IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i9p3740-d1385933.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Foods: Consumer Opinions and Behaviour towards Organic Fruits in Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Renata Kazimierczak

    (Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Nowoursynowska 159c Str., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Justyna Obidzińska

    (Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Nowoursynowska 159c Str., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Bartosz Szumigaj

    (Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Nowoursynowska 159c Str., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Hubert Dobrowolski

    (Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Nowoursynowska 159c Str., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
    School of Medical & Health Sciences, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw, Okopowa 59 Str., 01-043 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Ewa Rembiałkowska

    (Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Nowoursynowska 159c Str., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

By producing high quality food with a low environmental impact, organic farming plays an essential role in developing sustainable food systems. Over time, consumer interest in organic food is systematically growing, which results in a generally positive attitude towards organic products. Many studies that are devoted to analysing organic food consumers’ behaviour aim to generalise the studied trends to the population of a given country or region. Given the varying rates of organic market development between countries, there is a need for more narrowly focused research, which could more profoundly facilitate local development of organic market. The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of Polish consumers about organic fruit and to identify the socioeconomic and sociodemographic determinants of the propensity to choose and purchase organic fruit. Respondents were recruited via a market research agency using a consumer access panel. To collect responses, a formal, structured questionnaire was developed and distributed using the CAWI method. The general acceptance of price increases for organic apples amounts to less than around 30% (89% of responses). The effect of income and package size tend to interact with regard to the purchase preference of apples ( p < 0.001). The highest frequency of organic fruit purchases were indicated for physical stores, in particular supermarkets (5.35 times/month, 95%CI). A relationship between willingness to consume organic fruits and the self-described economic situation ( p = 0.005), as well as true household income ( p = 0.007), has been shown. A relationship between the frequency of organic fruit purchases and the number of household members ( p = 0.006), as well as number of household members under the age of 18 ( p = 0.011), has also been shown. Marketing techniques for organic products should emphasize family welfare and be directed at younger consumers, especially at retail outlets where customers are most likely to buy them, namely physical supermarkets, local grocery stores and discount stores.

