Consumer Acceptance and Preference for Olive Oil Attributes—A Review

Abstract

Olive oil is largely produced in southern European countries. It encompasses a mix of search (e.g., price, color, packaging features), experience (e.g., taste), and credence attributes (e.g., organic, health claim). The importance of these attributes on consumers’ attitudes and preferences for Olive oil has been explored quite extensively in the past. However, a recent body of literature has focused on product nutritional information and health claims in shaping consumers’ attitudes and preferences for Olive oil. This work aims to offer an updated review of consumers’ acceptance and preferences for Olive oil features. Applying the Systematic Literature Review method, a sample of 47 studies published over the last 20 years was reviewed through descriptive and content analysis. The following attributes, grouped in search, experience, and credence categories, were discussed: origin, sustainability, brand, health and safety, the production process, packaging, color, taste and flavor, and product features. The discussion of marketing and research implications closes the study. The study provides an overview of the literature background of consumer behaviors of Olive Oil, investigating the recent literature focused on product nutritional information and health claims.

Consumer Preferences for Olive Oil in Spain: A Best-Worst Scaling Approach

“…There is a plethora of previous studies that investigate consumer preferences for olive oil attributes well documented in two literature review papers [7,13]. Most of them are focused on Mediterranean countries and use different conjoint approaches.…”

“…Additionally, oils with enhanced sensory characteristics (e.g., pungent, bitter, and fruity) were preferred [7]. Latino et al [13] conducted another review of 47 published papers from 2011 to 2020, confirming that the olive oil sold on the market encompasses a combination of credence attributes (e.g., origin, sustainable-related attributes, brand, safety and health-related statements, and production process) and search and experience attributes (e.g., package features or colour, taste, and flavour) that influence consumers' purchasing decisions. Furthermore, the study of consumer acceptance and preferences for olive oil with credence attributes related to the sustainability of the production process has received increasing attention from academics given the current global trend promoting a socioeconomic model of sustainable production and consumption [16,20].…”

“…Alternatively, they can be classified into search attributes, which refer to visual attributes that can be assessed prior to purchase (e.g., packaging, colour, and price), experience attributes, which can only be assessed after consuming the product (e.g., taste, smell, flavour), and credence attributes, which unlike search and experience attributes, are product quality characteristics that cannot be ascertained through direct experience (e.g., production method, geographical origin, health-related attributes, and processing techniques). Consequently, consumers cannot know with certainty the presence of these quality dimensions in a product unless additional information is provided on the product characteristics [12,13].…”

Understanding Factors That Influence Pest Risk in Olive Production

“…In another aspect, among the products that are most frequently used in diets are those from the olive tree, with the greatest production in southern European countries, including Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy, which together represent approximately 70% to 75% of world olive tree production [26,27]. However, in the current literature, there is a set of studies that focus on the perception of pest risk in olive tree production, and the present study aims to provide a systematic and bibliometric review of the literature on this topic through the identification of full-text research articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals that compare pest risks in olive products.…”

The Spanish Olive Oil with Quality Differentiated by a Protected Designation of Origin

“…In addition, five non-EU countries have PDOs recognised by the EU, after having complied with all the controls and assessments associated with European standards and having passed the European Commission's approval procedure. They are the Dominican Republic (1), China (4), Turkey (4), the United Kingdom (27), and Vietnam (1). The olive oil industry has 112 recognised PDOs as of 31/12/2020, representing 16.99% of the total registered in the EU.…”