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Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Food".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2023) | Viewed by 16843

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Dr. Petjon Ballco

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Zaragoza, C. de Pedro Cerbuna, 12, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Interests: experimental economics; behavioral economics; sensory science; food market analysis; food labeling; food-choice behavior; food-plastic packaging waste; consumer-decision-making behavior; consumption contexts and emotion measurements; virtual reality and eye-tracking measurements.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Consumer food sustainability is one of the major challenges facing the world lately. Food consumption and production account for approximately one-third of households’ environmental impact. Sustainable consumer food policies cannot be pursued without the active involvement and understanding of consumer food sustainability issues, which include consumer internal factors such as sustainable shopping, consumer sustainability consciousness, sustainable food consumption, and waste management, and external factors such as demand for sustainable production methods and sustainable selling methods.

This Special Issue (SI) invites researchers in the relevant field to submit original and systematic reviews to expand knowledge in the field of consumer behavior related to sustainable new products, including functional foods, and alternative protein sources such as plant-based meat and dairy food alternatives, lab meat, and insects.

The SI aims to enrich the existing knowledge in the emerging area of sustainability related to consumer behavior, interventions, and policies that are used to prevent food waste and loss, and promote sustainable diets, including local food varieties, and environmental and ethical labels such as organic and sustainable certifications, fair trade, animal welfare, and other related food labels.

Interventions and policies to improve food plastic packaging waste related to recycling behaviors, understanding the recycling labels and practices, including consumers’ choice behavior of sustainable food packaging alternatives made from biodegradable, compostable, and edible materials, are included in the SI as well.

Dr. Petjon Ballco
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

consumer behavior
sustainable food choices
sustainable diets
sustainable labels
local food products
alternative proteins
food waste and loss
food plastic packaging waste
sustainable packaging alternatives
sustainable food production

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1202 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Edible Insects: A Study of the Availability of Insect-Based Food in Poland

by Karolina Szulc

Sustainability 2023, 15(20), 14964; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014964 - 17 Oct 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1885

Abstract

In Poland, there has been a significant surge of interest in exploring insects as a novel food source in recent years. This increased interest is evident in various sectors of society, from researchers and food manufacturers to consumers and culinary experts. For example, research institutions have been conducting studies to assess the nutritional value and environmental impact of insect-based foods, while food companies are actively experimenting on how incorporating insect-based ingredients into their product lines affects consumer preferences. Although insect-based food products are highly valued in many parts of the world, their development has only gained attention in Poland over the last decade. Researchers and startups began conducting studies and developing insect-based food alternatives at the beginning of 2015. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the market availability of insect-based food products in Poland. Since the success of insect-based food products in the Polish market depends on the willingness of consumers to buy this type of food alternative, the results of a narrow recent literature review have been summarized in this study and point out consumer perceptions and barriers to choosing insect-based food products. The aim of this narrow literature review was to provide information on consumer perceptions and barriers to consuming insect-based food products so that producers and manufacturers in Poland can design marketing strategies. To achieve the aim of this study, the websites of several food stores were examined that sell insect-based food products in Poland and created a database. Then, to identify the perceptions and barriers towards insect-based food products, the results of a few studies conducted in Poland and other countries were summarized. Six online food stores operating in Poland that sell insect-based food products were found. In total, seventy-three products that were available on the market were analyzed. The results showed that Polish consumers have access to a large variety of insect-based food alternatives, such as whole insects, protein bars, and several types of powdered insect-based food products. However, their purchasing behavior is reluctant due to several barriers, such as food neophobia and disgust, lack of familiarity with the product, lack of information about the handling and preparation of insects, and ways to incorporate insects into the daily diets of consumers. Insect-based food producers and manufacturers in Poland should consider these results when tailoring their marketing strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices)

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11 pages, 245 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

A Tale of Two Strawberries: Conventional and Organic Open-Field Production in California

by Leslie J. Verteramo Chiu and Miguel I. Gomez

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14363; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914363 - 29 Sep 2023

Viewed by 912

Abstract

Organic produce in general is perceived as environmentally superior to conventional produce. This perception is what partially drives some consumers to pay a price premium for organic food. To understand the environmental impact across various categories of both production systems, we performed a life cycle analysis on organic and conventionally produced strawberries in California, following input estimates from extension reports. This study found that organic strawberries performed worse than conventional strawberries in almost all environmental impact categories by unit of land and unit of production. Organic strawberries generate 46% more carbon footprint than conventional strawberries. One of the main environmental impact contributors of organic production is the effect of transportation of compost, manure, and other organic inputs, which are required in large volumes per ha. The contribution of input delivery to total carbon footprint per ha of organic strawberry production is 33%, and for conventional strawberry production the contribution is 8%. Post-harvest processing of strawberries is the activity in both production systems that contributes the most to total GWP per ha of production, up to 40% for organic and 60% for conventional strawberries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices)

