Mainstream Supermarkets Research Articles

An examination of the diversity of beer and cider products sold in Irish supermarkets in the context of health promotion advice

Aim: Current health promotion advice relating to the consumption of beer and cider in Ireland is very firmly based on nominal pints and half pints of beer. This study sought to determine if the assumed alcohol strength of beer and cider available in a sample of mainstream supermarkets was appropriate. This study also sought to examine if the assumed size of containers of beer and cider was accurate. Methods: All beer and cider products in a purposive sample of Irish mainstream supermarkets was examined. Data was input into SPSS and examined. Results: There is a substantial level of variation in the container size and alcohol content of beer available in mainstream supermarkets in Ireland. Discussion: Current health promotion advice in Ireland is out of date and does not enable people to easily monitor their drinking and follow healthy drinking guidelines. The obvious answer is the enactment of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, 2018, that has already been passed requiring alcohol containers to display the number of grams of alcohol contained. However, this element of the legislation, despite being passed into law, has yet to be either enacted, or even given a date for enactment.

Different sales channels for different farmers: Local and mainstream marketing of organic fruits and vegetables in Norway

Most food in developed countries, including organic fruits and vegetables, is sold through supply chains run by large wholesalers and supermarket chains. A certain share is sold through local marketing channels such as speciality stores, food box schemes, farmers' markets, and community-supported agriculture (CSA). This study uses qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey to expose the differences between mainstream and local marketing of organic fruits and vegetables in Norway, why and to what extent farmers selling through these two sales channels are different. We find that the supermarket chains' requirements to provide large quantities of uniform product are burdensome for smaller farmers to match. Farmers supplying the mainstream supermarkets tend to be larger and more rurally located. Farmers selling through local marketing are likely to be smaller, closer to urban areas and more diversified in their production. For local marketing farmers, it is more feasible to produce according to organic principles, using local resources and crop rotation. Survey results also show that local marketing farmers are less motivated to produce fruits and vegetables by income and more motivated to produce organically to achieve better quality and sustainability. At the same time, there are also many similarities between the two groups, and we do not find evidence of a general “conventionalisation” of organic agriculture in Norway.

Price competition and private labels in the U.S. packaged salad market

ABSTRACT We study the price competition in the U.S. packaged salads market by testing two price competition hypotheses: Bertrand competition versus sequential pricing model. The former is standard for oligopoly pricing in the IO literature. The latter provides a formal mechanism for second-mover, price-undercutting behaviour by private-label brands, owned by mainstream supermarkets, that grew their market share dramatically in the second half of the 2000s. Applying Vuong and Gasmi (1991)’s test, we show that observed market prices and market shares fit best to Bertrand competition.

Demand Metric for Supermarket Site Selection: A Case Study

Food deserts are lower-income communities with limited access to mainstream supermarkets and healthier food choices, a problem that often leads to increased levels of diabetes and obesity. In 2018, The Department of Agriculture identified 88 food deserts in Dallas County, 51 percent of which were concentrated in three southern sectors of the City of Dallas. Despite offering a $3 million incentive and tax abatements, the City of Dallas has made little progress in attracting a mainstream supermarket to South Dallas, a community that is often associated with higher crime and poverty rates, and minimal economic potential. Unlike a tradition location-allocation study that identifies suitable locations for new facility placement, this study focuses on the development of a new metric for estimating spatial patterns of demand for food-at-home expenditures. This metric can be used to inform traditional supermarket site selection studies in lower income urban communities.

Social Value Simulation of the Philippine Community-Based Social Enterprise Using Value Chain Analysis

Through a case study of a coffee cooperative, the researchers simulated how a community-based social enterprise (CBSE) creates social value by measuring the positive returns of its existence to the society as a solution to unequal distribution of income and rural unemployment. By extending the CBSE’s value chain, more significant social benefits are provided to the society by generating additional employment, especially for indigenous peoples in countryside areas. Nonetheless, the free market failed to deliver such socioeconomic advantage. Moreover, social enterprise products are not at par with mainstream supermarkets, adversely affecting indigenous laborers due to an uninformed market concerning the social benefits it tends to contribute to society. Such market failure can be conciliated through the creation of intra-value chain within the CBSE. With this pioneering study in one of the coffee regions in the Philippines, the Keynes multiplier simulated the impact of per peso invested on the new chain of operation. The relevance of an institutional enterprise was also emphasized. This research concluded that the creation of new value chain focused on providing consumer’s value for their money through intra-trading of products in the countryside offers the consumer an authentic experience of contributing to CBSEs which can boost a better long-term consequence.

