Market Opportunities for Hay Milk: Factors Influencing Perceptions among Italian Consumers

Abstract

Central and South Italy are characterized by small-scale dairy farms and growing abandonment by farmers for other, better-paid, off-farm jobs. New marketing concepts for milk can be one solution to remunerate mountain farmers for their efforts. This study investigates the potential market for hay milk in Italy. In particular, we want to understand which variables drive the people’s willingness to consume hay milk, and if the European food quality certification schemes impact on people’s willingness to consume milk from hay-fed cows. Data were collected from a sample of consumers from Central and South Italy (n = 331) using a web-based survey. Later, a discrete choice probit model was applied. The main results indicate that aspects as curiosity, the production place of food, the local culinary traditions, label, and environmental issues play an important role in the people’s consumption intentions for milk from hay-fed cows. Moreover, the survey highlights that the respondents had positive opinion towards hay milk and highlighted some important marketing implications for the Italian milk sector. The study findings could encourage discussion about a niche market to boost local growth, initiating a process of improving livelihoods, certification of products, and use of the marketing tools addressed towards a specific milk consumer’s profile. In other words, the study could provide useful implications for food manufacturers and facilitate the design of marketing strategies for hay milk produced in Central and South Italy.

Authenticity of Hay Milk vs. Milk from Maize or Grass Silage by Lipid Analysis

“…Hay milk is one of the dairy products that received the TSG label and is subjected to strict production regulations. This product is obtained with traditional methods [ 4 ], and is perceived by consumers as healthier and more natural [ 5 ]. Hay milk has been regaining popularity in recent years, especially in the alpine region [ 2 , 4 , 5 ], thanks to marketing, labelling, and certification strategies.…”

“…This product is obtained with traditional methods [ 4 ], and is perceived by consumers as healthier and more natural [ 5 ]. Hay milk has been regaining popularity in recent years, especially in the alpine region [ 2 , 4 , 5 ], thanks to marketing, labelling, and certification strategies. This effort was made to valorize and differentiate local mountain production and to fully benefit from the TSG label [ 2 ].…”

Are Local Dairy Products Better? Using Principal Component Analysis to Investigate Consumers’ Perception towards Quality, Sustainability, and Market Availability

“…Information on individuals’ purchasing and consumption habits ( Section 2 ) and preferences towards 14 milk quality attributes ( Section 3 ) were evaluated using 5-point Likert-type scales (1 = Strongly unimportant; 2 = Unimportant; 3 = Neither important nor unimportant; 4 = Important; 5 = Strongly important) [ 24 , 37 ]. The selected attributes describing dairy products were chosen after an in-depth literature search to define consumers’ preferences concerning: (i) product intrinsic characteristics (type of milk used in the production system, fat content, quality and safety, taste) [ 38 , 39 ]; (ii) items linked to the origin (certified geographical indication, local origin, country of origin) [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]; (iii) extrinsic features (price, aspect/packaging, brand knowledge) [ 39 , 44 , 45 ]; and (iv) attributes describing the product environmental and social sustainability (sustainability certification, product linked to the tradition of the territory/traditional product, organic certification, type of production system) [ 46 , 47 ]. At the beginning of Section 3 , the following three questions were included: “Do you consume dairy products?” (Answers: yes/no), “Do you consume local dairy products?” (Answers: yes/no), and “How often do you consume local dairy products?” (Answers: very often, often, sometimes, rarely, never).…”

Italian Consumer Preferences for Eucalyptus Honey: An Exploratory Study

“…This study did not need approval from the ethics committee, and it followed Italian national law (d.lgs. 196/2003) together with modifications to the EU Regulation, as it happens in some studies about consumer behavior (see, e.g., [29]). Before participating in the survey, people were informed by researchers about the scientific idea behind the survey.…”