12 pages, 2103 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Consumers’ Awareness of Fish Traceability and Sustainability: An Exploratory Study in Italy and Spain

by Giovanni Fiorile, Sharon Puleo, Francesca Colonna, Simona Mincione, Paolo Masi, Nuria Herranz Solana and Rossella Di Monaco

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14103; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914103 - 23 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 953

Abstract

Fish products are widely consumed in different European countries for their nutritional composition, such as their high protein content, omega-3 fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and low carbohydrate content. Therefore, fishing provides important income and commercial opportunities in different Mediterranean coastal countries. As the increased consumption of fish products is leading to negative ecological impacts on marine flora and fauna, sustainability labels are increasingly emerging. Furthermore, to increase transparency in the fisheries sector and increase consumer confidence when purchasing, fish traceability is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the importance of fish traceability and the knowledge of some fish sustainability labels in two European coastal countries, Italy and Spain. The investigation was carried out through an online questionnaire filled out by 1913 consumers in Italy and Spain. The main results show that receiving traceability information was mainly important for the Italian population, while, although fish sustainability is increasingly important, respondents did not demonstrate that they frequently buy fish products with sustainability labels. The study also highlighted how the main characteristics of the respondents may influence their habits and perceptions regarding the issues. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices)

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14 pages, 352 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Consumer Preferences for Olive Oil in Spain: A Best-Worst Scaling Approach

by Luis Pérez y Pérez and Azucena Gracia

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11283; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411283 - 20 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1096

Abstract

This paper studies the preferences of consumers for olive oil in Spain, which is the largest producer and consumer of olive oil worldwide. Olive oil is a prominent, sustainable, healthy, and distinctive product associated with the Mediterranean diet. Based on a survey conducted among a sample of 402 consumers, we apply the Best Worst Scaling method to measure the importance of some attributes that influence consumer preferences for olive oil. Our results show that consumers rate price, geographical origin, protected designation of origin label, and olive variety, as important product attributes. Conversely, attributes such as organic label certification, size, and packaging material are considered less important. As the perceived importance of olive oil attributes differs across individuals, we further estimate a five-class solution and describe each class in terms of knowledge and consumption of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. Finally, we discuss the implications of studying consumer preferences for olive oil and provide managerial insights. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices)

28 pages, 2830 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Students’ Food Consumption Behavior during COVID-19 Lockdown

by Eulalia Skawińska, Romuald I. Zalewski and Joanna Wyrwa

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9449; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129449 - 12 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1170

Abstract

This study is experimental in nature. The cognitive purpose of this study is to examine the reduction in food waste by students in the economic process during the lockdown. The normative goal is to identify drivers of social rationality of ex ante food stewardship by students, by reducing food waste. The subjects of the study consisted of students from the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Zielona Góra, Poland. To achieve the study’s goal, we use Consumer 4.0 model and develop one main hypothesis and six working hypotheses. The hypotheses were verified, and the study’s goals were achieved by employing desk research, followed by the descriptive, comparative, survey, and model methods, accompanied by deduction, induction, descriptive statistics, and visualization. The comparative method was used to perform the study in two periods—lockdown (S1) and pandemic threat (S2)—and to compare with the results of other authors. The model method was used to reflect the factor gap in consumer behavior. The conclusion stipulates that during the lockdown and pandemic risk period the behavior of students was similar and did not reflect food saving by deliberately reducing waste. The reason for this was the demonstrated gap of intangible factors, defined by their weakness, in both analyzed periods, in relation to their optimal level in the theoretical Consumer 4.0 model. This study determined a gap caused by the weakness of intrinsic factors during the lockdown and pandemic risk between the typical student behavior model and the theoretical model of Consumer 4.0, with respect to food-saving practices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices)

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19 pages, 1967 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Accessing Consumer Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the Deposit Refund System

by Aggeliki Konstantoglou, Thomas Fotiadis, Dimitris Folinas, Athanasios Falaras and Konstantinos Rotsios

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9429; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129429 - 12 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2110

Abstract

This study analyzes consumers’ perceptions of the Deposit Refund System (DRS) initiative in Greece. It aims firstly to measure the effectiveness of these systems in Greece. Secondly, based on elements from the Theory of Green Purchased Behavior, it identifies the motives of DRS users and how they affect DRS usage and perception. Data were gathered using a mail-out survey to consumers in various cities in Greece. The key finding supports the argument that moral motives significantly lower the costs associated with household recycling efforts. Moreover, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used to examine the research hypotheses. The findings reveal that the DRS motives positively and statistically significantly affect the process of recycling and user perception of DRS. Moreover, the DRS perception affects the adoption of the DRS and complementary mediates the effect of motives for DRS adoption. The normalized model shows that an increase in motives by 1 unit will increase the perception of consumers for refundable recycling by 0.346 units. Similarly, an increase in the motives by 1 unit will increase the use of refundable recycling by 0.296 units. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices)

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18 pages, 5606 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of a Consumer’s Purchase Intentions and Behaviors towards Environmentally Friendly Grocery Packaging

by Mikah O. Oliver, Iva Jestratijevic, James Uanhoro and Dee K. Knight

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8789; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118789 - 30 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2603

