Consumer Choice for Quality and Sustainability in Seafood Products: Empirical Findings from Europe
By S. Jaffry, H. Pickering, P. Wattage, D. Whitmarsh, and J. FrereABSTRACT
The potential encapsulated by product differentiation has, however, yet to be tested in the market place. One of the debates that continues to accompany the concept is the nature and extent of the response of consumers to the introduction of labeled seafood products. Though differentiated seafood products are starting to come onto the market, we are still essentially dealing with a hypothetical market situation in terms of analyzing consumer behavior. Moving the debate from theoretical exploration to one of empirical evidence, this paper presents the preliminary empirical results of a study undertaken over the last year in the UK and Denmark. The study aimed, amongst other things, to evaluate whether UK and Danish consumers are prepared to pay a premium for seafood products that are differentiated on the grounds that the fish is either of (a) high quality or (b) comes from a sustainably managed fishery. It also aimed to establish whether the quantity of fish products purchased would change. Several expressed preference methods were used and the results are presented in this paper.
KEYWORDS: Consumer Demand, Seafood Attributes, Fisheries Management, Certification, Sustainability, Quality
View Ecolabeling Session
View Full Paper (PDF file)
