Organic milk preference: is it a matter of information?

Abstract

This study evaluates how textual information treatments (no information, animal welfare, quality, sustainability, and production cost) applied to organic production affect consumer preferences and willingness to pay for organic milk. We performed a choice experiment on 1250 Italian consumers, using a between-subject design. Our results show that without information, consumers on the average do not show a preference for organic milk. The impact of the information provided on the organic milk preference is mixed. Treatments on quality and production costs have no effect on consumer preferences for organic milk. On the contrary, consumers who received information on animal welfare or about environmental sustainability in organic farming showed a greater willingness to pay for organic milk than for conventional milk. Our results are in line with other studies that have observed that providing information about the ethical features of organic farming, such as animal welfare and environmental sustainability, has the greatest positive effect on consumer willingness to pay. These results are important for the possible strategies that stakeholders of the supply chain may enact to promote organic milk consumption.