Determinants of halal purchasing intentions: evidences from UK

PurposeThis study aims to explore the perceptions of Arabian Muslim consumers about halal food products and to investigate their behaviour towards halal-labelled food products in UK mainstream supermarkets using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The role of Islamic religiosity and consumers’ confidence regarding the halal logo as moderating factors is investigated.Design/methodology/approachCross-sectional data were collected through distributed 400 questionnaires in Scotland, mainly to Muslim consumers who come from different Arabian countries and are currently living in Scotland.FindingsThe results show that the TPB is a valid model for predicting Muslim consumers’ intention to purchase halal-labelled food products. The findings reveal that for consumers with high and low Islamic religiosity, subjective norms are the most influential determinants of their intention to purchase halal-labelled food products.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations include the focus on only Arabian Muslim consumers within an ethnic minority population living in Scotland, and the use of convenience and snowball sampling.Practical implicationsThe findings could be useful for halal industry food makers to better serve their customers through sophisticated marketing strategies.Originality/valueThis study extends understanding of consumers’ halal-labelled food purchasing behaviour using TPB to determining the rationales for purchasing halal foods from mainstream UK supermarkets. Unlike others studies, this study used Islamic religiosity instead of self-identity (being a Muslim) as a moderating factor.

How Do We Ensure Good Food For All?

First paragraph: How do we provide good food for all 323 million Americans? Differing answers to this question continue to distract, if not misdirect, the sustainable food movement. Some argue that organic, local, and other so-called good foods must accommodate the current industrial system of food processing and retailing. They point to the fact that organic food sales of nearly US$40 billion per year (Organic Trade Association, 2016) are still less than 5% of total retail food sales. In addition, mainstream supermarkets and large specialty markets, such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, account for more than 90% of organic sales (Porterfield, 2015). Large corporate food processors also own and control production for most of the major organic food brands (The Cornucopia Project, n.d.). So, about 99% of foods still move through the industrial food system, even after accounting for local food sales of an estimated $12 billion per year (Vilsack, 2015). To accommodate the 99%, some good food advocates urge farmers to find ways to accommodate the industrial food system....

Beyond the Public–Private Divide: GLOBALGAP as a Regulation Repository for Farmers

The purpose of this article is to find empirical evidence that can verify the seemingly new and growing interest in local food in Denmark, and shed light on what meanings the concept of local food holds in Danish print media. A content analysis of Danish print media is undertaken of articles reporting on local food over a 10-year period. A total of 993 articles are collected from national, regional and local newspapers as well as trade journals and magazines. Incorporating print media as agents in the construction of meanings of local food is a relatively understudied field of research. The article finds six major themes, which are central to the understanding of local food in Danish print media, namely ‘local food networks’, ‘food values’, ‘food system’, ‘food tourism’, ‘food events’ and ‘local food in supermarkets’. It concludes that there are important differences between print media sources; nationwide dailies portray national imaginaries, apart from local imaginaries portrayed in regional dailies and local weeklies. This said, local food cannot be understood without reference to the local scale. However, at the same time, both culinary globalization and culinary nationalism have resulted in the strong push for local food. Keeping with this, it is argued that the increasing interest in local food by mainstream supermarkets blurs the lines between the marginal and mainstream. Thus, local food can be understood both as flow and friction between dualisms of local–global and marginal–mainstream.

