Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate different profiles of honey consumers in Slovakia and Romania by using a segmentation approach, thus supporting honey producers from both countries and promoting the consumption of honey for both food and health benefits. Design/methodology/approach A paper and online survey was conducted in two representative regions of Slovakia (n=2,138) and Romania (n=1,100), between November 2017 and February 2018. By carrying out a two-step cluster analysis, several segments of honey consumers based on consumption patterns, demographic profile, purchasing behaviour and honey preferences were defined. Findings In both countries, honey is mostly consumed as food product and medicine and the majority of consumers think honey has healing effects. Based on the data, the authors identified similar segments in Slovakia and Romania, in terms of frequency and annual consumption (“maniacs” or “loyal consumers”, “regular consumers”, “occasional consumers” or “sporadic consumers” and “irregular consumers”), but, at the same time, those segments are different in terms of the way in which honey is consumed (multipurpose or direct consumption, spreads, beverages and ingredients for cooking). Originality/value The findings provide honey producers–beekeepers a wider information base, which can increase effectiveness of price, distribution and marketing communication strategies. Furthermore, knowledge from results will allow producers to specialise and place the production by designing different marketing strategies in different segments.

Increasing consumption of local products is a key factor for sustainable agriculture. This study deals with the factors that influence the sales of local products with a focus on value-added dairy products. The research involved 30 family businesses operating in the agro-sector. Primary data were obtained by a detailed online questionnaire survey. For deeper examination, five hypotheses were determined and statistically tested using the Friedman test and Nemenyi method. Using the acquired theoretical background and empirical research in a set of family farms, we can state that the goal of farmers is to sell their products through the shortest possible route directly to the consumer. The most commonly used tools of a short supply chain are on-farm sales and telephone order sales, on the other hand, farms rarely sell products in farmers' markets, celebrations and anniversaries or e-shops, even though these tools all have great potential. The results show that farmers consider the product itself (quality, freshness, locality) to be the most important factor when selling local products, as well as customer recommendations and loyalty. Based on the results of the research, we propose to streamline sales support through new forms of marketing approaches to premium products, such as locally fresh products produced on family farms.

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The current situation on the food market is influenced by various diet trends including eating healthy products. The honey consumption has an increasing tendency because more and more consumers consider honey as a healthy alternative to a refined sugar. The aim of this research paper was to identify consumption patterns regarding honey in terms of annual consumption, its frequency, volume of honey per purchase, consumption structure by family members and factors affecting consumers at honey purchase. The primary data was obtained from a questionnaire survey, which was conducted in Slovakia on the sample of 316 respondents as well as in Russia on the sample of 309 respondents. For a deeper analyses several assumptions were formulated where dependencies between demographic factors (age, education and income,) and annual consumption by using Chi-Square Test of Independence and Cramer´V coefficient, as well as, differences in factors affecting consumers at honey purchase by using Friedman test have been statistically tested. Based on the results it was found out that, the majority of Slovak consumers make honey reserves and prefer to buy 1 kg per purchase while the majority of Russian consumers purchase honey if necessary and prefer to buy 0.5 or 2 -5 kg per purchase. Honey is generally consumed by all family members in both countries. The mostimportant factors for Slovak consumers was the country of origin (2.59) followed by taste (3.51), type (3.97) and price (4.18), while the least important factors were the size of packaging (6.70) and the design of packaging (6.80). For Russian consumers the most important factors werethe type (2.97), design of packaging (3.13), price (3.28) and taste (3.61) while the least important factors were the size of packaging (6.98), brand (6.50) and the country of origin (6.50). The majority of consumers in both countries consume from 2 to 5 kg annually and the only significant dependence was confirmed in case of respondents´ age. The annual consumption of young generation is lower in comparison to older generations.

Romanian beekeeping faces a lot of challenges nowadays due to the problems related to climate change, the use of pesticides in agriculture, but also to the pandemic crisis. In this context, organic beekeeping represents an important alternative to traditional apicultural practices. The purpose of the study was to present the current situation of organic beekeeping in Romania, but also to identify some aspects related to sustainability. The research methodology was based on secondary and primary data. An online survey was conducted in 2020 on a sample of 433 Romanian beekeepers. The main findings showed that the majority of participants were aware of organic principles and were familiar with the concept of sustainability in beekeeping. However, only a small percentage of beekeepers were certified in the organic system. The evaluation of the concept of sustainability showed that the most important factor for the surveyed beekeepers was the environmental aspect, followed by the economic and social components. The pandemic crisis has negatively impacted the beekeepers’ activities due to travel restrictions and the limited access to the apiaries. If, in economic terms, they were affected by the sales drop in the first months of the crisis, there were also some positive effects such as the increase in demand for health-related products.