In this article the authors study one aspect of the proliferation of quality labels in the agro-food sector: the coexistence of two signs on one same product and its consequences on the value of each sign. The context is that of the competition between national brands and private labels on a certain number of goods carrying a public quality label. The authors show that the value of a sign decreases when it is combined with another one on the same product. This result is verified for six products involving four quality labels. This allows for an interpretation of retailers' strategy concerning their private labels. [EconLit Classification: D120]. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 22: 21-30, 2006.

We study consumers' motivations for buying organic food by analyzing their shopping baskets. Buying organic can be motivated by concern about sustainable development and/or self-interest (considerations related to health or product quality). Pro-social motivation is inferred from the presence of fair trade products in the consumer's basket; consumer self-interest is deduced from the presence of healthy and higher-quality products bearing special quality labels or certifications. Our results indicate that environmental motivation predicts organic food purchases better than health or quality considerations: the complementarity between organic and fair trade products is strongest. In addition, the household's socioeconomic background influences secondary motivations.

We analyze the effects of Geographical Indication (GI) labeling on quality choices and welfare with two vertically differentiated goods, one labelable, the other not. We consider two attributes of these goods: gustatory quality and geographical origin. We investigate two extreme cases of the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label: a denomination standard, which guarantees only the origin of the product, without any requirement on production specifications; and a minimum quality requirement, which guarantees both the origin and the quality of the product. We find that the PDO good is not necessarily the high-quality good. When it is, the introduction of the denomination standard causes its quality to decrease. Binding production specifications that maintain the quality level of the labeled good adversely affect the PDO firm.

We propose an empirical study of French sales in conventional food retailing and in specialised organic stores for 2012. We examine the plant or animal origin of food products, as an indicator of the environmental and health impacts of sales, and their degree of processing, as an indicator of their health impact. The results indicate that sales of organic food products are more plant-based and less processed in specialised organic stores than in conventional retail stores, two criteria for a better health and environmental impact. In conventional stores, organic sales are more plant-based and less processed than conventional sales. Organic sales in conventional stores show some specificity, having the highest share of particular product ranges lacking a clear health or environmental impact, such as processed culinary ingredients or unprocessed or minimally processed animal products. Building a typology of buyers in conventional stores, we find that even purchases by buyers with the highest organic purchase intensity in conventional stores are less plant-based and more processed than average purchases in specialised organic stores. With less plant-based and more processed organic products sold in conventional retail stores, our results suggest that the conventionalisation of organic food retailing has negative health and environmental impacts.

Geographical Indications (GIs) are considered as upmarket products because they are based on tradition and convey information about their geographical origin. Otherwise, the limitation of the geographical areas devoted to GIs and the exclusivity they benefit on the product lead to suspicions of monopoly power. Quality and market power should however reflect a stronger attachment, making consumers less price sensitive than for standard goods. This research aims to compare theses conjectures to empirical measures concerning the French cheese market. Price elasticities are computed from a demand model on 21 products, 11 Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products and 10 non PDOs. The results are counterintuitive, PDOs being as price elastic as or more price elastic than standard products. This finding thus challenges the widespread idea that PDOs systematically correspond to high quality. It also has important implications in terms of competition policy, showing that PDO cheeses suppliers cannot decide on price increases without suffering large reductions in demand.