Meanings of Local Food in Danish Print Media: From Marginal to Mainstream

The purpose of this article is to find empirical evidence that can verify the seemingly new and growing interest in local food in Denmark, and shed light on what meanings the concept of local food holds in Danish print media. A content analysis of Danish print media is undertaken of articles reporting on local food over a 10-year period. A total of 993 articles are collected from national, region- al and local newspapers as well as trade journals and magazines. Incorporating print media as agents in the construction of meanings of local food is a relatively understudied field of research. The article finds six major themes, which are cen - tral to the understanding of local food in Danish print media, namely 'local food networks', 'food values', 'food system', 'food tourism', 'food events' and 'local food in supermarkets'. It concludes that there are important differences between print media sources; nationwide dailies portray national imaginaries, apart from local imaginaries portrayed in regional dailies and local weeklies. This said, local food cannot be understood without reference to the local scale. However, at the same time, both culinary globalization and culinary nationalism have resulted in the strong push for local food. Keeping with this, it is argued that the increasing interest in local food by mainstream supermarkets blurs the lines between the marginal and mainstream. Thus, local food can be understood both as flow and friction between dualisms of local-global and marginal-mainstream.

Ethnic minority consumers' responses to sales promotions in the packaged food market

Many scholars have stressed the significance of understanding ethnic minority subcultures and the associated cultural dimension for marketing. Most of the previous research involving ethnic minority consumers has largely focused on coupon usage and remains North American in origin and application. Also, previous research emphasises the short-term nature of sales promotions, ignoring their dynamic effects in specific consumption settings such as the family. The paper explores ethnic consumers' responses to different sales promotional formats for packaged food products in family settings. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted in original settings involving ethnic participants who regularly shopped at mainstream supermarkets, and who were the principal grocery shoppers for the family. Findings suggest that sales promotions have the potential to make consumers more responsive, less responsive or even hostile to sales promotional offers and while some promotions are better perceived than others, their overall effectiveness is largely determined by their “net-worth” as perceived by ethnic consumers in a given shopping situation. The paper discusses implications for retailers, particularly for those having store locations in market areas with high concentrations of ethnic consumers.

The Role of Ethnicity in the Geography of Consumption

Two notable trends in immigrant gateway cities—the growth of immigrant-owned businesses and accelerated ethnic marketing efforts of mainstream firms—raise an interesting research question of how ethnicity interacts with accessibility in the geography of consumption. Given that many immigrants today are better educated and more affluent than their predecessors, and an ethnic business and its mass counterpart can differ little in size and product variety terms, it is intriguing to discover how urban consumers choose between businesses owned and operated by ethnic minorities and those in the mass market. Based on two surveys, this article compares the grocery shopping behavior of Chinese immigrants and the rest of the population in two study areas in one of the most culturally diverse urban regions of the world—Toronto, Canada. Although a large Chinese population and mainstream supermarkets are found in both locations, one of the study areas is characterized by a high concentration of Chinese supermarkets, and the other contains only one. Analyses show that Chinese and non-Chinese populations in Toronto exhibit distinct grocery shopping behaviors. Chinese supermarkets and mainstream supermarkets are complementary consumption sites for Chinese residents but independent ones for non-Chinese. The role of ethnicity/culture is strong. Recognizing the sociocultural embeddedness of immigrant shoppers and the cultural representation of ethnic retail spaces, this study raises the question of how effective ethnic marketing can be in the case of grocery retailing from the perspective of both mainstream and Chinese businesses, with implications for immigrant community development, urban retail planning, and national multicultural and integration policies.

Assessing the demand for value‐based organic meats in Canada: a combined retail and household scanner‐data approach

AbstractWe apply sets of weekly retail and household scanner data to estimate consumer demand of selected organic and conventional fresh beef products in the Canadian retail market. The main contribution of our study stems from the application of a two‐stage procedure that provides new and deeper insight into consumers' responses to changing retail environment and pricing for organic and conventional meat products. Combined knowledge of point‐of‐sale consumer behaviour for value‐based products, such as organic products, and distinct socio‐demographic profiles of buyers vs. non‐buyers of meat is especially interesting for retail managers and meat industry stakeholders. First, household meat consumption patterns are investigated based on household scanner data that track household's meat purchases in the period 2006–2007. The second step of analysis then involves the estimation of an almost ideal demand system for selected organic and conventional fresh beef products using retail scanner data for the period 2000–2007. The introduction of greater selections in organic product lines across mainstream supermarkets in Canada in response to consumer health concerns is expected to spur retail competition in an otherwise saturated Canadian retail market. The analysis of socio‐demographic profiles in beef consumption using individual household's purchase data reveals that besides regional differences in preferences, household size and resource characteristics are major determinants of point‐of‐sale beef purchase decisions. Our demand system results indicate that organic beef is highly dependent on price and expenditures, whereas demand for conventional beef is mostly driven by income, habits and ‘typical’ Canadian seasonal beef consumption patterns. Altogether, our conclusions on organic beef vs. conventional beef buyers may have further implications for institutional regulations.

