This study examines the relationship between green product innovation (GPI) and firm financial performance, and how top management (TMT) diversity, as a multidimensional construct, moderates this relationship. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities and upper echelons theories, it proposes a conceptual framework and empirically tests it using a mixed-effects regression model and a comprehensive panel dataset comprising 16,152 new product introductions from 46 publicly traded U.S. firms in the food and beverage industry. Findings extend existing knowledge on the relationship between GPI and firm financial performance by identifying TMT diversity as a new boundary condition. They further contribute to upper echelons theory by conceptually and empirically distinguishing how observable and non-observable dimensions of TMT diversity shape strategic effectiveness of GPI. This research also provides nuanced insights by highlighting the conditions under which GPIs yield favorable financial outcomes, guiding firms in configuring their TMTs to enhance innovation-driven competitive advantage and sustainability initiatives.
Packaging-free grocery shopping enables consumers to avoid single-use packaging and buy specific quantities tailored to their needs. Despite its benefits, it faces challenges such as limited product variety and availability. This qualitative study explores the motivations, behaviors, and strategies of individuals who engage in or discontinue packaging-free shopping, including how they combine packed and unpacked products. Based on 115 open survey responses from packaging-free users across Europe, the study uses Activity Theory (AT) to analyze the interactions between consumers, food formats, and their goals within social and environmental contexts. The findings outline the consumer journey in combining packaging types, identifying tensions and harmonies within packaging systems. The analysis proposes a classification of consumer types based on behaviors, motivations and trip planning, offering insights for assessing environmental impacts, informing Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), and developing practical strategies for more sustainable grocery consumption.
This study examines the economic mechanisms and incentives behind retailers' donation of surplus foods for charitable purposes, using Denmark as an illustrative case. Building on desk research, stakeholder interviews, estimated retail food prices and a systems theory framework - the study examines retailers' economic incentives to donate versus three alternative strategies for use of surplus foods for nine food categories. Generally, retailers' net costs of "in-store sale" are negative - and more negative than the other options, if the time until expiry is long enough to get the goods sold. For donation recipient organizations, the mean net value of donated food is positive except for liquid dairy products and dry foods. There is, however, also substantial variation in these estimated net costs and values. Donation is competitive in comparison with discard/nonfood use, except in the case of liquid dairy and dry foods, but not with sale on alternative platforms.
As alternative proteins become increasingly relevant for sustainability, effective market communication is crucial for consumer acceptance. This study investigates how selected alternative protein products are represented and which argumentative strategies are used in their advertising. Using a mixed-methods approach, 56 product packages and Instagram posts were analyzed through multimodal critical discourse analysis and frequency analysis. The results show that nutritional benefits - such as "vegan" or "high protein" - are most commonly highlighted in both media. Packaging emphasizes environmental aspects, while Instagram posts focus on taste and sensory appeal, indicating that communication strategies are adapted to media contexts and consumer expectations. Additionally, producers employ strategic rhetorical devices, targeted vocabulary, and visual elements to convey messages. These findings deepen understanding of food marketing discourse and provide a basis for interdisciplinary research, as well as for evaluating and improving communication about alternative proteins in a dynamic market.
This study aims to highlight nostalgia as a marketing strategy used by food brands to evoke a feeling of reminiscence and sentimentality toward a particular product or sometimes an entire brand. We focus on discussing the different ways of eliciting nostalgia in a consumer through case studies of some brands. By analyzing both established and emerging brands, we explore how nostalgia reinforces emotional ties with consumers. We examined consumer reviews from an e-commerce platform to understand whether consumers mention their nostalgic feelings for those brands that leverage nostalgia. In today's data-driven world, people are constantly exchanging their thoughts, perspectives, and opinions on different products through online platforms. A combination of word frequency analysis and sentiment analysis is used to identify and assess the consumer sentiments associated with nostalgia marketing. The findings indicate that nostalgia for food predominantly nurtures positive consumer sentiments and helps build an emotional connection with the brand.
