Metabolomics as a marketing tool for geographical indication products: a literature review

Abstract

Geographical indication (GI) is used to identify a product's origin when its characteristics or quality are a result of geographical origin, which includes agricultural products and foodstuff. Metabolomics is an “omics” technique that can support product authentication by providing a chemical fingerprint of a biological system, such as plant and plant-derived products. The main purpose of this article is to verify possible contributions of metabolomic studies to the marketing field, mainly for certified regions, through an integrative review of the literature and maps produced by VOSviewer software. The results indicate that studies based on metabolomics approaches can relate specific food attributes to the region’s terroir and know-how. The evidence of this connection, marketing of GIs and metabolomics methods, is viewed as potential tool for marketing purposes (e.g., to assist communication of positive aspects and quality), and legal protection. In addition, our results provide a taxonomic categorization that can guide future marketing research involving metabolomics. Moreover, the results are also useful to government agencies to improve GIs registration systems and promotion strategies. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00217-021-03782-2.

One step further: application of metabolomics techniques on the geographical indication (GI) registration process

“…Origin is an extrinsic cue used to assess product value before consumption, so that risks are reduced and consumers are closer to the optimal choice (Artêncio et al, 2022). The communication of the product's origin is a strategy used by food producers to reflect place reputation (Hao et al, 2019), considered by researchers and marketing experts an effective tool for products with little differentiation, such as food commodities (Cassago et al, 2021).…”

“…The origin label is also used to protect products against counterfeits and reduce consumers' information asymmetry (Artêncio et al, 2019). In this way, regions that attribute a given quality or reputation to their products can be legally protected by the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS Agreement), under the title of geographical indications (GIs) (Cassago et al, 2021).…”

“…As mentioned previously, GIs act as guarantees of food safety and quality. In this way, chemical-analytical techniques can be used to verify the legitimacy of a specific product and if it complies with the quality standards determined by the GI label (Cassago et al, 2021). A set of analytical techniques named metabolomics has been used to obtain the metabolic features of biological systems (Cecchi et al, 2020).…”

“…A set of analytical techniques named metabolomics has been used to obtain the metabolic features of biological systems (Cecchi et al, 2020). The metabolomics approach can be applied to determine the samples' geographical origin (Klare et al, 2020), separate samples produced in different geographical origins (Gatzias et al, 2020), and as a prosperous tool to enhance GI marketing strategies (Cassago et al, 2021). Despite its relevance for GI registration, we have BPMJ 28,4 found no previous studies that relate the application of metabolomics methods and GI-registration processes.…”

Consumer Perception and Understanding of European Union Quality Schemes: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Through these logos (Table 1), agricultural producers can communicate the product's characteristics and quality attributes to consumers, thus ensuring fair competition, intellectual property rights, and an integrated internal market [10,11]. Consequently, the main benefits for consumers are identified as follows: producers of agri-food products certified with quality schemes are required to provide reliable information on the origin of their products.…”