The apricot story: Patterns in a local circular food chain in North Hungary

Abstract

Using a case study, this paper examines how EU standards of geographical indications (GIs) can integrate into Hungarian socio-embodied patterns. It uses apricots from the underdeveloped Gönc region of Hungary as an example, defined in the EU GI context as a local resource of cultural identity. The collective memory as a cultural heritage of the Gönc region is examined in relation to products and services that have existed for generations. The aim of this paper is to provide evidence that without geographical circulation, exchange, and appropriation of products, the associated knowledge of innovation strategies, innovation capabilities, and the market outcomes of firms in the food industry does not provide absorptive capacity. It suggests that innovative responses to existing isolated economic services could provide coherence among the three pillars of sustainability, given policy and institutional innovations designed to foster innovation and expand markets.