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In recent years, knowledge and consumption of ethnic food has spread in Spain, among other factors, enhanced by immigration. Immigrants constitute a new market segment, with specific food demands that respond to the necessity of keeping their culinary traditions. In this research a choice experiment is conducted in order to investigate Latin-American consumers’ preferences toward an essential food in their diets, corn flour. In order to allow preferences to differ across individuals, a mixed logit model is estimated. Three psychographic variables are contemplated as possible sources for preference heterogeneity: the degree of food neo-phobia, ethnocentrism and personal values. Consumers more neo-phobic, and those with personal values than emphasize personal development, are more price-sensitive, while, more ethnocentric consumers favour the patriotic origin of the ethnic food.

The paper examines the retail price structure of saffron currently marketed in the Spanish market, with special emphasis on the assessment of the region of origin and its certification as tools of differentiation. The motivation lies on the search for effective marketing tools for Jiloca saffron (Aragón) that in turn may contribute to preserve this traditional agricultural sector threatened by progressive abandonment. An hedonic price regression is estimated for this purpose, where the functional form is empirically determined. The prices and product characteristics have been collected from labels of saffron references either found on the shelves of representative retail shops in the main city of Aragon (Zaragoza) or on the internet shopping services that the main Spanish distribution chains offer. Results show that higher prices are attached for saffron distributed at supermarkets and Gourmet shops, marketed in threads, packaged in glass, and which carries a brand owned by a processor specialized in the processing and marketing of saffron. Currently, the recognition of Jiloca origin does not carry a premium, contrary to what happens to La Mancha, whilst the Protected Designation of Origin reinforces the economic value of La Mancha origin.Additional key words: Box-Cox transformation, differentiation, hedonic prices, Protected Designation of Origin. ResumenDesarrollo de una estrategia de marketing para el azafrán del Jiloca: un modelo de precios hedónicos El artículo examina la contribución de una serie de características en la formación de precios del azafrán que actualmente se comercializa en España, con especial énfasis en el origen y su certificación como elementos de diferenciación y generación de valor añadido. La motivación subyacente a esta investigación es la búsqueda de herramientas de marketing que permitan mejorar la comercialización del azafrán del Valle del Jiloca en Aragón, contribuyendo con ello a frenar el abandono de este cultivo tradicional. Con este fin, se ha estimado una regresión de precios hedónicos, donde la forma funcional se ha determinado empíricamente. Los precios y características del producto se han recopilado a partir de las referencias disponibles en todas las grandes cadenas de distribución alimentaria (y tiendas Gourmet) instaladas en el mercado urbano más próximo a la zona de producción (Zaragoza), así como a través del servicio de venta on-line de las principales cadenas de distribución en España. Los mayores precios implícitos corresponden a las referencias comercializadas a través de supermercados y tiendas Gourmet, en hebras, en frascos de cristal, y con marcas de fabricantes especializados en esta especia. Actualmente, el reconocimiento explícito del origen Jiloca no conlleva un sobreprecio, al contrario de lo que ocurre con el azafrán de La Mancha. En este último caso, además, la Denominación de Origen refuerza significativamente el valor económico aportado por el origen.Palabras clave adicionales: Denominación de Origen Protegida, diferenciación, precios hedónico...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure the relative degree of rejection or reluctance to try new foods of the Mexican consumers. Design/methodology/approach – To measure the degree of acceptance or rejection that individuals have for foods that are unusual in their diets, a phobia scale was used to new foods developed by Pliner and Hobden (1992) Food Neophobia Scale (FNS). The authors also distinguished between individuals’ predisposition to taste new foods, “neo-phobic” (lower bias) and “neo-philic” (predisposition). Additionally social and demographic variables such as age, gender, monthly income level and marital status to discuss relations with the FNS scale were incorporated. Findings – The results have shown that Mexican consumers show relatively low levels of phobia toward new foods, but there may be differences in accordance with the characteristics of the environment, the proximity of another culture or urbanization level have a significant influence on consumer attitudes. Originality/value – In Mexico the development of new foods has increased, in a recent study 83 percent of respondents indicated they are interested in buying new foods on the market. Studies of novel foods phobia have been made in various international contexts, in Mexico, however, the exploration and understanding of consumer attitudes toward foods that are unusual in their diets is incipient. This study represents one of the first contributions in this regard and more so to focus specifically on the Mexican consumer.