Amid an evolving regulatory framework and increasing consumer interest in hemp as a versatile agricultural commodity, this study examines the factors influencing consumer spending behavior toward hemp-inclusive cereal products using consumer household scanner data from 2017 to 2019. We created a consumer spending strength index, which measures the strength of average monthly hemp-inclusive cereal expenditures. The households were then categorized based on the strength of their spending patterns. Additionally, we developed an event study to measure the changes in household spending patterns over time. Findings revealed that demographic and socioeconomic characteristics such as age, household size, and race were significantly associated with hemp-inclusive cereal purchasing behavior. Changes in spending patterns highlighted the importance of product awareness and pricing in influencing consumer choices, with implications for marketing strategies. The novelty of this study lies in its focus on the strength of consumer engagement with hemp-inclusive cereals rather than a purchaser and non-purchaser framework.
Men often associate meat with masculinity, making meat reduction challenging. This study tested whether masculine-themed marketing messages (based on colors, fonts and wordings) for meat alternatives can influence men's perceived association between meat and masculinity. In an online experiment (N = 231men, Mage = 35.64), participants viewed either "manly" or neutral ads for plant-based pizza and vegan nuggets. Perceived masculinity of meat (MoM) was measured before and after exposure. The New Masculinity Inventory (NMI) was included to assess openness to non-traditional masculinity. Results indicate that the condition was unrelated to perceived MoM. NMI was related to the perceived MoM, meaning that men who are more open to alternative forms of masculinity expressed a weaker association between meat and masculinity. This variable also functioned as a moderator, indicating that men in the neutral condition showed a stronger decrease in their perceived MoM compared to men who saw the manly advertisements.
Consumers are increasingly aware of environmental issues such as overfishing, bycatch, and the carbon footprint of seafood production. In response, Eco-labels help link consumers to sustainable fisheries but may lack visibility or clarity. In addition, shelf-life extension technologies can reduce food waste, though they may affect product quality and consumer acceptance. Our study thus aims to explore consumer preferences regarding eco-labeled seafood products with an extended shelf life, focusing on three products (clams, sardine fillets, and seafood burgers) in three European countries (Croatia, Italy, and Spain). We carry out a labeled discrete choice experiment, collecting data from 3,713 respondents. Our research illustrates significant differences in preferences by country. Italian and Spanish consumers show a high level of environmental awareness and are willing to pay a premium for eco-labeled seafood. Contrarily, Croatian consumers are more neutral, although there is a niche market for sustainable products. Consumers in all three countries prefer locally produced seafood, highlighting the importance of regional identity. Acceptance of shelf-life extension technologies varies: Croatian consumers prefer frozen options, Italians prefer traditional methods, and Spaniards are more open to innovation. These results suggest that effective market strategies should emphasize regional origin, sustainability, and the benefits of eco-labeling to increase consumer acceptance.
This study investigates the influence of time of day (TOD) on new food product purchasing. Due to consumers' perceived risk and inertial consumption, it is difficult for newly released products to achieve market success. Previous literature suggests that consumers tend to favor familiar and routine options in the morning and diverse and hedonic options in the afternoon. Since TOD affects consumer behavior physiologically and contextually, it may serve as an effective marketing tool to stimulate the purchase of new products. Using milk purchase records from 24-hour convenience stores in South Korea collected from 10,947 consumers, our analysis examines variations in new product purchase across different times of day - morning, afternoon, evening, and night. Logistic regression reveals that consumers are more likely to buy newly released products in the afternoon and at night compared to the morning. This finding provides insight into promoting new food products and optimizing stock management.
This study investigates consumer behavior in home drinking contexts, with an emphasis on situational factors, food pairings, and preferences for alcoholic beverages. Using food diary data from 12,132 quota-sampled consumers in South Korea (March 2019-February 2022), 18710 records of alcoholic beverage-food paired meals consumed at home were analyzed. Binomial logistic regression models were used to investigate factors influencing preferences for beverages with higher alcohol content (above 16% ABV). The findings indicate that home drinkers were more likely to select high-ABV in the following contexts: (a) when paired with dishes featuring pork, seafood, or vegetables as the main ingredient, compared to beef-based dishes; (b) when paired with liquid dishes (encompass soup-based or stew-type soup) rather than non-liquid dishes; (c) during meals with larger group sizes (number of eaters present); and (d) on social meal occasions compared with regular daily meals.
