Quantitative Benchmarks On Traditional Food Products Market In Romania

The demand for traditional products is becoming a growing tendency worldwide, especially in the well-developed countries. Due to globalization, development, industrialization and technology used in the agro-food sector, there has been a desire to return to the natural and organic, to the cultural values and lost traditions, to the forgotten taste of healthy homemade food. Although it is a developing country, Romania has lost most of its cultural and culinary traditions in the detriment of consumerism. Even so, the niche of traditional foodstuffs is making its way between the myriad of processed products and supermarket offers that are trying to attract the consumers’ attention. These consumers are either conservative, who miss the bygone days, or futuristic ones, who accept and promote the trend of healthy, bio, traditional, and homemade food. The Romanian institutions, as all the national institutions of EU member states, are obligated to abide by and adapt the current national legislation to the EU regulations, concerning the recognition and registration of foodstuffs as traditional food products. The food industry producers turn their attention on traditional foodstuffs as they can see it as a means to earn profit. This paper is intent on investigating the supply of traditional Romanian foodstuffs by analyzing not only the geographical distribution, but also the product classes. Moreover, it observes the changes in supply in the past ten years owing to the first national regulation. This time interval begins with the recognition and registration of traditional foodstuffs in 2005 up to present. In addition, the paper puts forward a ranking of the top counties with the most diverse traditional foodstuffs registered in Romania. The ranking will show different time intervals. The results of this research consist of some quantitative benchmarks that are needed in order to understand the traditional foodstuff market in Romania. Last but not least, our analysis takes into account some correlations between the supply of traditional products and Romania’s geographical distribution. These correlations could be deemed useful when elaborating strategies for supporting and promoting certain development regions which show great potential in producing and supplying traditional products. The conclusions of our research can spark the interest: of the producers of traditional products, who can take notice of the evolution of supply and market competition in the past ten years, of the consumers who wish to familiarise themselves with the traditional products, and of the researchers when it comes to elaborating decision-making strategies based on the aforementioned data.