Because of the climate change and emerging need for an environmentally sustainable production system, circular economic characteristics have come to the front in many studies. There are many challenges in this shift toward a circular value chain. Still, it is unquestionable that the analysis of consumers’ behaviour is crucial, because without their engagement, circular systems cannot work correctly. This article aimed to explore the circular characteristics of consumers’ attitude towards food purchasing in Hungary. Factor and cluster analyses were applied for market segmentation. The question to be answered was the following: “Are there any segments in the Hungarian food market that can be aimed at by different marketing tools to promote circular systems?” The hypothesis was that well-defined segments can be separated, garnering more engagement in the circular value chain in Hungary. We could separate two clusters, in which the members’ opinions were in line with the circular economic characteristics. Summing up the features of the different clusters, we can state that the members in cluster 1 (“Information-dependent”) and cluster 3 (“Direct purchasers”) were in the most local dimension; their attitude was the most adequate for the circular economic values. The “Information-dependent” consumer in particular was remarkable from the aspect of this investigation. This study showed that highly educated young people, who are very conscious consumers and live on good incomes, may be the target group for circular innovation. These young consumers usually buy organic food, are confident internet and software users, live in cities, and follow a healthy lifestyle. Finding the right marketing tools to integrate these consumers into more sustainable circular systems effectively and to be committed to the concepts of circular consumption is an essential mission in the future. Collecting from different databases and continuously analysing consumer feedback can be a huge step towards in achieving sustainable consumption and avoiding food waste. The significance of this analysis was that we found a defined segment that represents propensity towards accepting circular economy values and can be the target group of policies integrating circular systems.
Organic farming is one of the most developed and accepted production systems from the aspect of sustainability. In this study, the Hungarian organic market was segmented on the basis of attitude-relating motivations of organic food purchasing. A descriptive statistic was used for the whole sample, and factor and cluster analysis was applied to segment the organic consumers. A sample of 247 questionnaires was processed to investigate the behavior and characteristics of Hungarian organic food consumers. Our aim was to explore the Hungarian organic consumer market from the aspect of trust in labels, we would like to find answers to the questions “Which kind of information consumers check on the product?” and “What are the main influencing factors of purchase decisions?”. According to our research, the majority of organic food consumers say that color is not as important as taste or freshness, so they do not associate the color of the product with the freshness of the product. Based on the factor analysis, four clusters could be separated that show different shopping motives and differ in their attitude towards food shopping. We named these clusters: Health-conscious, Disappointed, Safe and free food eaters, and Quality-price comparators. Based on the recognized consumer segments, different information should be communicated to consumers so that they can use it in their consumer decisions. Our research suggests that branding or product labeling is not as important to organic food consumers as we previously thought.
It can be stated according to the relevant literature that the health related characteristics of the food products and the ethical values relating to the sustainable development and consumption gains on a growing importance among the preferences of the consumers. The article introduce the different possible types of Short Food Supply Chains, the various food safety requirements relating to them and the opinion of some relevant conventional and organic farmers about the prevailing of rules. The aim of this article is to give a picture of the evolution of the food safety regulations, than a broad review of the different SFSC types, and to find the differences between the farmers' group. It investigates the most important characteristics of direct sale in the light of the recent food safety requirements among the surveyed farmers. The surveys were made as a preliminary research for a more comprehensive study.
The waste-to-energy programs that have taken place in recent years present a daunting picture in terms of sustainable material management. The incineration of much organic and unorganized waste in metropolitan waste treatment facilities is not meet with sustainable development. The solution to this problem may be to increase urban composting programs in the future, which is a sustainable treatment option but also a serious technical challenge. Our research question is whether composting programs can play a key role in rapidly evolving urban ecosystems in Asia, due to the specificities associated with the waste rates outlined and developmental differences outlined. Instead of the waste-to-energy or waste-to-landfill strategies often used today, can central composting focusing on high organic matter content be a suitable alternative? Using the AHP method (Analytical Hierarchy Process), the following alternatives were examined to clarify the issue: Wastes are commingled and processed at the treatment facilities; Classification of organic and non-organic waste at source for composting; Totally separating waste at source before processing at the treatment facilities. We have found that the use of central composting (separation of organic and non-organic waste at source) strategies to support circular development is one of the most innovative development strategies in the fast-growing cities of Asia, in line with E.U. targets.
The improvement of the organic farming is a basic aim of the national agricultural policy for years. The new CAP 2014-2020 also strengthen the central role of organic agriculture in the fight against climate change, the protection of the environment and the preservation of biodiversity. The organic farms are usually small scale enterprises so their development also relating to the improvement of the Short Food Supply Chains which is supported in the frame of the Rural Development Programme. According to the abovementioned the aim of this article to reveal the limiting factors in the marketing of the Hungarian organic farming. To achieve this aim we made a survey on the biggest Hungarian organic market, on the Biokultúra Organic Market and processed the information stemming from the producers' list published on the homepage of the Hungarian Federation of Associations for Organic Farming (Biokultúra Szövetség). The results of our survey showed that the limiting factors of the domestic sale are the market barriers for new entrants providing of stable quantities and the high production costs. In addition, the interviewed farmers emphasized that the foreigners trust better in their producers and the local market organization is stronger as well than in Hungary. ÖsszefoglalásAz ökológiai gazdálkodás fejlesztése a nemzeti agrárpolitika alapvető céljai közé tartozik már évek óta. Az új KAP 2014-2020 tovább erősíti az ökológiai gazdálkodás központi szerepét a klímaváltozás elleni küzdelemben és a környezet és a biodiverzitás megőrzése érdekében. Az ökológiai gazdálkodók általában kis méretű vállalkozások, fejlesztésük a Rövid Élelmiszer Ellátási Láncokéhoz is kapcsolódik, amely a Vidékfejlesztési Programok keretében támogatott. Mindezek alapján jelen cikkünk célja a hazai ökológiai gazdálkodás értékesítési lehetőségeit korlátozó tényezők feltárása. Ennek eléréséhez kérdőíves vizsgálatot készítettünk a legnagyobb hazai ökopiacon, a Biokúltúra Ökopiacon és feldolgoztuk és rendszereztük a Biokultúra Szövetség honlapján közzétett termelői lista adatait. Az általunk készített felmérés eredményei alapján a hazai értékesítést leginkább korlátozó tényezők, hogy az új belépők piacra lépése nehéz, nehéz továbbá állandó termékmennyiséggel megjelenni, valamint a termelési költségek is magasak. A meginterjúvolt gazdálkodók ezen kívül hangsúlyozták, hogy a külföldi piacokon nagyobb a bizalom a termelők irányába és a helyi piacszervezés jóval erősebb.
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