From an information point of view, a food label is a very limited area that can be used for various purposes. Selecting what to include on a label is key to attracting consumers' attention and conveying information about a product and its characteristics. This work explores the inferences that consumers make about product dimensions (quality, naturalness, authenticity, sustainability, etc.) through potential heuristic cues placed on food labels. Some of these cues are proposed for the first time in this work. A between-groups experiment was conducted in which a real extra virgin olive oil label, with different manipulations (various languages, technical information, numerical quality indicators, environmental seals and company information), was shown to participants. The procedure was designed to avoid the participants making assumptions about the purpose of the study. The results showed a strong incidence of affective heuristic in all the subjects' product evaluations that inhibited (stopping rule) their perceptions of the other heuristic cues and, in parallel, the usefulness of using several languages, as this increased their evaluations of the product in some dimensions.
Although insect-based food is considered a potential solution to global food security issues, its acceptance remains low. This study explores effective advertising strategies to enhance consumers' willingness to consume (WTC) insect-based food by analyzing the interplay of anthropomorphic language (used/not used), message framing (loss frame/gain frame), and spatial distance (online shopping/offline shopping). A total of 745 participants were recruited via "Wenjuanxing," with 458 valid responses obtained after screening. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of eight ads and complete a questionnaire. Three-way ANOVA and post hoc t-tests revealed that anthropomorphic language significantly increases WTC. Additionally, gain-framed (loss-framed) messages are more effective in online advertisements (offline advertisements). This matching effect is amplified by the use of anthropomorphic language in the advertisements. The findings provide marketing insights for promoting insect-based and other unconventional foods, contributing to the advancement of a sustainable global food system to address future food and environmental challenges.
This paper employs a 4 x 2 x 3 research design with four different antecedents of meat alternative consumption (red meat consumption, consumers' health consciousness, environmental awareness, animal welfare), two types of meat alternatives (plant-based vs. vegetarian), and three consumer behavioral outcomes (purchase intention, willingness to substitute, and willingness to pay). Our study of 425 participants shows that all four antecedents affect consumers' meat alternative perceptions. Red meat consumption has a negative effect, while health consciousness, environmental awareness, and animal welfare have a positive relationship, increasing meat alternative purchase intention, willingness to substitute, and willingness to pay. Interestingly, plant-based alternatives had higher purchase intention, willingness to substitute, and willingness to pay relative to vegetarian alternatives. Our results estimate that plant-based alternatives are substituted for up to 50% of red meat consumption, compared to 35% for vegetarian alternatives. Also noteworthy, plant-based meat alternatives have a 10% higher willingness to pay versus vegetarian alternatives.
Geographical indications (GIs), as intellectual property (IP) instruments, are a value-adding strategy that can be driven by innovation. Innovation has been systematically studied in GIs since the mid-2000s, but this knowledge is fragmented. Our contribution seeks to fill this gap by organizing knowledge about innovation in GIs, identifying the types of innovation predominant in the literature and the returns associated with different types of innovation for GIs. To carry out the study, we conducted a systematic review with a sample of 40 scientific articles extracted from the Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, and Science Direct scientific databases. The results indicate a clear emphasis on innovation in production processes, in marketing and sales, and in the administration of GIs. However, product innovation remains a less explored area, due to challenges related to preserving the traditional characteristics of certified products. The innovative strategies adopted by GIs highlight the relevance of innovation in various domains, resulting in improvements in operational performance, differentiation, business management and improvement of the portfolio and product quality. Our findings have theoretical and practical implications.
Influencers have gained relevance in brand building owing to their potential to engender trust, shape customer decisions and empower brands. Nonetheless, research assessing conditions for beneficial influencer outcomes in the trust-deficit food sector are scarce, despite growing evidence that different contexts demand different endorsers. This paper examines how influencers' attributes drive purchase by stimulating brand trust, and investigates the role of price consciousness. Structural equation modeling and necessary condition analysis were conducted on data from 401 followers of five influencers. Findings reveal that trustworthiness, expertise, brand fit, and brand trust are necessary conditions, congruence is additive. Brand trust fully mediates the impact of attractiveness on purchase behavior, and partially mediates the impact of trustworthiness, expertise and congruence. Price consciousness exhibits no moderating effect. Managers must prioritize transparent, knowledgeable influencers, who espouse values consistent with brands and consumers, if food firms were to invest in effective influencer strategies.
