Strategic Food Marketing and Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

By 2050, the global population is projected to surpass 9 billion people with the most significant growth occurring in developing countries. The demand for quality, safe and diverse foods, spurred by globalisation and urbanisation, is on the rise and is expected to increase in the coming years. Growing populations and demands for varied diets are putting pressure on limited resources such as land, clean water and green ecosystems, as well as causing negative impacts on biodiversity and wild life. The unsustainable patterns of producing food in contemporary society extend into the processing sector, retailing and household consumption. Food waste is becoming one of the biggest challenges in modern food supply chains resulting in high costs for firms, unnecessary financial loss for households and significant environmental damage. The big retail chains wield enormous power within supply chains and have a pivotal role to play in sustainability in relation to primary producers and end consumers. While food packaging is used to stimulate consumers’ purchase in retail stores/online and distinguish between competing brands, it can also be a source of non-recyclable materials such as plastics, polystyrene or styrofoam. As food firms market new food products, they are now searching for innovative ways to appeal to consumers’ growing interests for sustainably sourced, and marketed, products. Digital media marketing, and in particular social media, is becoming an attractive marketing channel for firms to effectively communicate their sustainable practices to consumers. Focal points of digital media activities, including engagement, personalisation and positive experience of the brand, can be adapted into new sustainable forms of food packaging. The way forward for the food industry lies in transforming each part of the supply chain and marketing strategies into sustainable practices that will support predicted growth in population, food demand and greener trends.

A Special Issue of Sustainability titled “Strategic Food Marketing and Sustainability” will explore new ways of ensuring sustainability within food systems and include all players, from primary producers to consumers. It will gather together original high-quality papers that offer quantitative and qualitative accounts of sustainability applications as leverages of competitive advantage in food firms, as well as theoretical and conceptual papers that will discuss relevant aspects of sustainability and identify recommendations for best practices in strategic food marketing using sustainability as a compass. This Issue will cover the key topics related to sustainability across the domains of business, economics, social science and agriculture. Multidisciplinary approaches are most welcome.

The following themes will inform the Special Issue:

• Sustainable food marketing and new food product development
• Consumers’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards sustainable food production, consumption and marketing
• Food waste, recycling, upcycling and related food marketing strategies
• Sustainable food packaging and labels
• Food consumption and sustainability awareness, especially on social media platforms - are new trends emerging?
• Review of food sustainability policies/initiatives - what works?
• Sustainability along food supply/value chains
• Sustainable agriculture and rural development in advanced, emerging and developing economies.

Prof. Joe Bogue
Dr. Lana Repar
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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