Consumers' Motivations Driving Organic Demand: Between Self-interest and Sustainability

Abstract

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.

Exploring the Preferences of Consumers’ Organic Products in Aspects of Sustainable Consumption: The Case of the Polish Consumer

“…Azurra et al's [91] research confirmed the authors' assumption that consumers who prefer organic products show a higher level of concern for sustainability when making overall dietary choices and lead to more sustainable lifestyles. According to Monier Dilhan and Bergès [92], the results presented suggest that consumers involved in purchasing organic foods appear to be strongly motivated by public variables such as environmental and social. Personal benefits such as health and quality also have a large impact on the choice of foods.…”

Does information about organic status affect consumer sensory liking and willingness to pay for beer?

“…Many consumers believe that organic foods are healthier and taste better, in addition to being better for the environment (Monier‐Dilhan & Berges, ). Do those perceptions extend to beer?…”

Organic Consumer Choices for Nutrient Labels on Dried Strawberries among Different Health Attitude Segments in Norway, Romania, and Turkey

“…A conventional drying process such as convective air-drying allows to extend shelf life considerably, but not without loss of nutritional and sensory qualities of the berry [35]. Recent mild processing technologies (e.g., microwave-vacuum) are able to dry the berries while preserving their nutritional quality by retaining more of the initial ascorbic acid, anthocyanins and phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity [36][37][38].Organic foods are a product category that consumers perceive to be healthy [39][40][41]. Indeed, a large number of studies show that organic consumers' choices are mainly driven by the perceived naturalness and healthiness of these products compared to conventional food products [41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48].…”

“…Organic foods are a product category that consumers perceive to be healthy [39][40][41]. Indeed, a large number of studies show that organic consumers' choices are mainly driven by the perceived naturalness and healthiness of these products compared to conventional food products [41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48].…”