The role of appeals to tradition in origin food marketing. A survey among Polish consumers

Abstract

The frequency of the use of tradition in marketing is growing. Appealing to tradition reflects the need to have reference points, trust and stability. The perceived authenticity of a product is strongly connected with its origin, which is expressed by the factors of time (history), place (area), socialisation (local community) and naturalness (raw materials). The paper aims to examine consumer attitudes, preferences and behaviours regarding origin food in Poland. We carried out a survey in a representative sample of 1000 Polish consumers. According to our respondents, the characteristics differentiating origin food from conventional food include links with tradition as well as sensory and health properties. Referring to the typology proposed by van der Meulen, traditionality and territoriality are the most important characteristics of origin food. The perceived authenticity of origin products depends to the largest extent on such factors as: natural taste, product quality, sale in the region of origin and labelling. The most important determinants of origin food selection include: traditional recipe, taste, and product uniqueness.