Food traditions and consumer preferences for cured meats: Role of information in geographical indications

Abstract

Growth and development are two economic concepts that should go hand in hand. In a specific territory, the search for sustainable development is intertwined with the objectives of private operators but also with the public ones of collective well-being. As we know from the economic literature, the presence of information asymmetries leads to market failure as sustainability in the production of food products determines positive externalities that are not adequately remunerated. In this work some evolutionary trends in the demand for cured meats are analyzed, highlighting the relevant innovations introduced by sustainable consumption. Faced with this evolution of demand, with consumers increasingly responsible for the effects deriving from their choices, instead, the company has the possibility of improving its competitiveness through diversification strategies, with an ideal expansion of the business boundaries of companies that go beyond from a conventional food production to a competitive and attentive to the consumer. Through the analysis of the dynamics of supply and demand, it is highlighted how the redefinition of the production strategies of food companies can offer the opportunity to reduce, if not synergistic, the competitiveness objectives of the food sector with the public's expectations of sustainability. environmental. In this case, market failure is reduced thanks to the redefinition of corporate strategies, through which some public goods and guaranteed externalities become productive resources for the same companies, helping to broaden and better define the offer of economic goods and services they produce. The study examined the consumer's preferences for a food product, the San'Angelo di Brolo salami, a Protected Geographical Indication. The study highlights that the Protected Geographical Indication reduces the inforamative asymmetry and creates a long-term developmental condition.