A Means-End Chain Approach to Investigate Consumer Motives for the Choice of Bread Made from Heritage Cereals

Abstract

ABSTRACT Intensive agricultural production methods are one of the main reasons for the loss of agrobiodiversity. To reduce this loss, one option is the on-farm preservation of genetic resources. For on-farm preservation to be successful, the cultivation of heritage cereals has to be made attractive for farmers. While there are some studies exploring the perception of heritage cereals, endangered species and heirloom vegetable varieties, there is still a lack of research on consumers’ purchase motives. To close this gap, we combined soft and hard laddering and focused on bread made from heritage cereal varieties. First, we carried out 42 laddering interviews with consumers in four German cities, and second, we conducted a Germany-wide online survey including a hard laddering with 1200 consumers. We found that the psychosocial consequences health and naturalness dominate when purchasing bread made from heritage cereals and could be relevant elements of marketing communication strategies.