Place-based messaging and consumer willingness to pay for climate-adapted food: an application to tree syrup blends

Climate change is expected to reduce the productivity of traditional sugar maple forests across much of the United States, creating challenges for maple syrup producers and motivating interest in climate adaptation strategies. One potential adaptation strategy is the diversification of sugarbushes with alternative sap-producing tree species such as birch and beech. However, the market viability of these products depends on consumer acceptance. This study examines consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for diversified syrup blends and evaluates whether climate-related information influences purchasing behavior. Using a Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) experimental auction, 191 participants submitted bids for pure maple syrup, a maple-birch blend, and a maple-birch-beech blend across three rounds: a blind tasting round, a composition disclosure round, and an information treatment round. Participants were randomly assigned to either a neutral control, a forest diversification treatment, or a place-based climate information treatment. Results indicate that consumers generally preferred products more closely resembling traditional maple syrup, with pure maple syrup receiving the highest bids and maple-birchbeech blends receiving the lowest. Revealing syrup composition significantly increased bids relative to blind tasting, while the climate-related information treatments did not significantly affect willingness to pay. Regression results further suggest that taste preferences were the strongest and most consistent predictor of bidding behavior. These findings indicate that consumer acceptance of diversified syrup products is driven primarily by sensory characteristics rather than climate-related messaging, highlighting the importance of product quality in the successful commercialization of climate-adapted food products.