarily local but are based on supply chains with fewer steps in the chain from producer to consumer. Short Food Chains ensure that more of the value of the food is returned to producers and allows consumers to have a more direct connection to where and how their food was produced. Short Food Chains tend to exhibit features which consumers increasingly value, whether these be traceability and provenance, organic, familiarity, tradition or a connection to a specific place and culture. These strengths of Short Food Chains suggest that there is real potential to see major growth in this sector in the coming decade. As Kotler observed, you have to sell to the pocket, the heart and the soul and, in the food sector, embracing Short Food Chains can help producers to do this.

The Impact of the Food Labeling and Other Factors on Consumer Preferences Using Discrete Choice Modeling—The Example of Traditional Pork Sausage

“…This difference could be explained by the fact that the subject of the Czech research was conventional pork meat. This also suggests that for traditional food products, traditional sales channels are preferred and in Hungary, the farmers’ market is still considered as one of the most important channels [ 88 ], and with other types of short food supply chains are expected to have increasing importance in the case of quality food purchase [ 89 ].…”

Short Food Supply Chains in Europe: Scientific Research Directions

“…Figure 2 shows how, starting from 2012, scientific interest in the subject has tended to increase. The increase in the number of publications in the second part of the time period was not only driven by the European documents' [1-3] diffusion but also by the implementation of the 'Short supply chain Knowledge and Innovation Network' (SKIN) project [14,[39][40][41][42], by the progressive integration of the 'Links between the rural economy and development actions' (LEADER) programme in European rural policy [5] and by the interest in SFSC diffusion and transformation during the health emergency period [7][8][9]. Between 2020 and 2021, there was a decrease (Figure 2), probably because the upper limit for the bibliographic search was set at September 2021.…”

Indigenous Meanings of Provenance in the Context of Alternative Food Movements and Supply-Chain Traceability: A Review

“…(McEwan et al 2017). Trust has been observed as the main driver of alternative food networks (Delicato et al 2019; O'Kane 2016), manifested through continuous embedding practices in the realm of local and by certifications in the realm of distant markets (Bowen 2011;Flachs 2017;Giorda 2018), whereas convenience, price, and value for money were cited as drivers of the mainstream food systems (Delicato et al 2019). Continuous embedding practices, manifesting through place-specific moraleconomic complexities, reinforce the feeling of community among actors and enable the notion of preservation using a distinct sense of place (Boltanski and Thévenot 2006;Giorda 2018).…”

“…Continuous embedding practices, manifesting through place-specific moraleconomic complexities, reinforce the feeling of community among actors and enable the notion of preservation using a distinct sense of place (Boltanski and Thévenot 2006;Giorda 2018). Through horizontal linkages, prevalent in short food supply chains (SFSCs), these embedding practices foster trust-based relations between actors, and thus, they ensure more value of the product to the producer and a closer connection between producers, processors, and consumers (Bowen 2011;Delicato et al 2019). SFSCs rely on the interaction, communication, and connection between producers and consumers; thereby, reinforcing the notions of social capital (Kneafsey et al 2013).…”