Measurement of customer-based brand equity (CBBE) is vital across marketed offerings. Given the relative lack of extant scales for measuring CBBE for packaged food brands, this study develops an emic scale in India by rigorously following a mixed-method approach. To ground our work in consumer perceptions, we first perform multiple qualitative studies. The identified five dimensions of brand awareness, perceived value, brand trust, packaging, and health perceptions are then quantitatively established through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. We add to the theory by identifying packaging and health perceptions as novel dimensions of CBBE. Packaging is salient as the quality of a food brand is intricately associated with it. Likewise, health perceptions shape consumers' food choices via relevant information and cues like nutrients, hygiene, and ingredients. Our work is vital to managers, given their need to stay abreast with dynamic consumer preferences and the increasing salience of health-related concerns.
This study addresses the growing interest in upcycled foods as a solution to food loss by focusing on designing more appealing package labels in Japan. Through an online survey, we collected data on consumer attitudes and perceptions toward upcycled foods. We applied factor analysis to identify key factors and cluster analysis to segment consumers into distinct profiles. Using these insights, we conducted a choice-based conjoint analysis to extract the package design attributes most valued by consumers. Our results highlight key factors influencing purchase intentions, including food safety, innovation, and eco-friendliness. We identified two main consumer profiles: sustainability-focused and quality/safety-conscious, and innovative and socially engaged. Food safety emerged as the most crucial factor affecting purchase willingness, followed by product image and environmental considerations. The study emphasizes the importance of transparent, sustainable, and visually appealing package design in influencing consumer decisions and building long-term loyalty toward upcycled foods in Japan.
This study examines the relationship between food safety risk perception (FSRP) and social similarity, utilizing eye-tracking to uncover how consumers process information on food labels. Central to our inquiry is that perceived similarity influences how individuals assess and react to food safety risks. Our research posits that individuals who see a high degree of similarity with others in their social circles are more attentive to food safety risks. We conducted two food label experiments, one focusing on safety labels and the other on nutritional information. Findings indicate that heightened perceptions of social similarity (prototype perception and social distance) enhance the impact of food labels (safety labels and nutritional information) on food safety risk assessments (decision-making process and product choice), manifesting in increased visual attention to these labels. This revelation underscores the significance of social factors in shaping food safety behaviors and offers a new perspective for designing more effective food safety communication. Our work contributes to the academic discourse on food safety and social psychology and provides practical insights for public health messaging strategies.
Intensive agricultural production methods are one of the main reasons for the loss of agrobiodiversity. To reduce this loss, one option is the on-farm preservation of genetic resources. For on-farm preservation to be successful, the cultivation of heritage cereals has to be made attractive for farmers. While there are some studies exploring the perception of heritage cereals, endangered species and heirloom vegetable varieties, there is still a lack of research on consumers' purchase motives. To close this gap, we combined soft and hard laddering and focused on bread made from heritage cereal varieties. First, we carried out 42 laddering interviews with consumers in four German cities, and second, we conducted a Germany-wide online survey including a hard laddering with 1200 consumers. We found that the psychosocial consequences health and naturalness dominate when purchasing bread made from heritage cereals and could be relevant elements of marketing communication strategies.
Although the importance of sustainability in the beverage industry for consumers rises, environmentally-friendly attitudes often do not result in sustainable buying behavior. Ineffective communication strategies or implemented sustainability measures of producers that do not deliver value from the consumer's perspective could be the reasons. Therefore, within three environmentally-aware focus groups, grocery choice motives are discussed and, by using a qualitative Kano-model approach, consumer requirements on sustainability measures within the beverage industry are categorized. Furthermore, expectations regarding the communication of sustainability-linked information are outlined. The results reveal that the participants pay particular attention to healthy diets, prices, and discounts when buying groceries and sustainability measures within the beverage industry can mainly be classified as must-be requirements. For communicating sustainability measures, the test subjects especially demand a stronger connection between online and offline communication channels. Based on the findings, implications for beverage manufacturers and future research directions are elaborated.