Abstract

Plastic packaging dominates the US grocery industry. This realization raises the question of whether consumers are purchasing food that is not wrapped in conventional plastic but environmentally friendly packaging. This quantitative study adapted the Theory of Planned Behavior to investigate the relationship between consumers’ socio-demographics, purchase intention, and purchasing behavior regarding environmentally friendly grocery packaging. The survey was distributed through Qualtrics, and a sample of 487 eligible US grocery consumers was gathered. The study uncovers some novel findings. First, the results suggest that consumers’ subjective norms substantially stimulate environmentally friendly grocery packaging purchase intentions, influencing actual purchasing behavior. Second, we discovered that purchase intention and perceived behavioral control are likely working in conjunction to help bridge the intention-behavior gap in environmentally friendly consumption. Third, this study supplied a fresh perspective on socio-demographics’ role in environmentally friendly consumption, confirming that predominantly younger, unmarried consumers are more prone to purchase grocery items packaged in environmentally friendly materials. We hope that these study findings provide marketers with fresh insights into the characteristics of consumers willing to purchase grocery items packaged in environmentally friendly materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices)

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13 pages, 291 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Meeting the Expectations of the Customer: Consumer Valuation of Broccoli Produced in the Eastern United States and the Impact of Local Marketing

by Rebecca Wasserman-Olin, Miguel I. Gómez and Thomas Björkman

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 7878; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15107878 - 11 May 2023

Viewed by 1257

Abstract

Regional vegetable production can only displace high-quality centralized production if consumers specifically desire regional produce. California leads the United States (US) in vegetable production and sets the industry standard for broccoli; however, there is increasing production in the Eastern US to shorten the broccoli supply chain for East Coast consumers. With new varieties suited for East Coast production, more information is needed as to how they compete based on appearance, taste, and the influence of marketing them as local. In this article, we design and employ an experiment to compare a California product to four new broccoli breeds better suited for East Coast conditions. Our results show that the new varieties are becoming more competitive based on appearance and are valued higher when marketed as local. Additionally, consumers are willing to pay the same amount as the California variety for two of the New York varieties based on taste. In these two cases, local information is not associated with increased willingness to pay. Our results show that local marketing can increase a consumer’s willingness to pay, but the effect may decrease as the product quality meets the expected industry standard. These findings indicate that grocery stores have the potential to compensate for broccoli that does not quite meet a consumer’s appearance expectations by marketing it as local. However, as the product approaches a consumer’s expectations, local marketing is unlikely to increase a consumers’ willingness to pay. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices)

12 pages, 554 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Emotions and Good Provider Norms in Tackling Household Food Waste: An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior

by Francesco La Barbera, Mario Amato, Roberta Riverso and Fabio Verneau

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9681; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159681 - 05 Aug 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1940

Abstract

Many studies have explored the antecedents of food waste in the framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Scholars have also made efforts to add explaining variables to the original TPB, with mixed results; they often fail to demonstrate the incremental validity of the extended models. In the current study, we sought to assess whether an extended TPB model including social emotions and Good Provider norms could predict intention to reduce food waste. We also measured two behaviors which may be predicted by intentions to reduce food waste: (1) reducing servings and (2) using leftovers. The results show that social emotions help explain leftovers utilization, whereas the Good Provider norms are inversely correlated to the reduction of servings. Compared to the traditional TPB model, the extended version has more predictive power, especially as regards reducing servings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices)

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19 pages, 1123 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Consumption Context on Indulgent Versus Healthy Yoghurts: Exploring the Relationship between the Associated Emotions and the Actual Choices

by Petjon Ballco, Betina Piqueras-Fiszman and Hans C. M. van Trijp

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 8224; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14138224 - 05 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1938

Abstract

This work examines the associated emotions of consumers transmitted from extrinsic attributes (fat-related nutrition claims (full-fat, low-fat, and fat-free) and ingredient features (plain, berries, and double chocolate chunk)) labelled on yoghurt packages. It differentiates by consumption context (health versus indulgent) at the time of the survey and studies the relationship between the associated emotions (e.g., positive versus negative) attached to extrinsic attributes and the actual choices. The research was conducted in the Netherlands in 2019, with 209 regular consumers of yoghurt. Participants were divided into two treatments according to each consumption context and a control group (no context); they were instructed to imagine purchasing yoghurt to consume it as a healthy snack or as a dessert or received no instructions. After choosing their preferred option from a discrete choice experiment, participants indicated how the choice made them feel from a list of emotions. The results revealed significant differences between positive emotional profiles for choosing healthy (low-fat) yoghurts with berries and negative profiles for choosing less healthy alternatives (full-fat) with double chocolate chunk sensory features. The findings from a random parameter logit model showed that participants who continuously chose the same type of yoghurt in all choice tasks selected mostly positive rather than negative emotions. The overall findings suggest that the associated emotions affect yoghurt choices. However, the emotions were mainly affected by the consumption context. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior as a Central Component Strategy towards Sustainable Food Choices)

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