Vegetation Analysis of Urban Ethnic Markets Shows Supermarket Generalists and Chinatown Ethnic-specialist Vendors

The growing cultural diversity in the United States calls attention to ethnobotanical studies of urban ethnic food markets. These venues illustrate dynamic interactions between people and plants. A market survey of the Chinatown markets in Honolulu, Hawai`i was conducted to collect empirical data on this culturally rich urban area. The objectives included: (1) To analyze the food plant richness of selected Chinatown markets in comparison to local mainstream supermarkets; and (2) To test the use of vegetation analysis to describe the structure of these markets (e.g., “ethnic markets”). Surveys and mapping of food plants at three market areas in Chinatown and three mainstream supermarkets were conducted between February and March 2006. Microsoft Excel and the Community Analysis Package programs were used to analyze and compare plant richness and the structure of vendors and markets. In all of the markets combined, 291 “fresh” food plant varieties were recorded, representing 42 plant families and a group of fungi. The mainstream supermarkets were more rich in varieties of food plants than the Chinatown market area (mean ± s, 144 ± 21 vs. 95 ± 23, p=0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). Allium cepa L. and Allium sativum L. were ubiquitous. The Mainstream market group contained significantly more sweet-fruits than the Chinatown market areas. Agglomerate cluster analyses revealed groupings of mainstream supermarkets, Chinatown market areas; further analysis of the Chinatown areas defined culturally identified “Filipino,” “Vietnamese,” and specialty fruits vendors. Mainstream supermarkets may be viewed as “generalists” while the Chinatown market areas and vendors may be viewed as “specialists” for an ethnic or cultural group or food plant commodity.

Avoiding Asda? Exploring consumer motivations in local organic food networks

Supermarkets such as Asda (owned by Wal-Mart) have responded to the growth in direct marketing and alternative agri-food networks by promoting local produce ranges, and increasingly sourcing organic produce from the UK. Thus consumers now have a choice of outlets for local and organic produce. This paper examines the implications of that choice for direct marketing in particular, and sustainable consumption in general. The paper tests the hypothesis that consumers make a conscious choice to engage in an alternative food network when they purchase through direct marketing channels, and that they are deliberately avoiding mainstream supermarkets. Research findings are presented from a survey of customers of a local organic food cooperative in Norfolk, UK which examines consumer motivations and perceptions of alternative and mainstream food provisioning. The hypothesis is confirmed: consumers expressed wide-ranging preferences for participation in the alternative food system, though there is some concern that the convenience and accessibility of supermarket provision of local and organic food threaten to erode the wider social and community benefits achieved by direct marketing initiatives.

Global connectivity, local consumption, and Chinese immigrant experience

Acquiring consumer goods and services in the destination country signifies a different type of immigrant experience. This is especially pertinent in world cities where there is a strong presence of ethnic economies and where co-ethnic businesses and mainstream businesses compete against each other. The consumption pattern of immigrants is influenced not only by their pre-migration shopping habits, but also their post-migration transnational behaviour. In this paper, we focus on the consumption experience of Chinese immigrants in Toronto, which hosts one of the largest Chinese ethnic economies outside Asia. Based on a random survey and two focus group discussions, we explore how Chinese immigrants choose between ethnic Chinese and mainstream supermarkets, electronic stores and travel agencies. In theory, Chinese and non-Chinese stores providing similar goods and services are substitutes. The study however reveals intriguing results. Chinese and mainstream travel agencies are substitutes but Chinese and mainstream supermarkets and electronic stores are complements. Such differences reflect the importance of ethnicity and culture in immigrants’ consumption behaviour. The paper provides new evidence on immigrant integration in the domain of consumption and contributes a consumer perspective to the literature on ethnic economy and transnationalism.