Suggested Citation

  • Renata Kazimierczak & Justyna Obidzińska & Bartosz Szumigaj & Hubert Dobrowolski & Ewa Rembiałkowska, 2024. "Sustainable Foods: Consumer Opinions and Behaviour towards Organic Fruits in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-21, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3740-:d:1385933
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3740/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3740/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sally Baalbaki & Francisco Guzmán, 2016. "A consumer-perceived consumer-based brand equity scale," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(3), pages 229-251, May.
    2. Smith, Travis A. & Huang, Chung L. & Lin, Biing-Hwan, 2009. "Does Price or Income Affect Organic Choice? Analysis of U.S. Fresh Produce Users," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(3), pages 731-744, December.
    3. Joanna Pawlak & Wioletta Wroblewska, 2022. "Consumer Behavior on the Organic Fruit and Vegetable Market: The Evidence from Poland," Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 2(15), pages 24-36.
    4. Krittinee Nuttavuthisit & John Thøgersen, 2017. "The Importance of Consumer Trust for the Emergence of a Market for Green Products: The Case of Organic Food," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 323-337, January.
    5. Loureiro, Maria L. & McCluskey, Jill J. & Mittelhammer, Ronald C., 2001. "Assessing Consumer Preferences For Organic, Eco-Labeled, And Regular Apples," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 26(2), pages 1-13, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mameno, Kota & Kubo, Takahiro & Ujiie, Kiyokazu & Shoji, Yasushi, 2023. "Flagship species and certification types affect consumer preferences for wildlife-friendly rice labels," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PB).
    2. Katharina Hauck & Gergely Szolnoki, 2020. "German Consumers’ Perceptions of Organic Wine—A Qualitative Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Xiaoxu Dong & Huawei Zhao & Tiancai Li, 2022. "The Role of Live-Streaming E-Commerce on Consumers’ Purchasing Intention regarding Green Agricultural Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-13, April.
    4. Rademaker, Claudia A., 2011. "Hinders for Eco-friendly Media Selection," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Business Administration 2011:7, Stockholm School of Economics, revised 16 Nov 2011.
    5. Bond, Craig A. & Thilmany, Dawn D. & Bond, Jennifer Keeling, 2008. "What to Choose? The Value of Label Claims to Fresh Produce Consumers," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 33(3), pages 1-26.
    6. Dettmann, Rachael L., 2008. "Organic Produce: Who's Eating it? A Demographic Profile of Organic Produce Consumers," 2008 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2008, Orlando, Florida 6446, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    7. Cristiano Codagnone & Giuseppe Alessandro Veltri & Francesco Bogliacino & Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva & George Gaskell & Andriy Ivchenko & Pietro Ortoleva & Francesco Mureddu, 2016. "Labels as nudges? An experimental study of car eco-labels," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 33(3), pages 403-432, December.
    8. Per Åsberg & Henrik Uggla, 2019. "Introducing multi-dimensional brand architecture: taking structure, market orientation and stakeholder alignment into account," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(5), pages 483-496, September.
    9. Singerman, Ariel & Hart, Chad E. & Lence, Sergio H., 2011. "Price Analysis, Risk Assessment, and Insurance for Organic Crops," Staff General Research Papers Archive 34993, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    10. Ginder, Whitney & Byun, Sang-Eun, 2022. "To trust or not to trust? The interplay between labor-related CSR claim type and prior CSR reputation of apparel retailers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    11. Danilo Bertoni & Daniele Cavicchioli & Franco Donzelli & Giovanni Ferrazzi & Dario G. Frisio & Roberto Pretolani & Elena Claire Ricci & Vera Ventura, 2018. "Recent Contributions of Agricultural Economics Research in the Field of Sustainable Development," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-20, December.
    12. Basu, Shubhabrata & Pereira, Vijay & Sinha, Paresha & Malik, Ashish & Moovendhan, V., 2022. "Esoteric governance mechanism and collective brand equity creation in confederated organizations: Evidence from an emerging economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 217-230.
    13. Charalampia N. Anastasiou & Kiriaki M. Keramitsoglou & Nikos Kalogeras & Maria I. Tsagkaraki & Ioanna Kalatzi & Konstantinos P. Tsagarakis, 2017. "Can the “Euro-Leaf” Logo Affect Consumers’ Willingness-To-Buy and Willingness-To-Pay for Organic Food and Attract Consumers’ Preferences? An Empirical Study in Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-17, August.
    14. Jessica Aschemann-Witzel & Stephan Zielke, 2017. "Can't Buy Me Green? A Review of Consumer Perceptions of and Behavior Toward the Price of Organic Food," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 211-251, March.
    15. Law, Jonathan M., 2020. "Organic and Conventional Milk Production Practices and Costs between 2005 and 2016: Comparisons and Contrasts by Farm Size, Region and Pasture Use," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304615, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Yokessa, Maïmouna & Marette, Stéphan, 2019. "A Review of Eco-labels and their Economic Impact," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 13(1-2), pages 119-163, April.
    17. Marette Stéphan, 2014. "Economic Benefits Coming from the Absence of Labels Proliferation," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 65-73, January.
    18. Jana Kliestikova & Pavol Durana & Maria Kovacova, 2019. "Naked Consumer's Mind Under Branded Dress: Case Study of Slovak Republic," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2019(1), pages 15-32.
    19. Yao, JingJing & Ota, Takahiro, 2024. "A new interpretation of the AISAS model: An empirical analysis of Chinese consumers’ perceptions of the food traceability system for aquatic and edible bird’s nest products," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 15(02), June.
    20. Sarker, Moniruzzaman & Mohd-Any, Amrul Asraf & Kamarulzaman, Yusniza, 2021. "Validating a consumer-based service brand equity (CBSBE) model in the airline industry," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3740-:d:1385933. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.