Consumers Behavior Features Upon the Organic Products in Romania

Although the market for organic products is constantly growing worldwide, underlining that, at least for some product categories, is no longer just a niche, in Romania there is a limited amount of research on this subject. This paper aims to provide concrete information on buying behavior and consumption of organic products in Romania. The conclusions are based on the results of two separate researches: a quantitative research among consumers, representative for urban areas at a national level and a qualitative research among consumers, conducted through focus group method. Compared to some existing research, we insisted rather on deepening and understanding of the responses received, than a mere quantification of information provided by respondents. This approach provides an overview and interesting information about the awareness of the respondents, their perception of organic products or the level of trust that respondents have in organic products. Also, we could identify the main factors influencing the buying / not purchasing of organic products, and the motivations behind buying behavior and consumption of organic products. The conclusions showed unequivocally that there are significant features among Romanian consumers of organic products compared with consumers in more developed markets with a longer tradition in organic farming, such as the Western Europe or USA. Among these, the most important seem to be self-consumption, consumption of uncertified products, but perceived as organic and low levels of trust in the authenticity of organic products.