Abstract
Future trends in sustainable food consumption include the emergence of short food supply chains and growing interest in local food products. Among the drivers are the more urgent sustainability expectations, the emphasis on environmental and social responsibility, and the changing consumer needs, of which the desire for healthy and quality products, curiosity, uniqueness, and experience are the most prominent drivers. Today’s customers are becoming more aware and open to culinary discoveries and exotic delights. In this study, we investigated the importance of product attributes related to local products, and the motivational factors that determine purchase intentions. The significance of our work lies in the fact that we have studied young consumers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. A quantitative consumer survey was conducted using a hybrid data collection method on a sample of 1756 respondents aged between 18 and 45 years. The questionnaire focused on product features, intrinsic and extrinsic motivational elements, and demographic characteristics. The results of our study provide strong evidence that the features associated with local products include but are not limited to the following: freshness, high quality, nutritional value, reliability, safety, evoking domestic flavours, naturalness, being healthy, environmentally friendly, etc. The motivational elements were grouped into four factors: hedonism, curiosity, nutritional value, and tradition. The main reasons for young respondents purchasing local food were taste and curiosity. Based on the results of the cluster analysis, we formed three groups having different features and different motivations for purchasing local products. Moreover, we had the opportunity to understand the attitudes and perceptions of young people towards buying local products. A key result of our study is that the “value-creators” segment considers local products to be healthy and nutritious.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilIn line with the ambitions of the European Green Deal, as well as the objectives of the Farm to Fork strategy, the European Union promotes the adoption of healthy and sustainable diets, creates opportunities for operators in the agri-food chain to transition to sustainable practices, and supports sustainable food consumption
We evaluated the motivations to buy local products, and based on the strength of the motivations, we formed three wellseparable consumer segments
The main purpose of this study was to identify the main motives for the selection of local food, which are a perception of a freshness and lack of harmful substances in such products and the belief that such food is healthy and unique in itself
Summary
In line with the ambitions of the European Green Deal, as well as the objectives of the Farm to Fork strategy, the European Union promotes the adoption of healthy and sustainable diets, creates opportunities for operators in the agri-food chain to transition to sustainable practices, and supports sustainable food consumption. The development of the markets of local food products is influenced by various factors including culture, legal and technical factors, as well as commitment, close producer–consumer relationships, and partnerships between public and private sector entities, which have obvious economic, environmental, and social benefits [1]. Buying locally produced food has recently been growing in popularity due to a new consumer trend in the European markets. The EU has increasingly promoted sustainable farming practices, local food systems, and short supply chains in order to increase the resilience of the food system.
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