An investigation of Chinese immigrant consumer behaviour in Toronto, Canada

Immigrant consumer behaviour is a topic of burgeoning interest to academics, planners, and marketers because of the importance of consumption in an urban economy, the growing ethnic diversity in metropolitan areas, and the rise of urban and suburban ethnic business activities. This paper examines middle-class Chinese immigrants’ preferences between the mainstream economy and the Chinese ethnic economy that comprises businesses owned and operated by Chinese immigrants. In situations where Chinese businesses and mainstream businesses carry a similar product mix and offer competing services, the consumption pattern of Chinese immigrants reflects a preference between the two economies. The study reveals a dynamic picture of Chinese immigrants’ consumer behaviour, with preferences ranging from a high concentration of patronage for Chinese travel agencies to a mix of visits to both Chinese and mainstream supermarkets. Logistic regression models reveal that ethnic identification is the most important factor in the choice of shopping venues although individual characteristics, the spatial structure of supply, and store attributes also play a role. The study yields important theoretical, planning, and managerial implications.

An in vitro approach to investigate medicinal chemical synthesis by three herbal plants

Ever since regulatory changes introduced herbals into mainstream supermarkets and pharmacies, there has been an explosion of demand for herbal plants and extracts which can be used to improve human health and well being. Science still lacks a basic mechanistic understanding of how environmental triggers regulate phytochemical accumulation, but this gap can be bridged using in vitro models to examine herbal species responses. For St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum), uniform in vitro shoot cultures were set up as a parallel to a previously established sand culture system for investigation of physical and chemical environmental factors that control hypericin accumulation. Cytokinin supplementation of shoot culture medium resulted in a proliferation of abundant leaf glands with enhanced levels of hypericin, as compared to controls. Cell cultures of echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia) were established, and hydrophilic pharmacological components (caffeic acid derivatives) were detected. A protocol of rigorous explant pretreatment, and use of newly emerging vegetative shoots permitted establishment of axenic kava (Piper methysticum) callus, which was used to regenerate roots (organogenesis). Kavapyrone synthesis was achieved in both undifferentiated cell cultures and in cultured roots, although at lower levels than found in in vivo root systems. The predominance of kavain and methysticin in both forms of the in vitro cultures was parallel to the relative proportions from kava roots in vivo. The cell and organ cultures of all three herbal medicinals provide advantageous, easily-manipulated models to decipher environmental controls of phytochemical biosynthesis.

639 Organic Alliance

Organics is the fastest growing trend in the food industry, increasing at an annual rate of more than 20% per year for the past 7 years. In the upper midwestern United States, a pilot project aimed at increasing the sales of organics in mainstream supermarkets has had an even higher success rate. We'll take a look at how this program was developed and implemented and the ways in which consumers, farmers, and grocers were educated about organic food. We'll discuss trends in organics, what consumers want, and how grocers can best promote organic products and increase their sales.

Marketing prospects for organic and pesticide-free produce

AbstractThe March 1989 food safety episodes involving Alar on apples and the cyanide tainted grapes found in a Chilean shipment were seminal events in the history of U.S. organic agriculture. Demand for organic produce soared as a consequence of these events, and mainstream supermarkets began adding more organic produce to their traditional product lines. But when organic supplies proved scarce, and as prices increased, consumer purchases decreased and many marketing managers began to question the rationality of allocating scarce shelf space to organic products. In fact, many supermarket chains either drastically reduced their organic offerings or dropped them altogether. Some analysts proclaimed that organics had failed the market test. However, two surveys we carried out in 1989 and 1991 among major California supermarket chains show that forecasts of the demise of organic produce in mainstream markets may have been premature. Of 16 chains responding to our survey, 12 continue to carry organic produce. All had carried organics for more than six months, two-thirds of them for more than a year. Of the 12 that carry organics, six rate organics as worse overall than conventional produce. But, interestingly, six rate organics as “about the same” as conventional produce. This is a significant achievement for organics. Organics rated better on environmental impact and residues, worse on appearance and shelf life, and “about the same” on flavor and nutritive value. Despite the constraints and difficulties encountered in marketing organic foods, 8 of the 12 chains that carry organics would carry more organic fruits and vegetables if supplies were available. The prospects for certified “pesticide free” produce are less definite.