Consumers' Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Fish Products with Health and Environmental Labels: Evidence from Five European Countries.

Davide Menozzi,Giovanni Sogari,José Luis Santiago Castro-Rial,Dimitar Taskov,Cristina Mora,Sterenn Lucas,Thong Tien Nguyen

doi:10.3390/nu12092650

Davide Menozzi, Giovanni Sogari + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12092650

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Abstract

Seafood products are important sources of protein and components of a healthy and sustainable diet. Understanding consumers’ preferences for fish products is crucial for increasing fish consumption. This article reports the consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for different fish species and attributes on representative samples in five European countries (n = 2509): France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. Consumer choices were investigated for fresh fish in a retail market under hypothetical situations arranged by a labelled choice experiment conducted for seven fish species: Cod, herring, seabass, seabream, salmon, trout, and pangasius. The results show the highest premiums for wild-caught fish than farm-raised alternatives. Ready-to-cook products are generally preferred to whole fish, whereas fish fillet preference is more species-specific. The results show positive premiums for a sustainability label and nutrition and health claims, with high heterogeneity across countries and species. With consumers’ preferences and WTP being largely country- and fish-dependent, businesses (fish companies, retailers, and others) should consider the specific market context and adapt their labelling strategies accordingly. Public authorities campaigns should inform consumers about the tangible benefits related with health and environmental labels.

Highlights

Due to the increasing number of diet-related chronic diseases and the impactful environmental damage related to food production and consumption, the concept of healthier and more sustainable dietary habits has been strongly promoted both by public authorities and the private sector [1,2,3].Food policy makers have especially tried to promote such behavior through information on the food label like nutrition and sustainable claims
Salmon and cod are among the most consumed species at the European level and in the surveyed countries [1]. These are followed by seabream and seabass, in particular in Italy, France, and Spain; trout is more likely chosen in Germany and Spain
The choices expressed in the choice experiment are in line with the actual purchase data [1]

Summary

Introduction

Due to the increasing number of diet-related chronic diseases and the impactful environmental damage related to food production and consumption, the concept of healthier and more sustainable dietary habits has been strongly promoted both by public authorities and the private sector [1,2,3].Food policy makers have especially tried to promote such behavior through information on the food label like nutrition and sustainable claims. Due to the increasing number of diet-related chronic diseases and the impactful environmental damage related to food production and consumption, the concept of healthier and more sustainable dietary habits has been strongly promoted both by public authorities and the private sector [1,2,3]. Dietary recommendations and guidelines for fish consumption differ between the EU countries, both in qualitative and quantitative terms [6]. This might be due to inappropriate and broadly-oriented communication strategies [7], as information campaigns toward a specific target of consumers showed higher impact on food choices [8]. In a fish market driven by demand, a better understanding of consumers’ preferences across the European Union (EU) countries for fish species and product attributes is paramount to sustain this sector

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