IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i20p8846-d1497375.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Consumers’ Perceptions and Behaviors Regarding Honey Purchases and Expectations on Traceability and Sustainability in Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Giulia Mascarello

    (Communication Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, Italy)

  • Anna Pinto

    (Communication Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, Italy)

  • Stefania Crovato

    (Communication Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, Italy)

  • Barbara Tiozzo Pezzoli

    (Communication Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, Italy)

  • Marco Pietropaoli

    (Beekeeping Laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana “M. Aleandri”, 00178 Rome, Italy)

  • Michela Bertola

    (National Reference Laboratory for Honey Bee Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, Italy)

  • Franco Mutinelli

    (National Reference Laboratory for Honey Bee Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, Italy)

  • Giovanni Formato

    (Beekeeping Laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana “M. Aleandri”, 00178 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

Traceability is a cornerstone of sustainable honey production and consumption. Honey fraud and a lack of traceability have been recently highlighted by the European Commission. Innovative systems aimed at guaranteeing food safety ’from farm to fork’ and improved controls are highly recommended. Within the framework of the BPRACTICES project, part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, and the ERA-Net SusAn initiative—focused on Sustainable Animal Production Systems—an advanced traceability system has been developed. This system utilizes QR code and radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, along with a user-friendly web application, to facilitate direct interactions between producers and consumers. Despite existing research, studies on the information needs of Italian consumers regarding honey and its traceability remain limited. Understanding these needs is vital for creating effective communication strategies that enhance consumer satisfaction and trust. This study aims to identify the needs of Italian consumers’ honey during the purchasing and consumption decisions. To explore consumer perceptions, behaviors, expectations, and needs regarding honey, we employed diverse social research methodologies, including a quantitative online survey, paper-and-pencil interviews, and focus groups. The results of this study indicate a robust demand for more information on honey’s origin, production processes, and beekeeping practices, aligning with the recent EU Directive 2024/1438, which mandates clear labeling. Italian consumers would be willing to pay a premium for honey that offers detailed information about production practices and transparency. The positive reception of QR code technology by consumers suggests a growing openness to digital tools that enhance transparency and access to information. Ultimately, this research emphasizes the need for the beekeeping sector to adopt sustainable practices, improve traceability systems, and actively engage with consumers to foster trust and ensure long-term viability in the honey market. By addressing these information needs, the sector can align itself with increasing consumer demand for quality, sustainability, and transparency.

Suggested Citation

  • Giulia Mascarello & Anna Pinto & Stefania Crovato & Barbara Tiozzo Pezzoli & Marco Pietropaoli & Michela Bertola & Franco Mutinelli & Giovanni Formato, 2024. "Consumers’ Perceptions and Behaviors Regarding Honey Purchases and Expectations on Traceability and Sustainability in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-17, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:20:p:8846-:d:1497375
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/20/8846/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/20/8846/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elisabeth Deutskens & Ko de Ruyter & Martin Wetzels & Paul Oosterveld, 2004. "Response Rate and Response Quality of Internet-Based Surveys: An Experimental Study," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 21-36, February.
    2. Kallas, Zein & Alba, Martin Federico & Casellas, Karina & Berges, Miriam & Degreef, Gustavo & Gil, José M., 2021. "The development of short food supply chain for locally produced honey. Understanding consumers' opinions and willingness to pay in Argentina," Nülan. Deposited Documents 3234, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Centro de Documentación.
    3. Christophe Charlier & Egizio Valceschini, 2008. "Coordination for traceability in the food chain. A critical appraisal of European regulation," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 1-15, February.
    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. Irz, Xavier & Mazzocchi, Mario & Réquillart, Vincent & Soler, Louis-Georges, 2015. "Research in Food Economics: past trends and new challenges," Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement, Editions NecPlus, vol. 96(01), pages 187-237, March.
    2. Srinivasan, V. Seenu & Netzer, Oded, 2007. "Adaptive Self-Explication of Multi-attribute Preferences," Research Papers 1979, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    3. Tatsushi Fukaya & Masayuki Suzuki & Ikumi Ozawa & Takumi Nakagoshi, 2022. "An Examination of Related Factors of Mathematical Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Elementary School Teachers: Focusing on Conceptions of Teaching and Learning and Test Utilization Strategy," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, October.
    4. Adrián Csordás & Péter Lengyel & István Füzesi, 2022. "Who Prefers Regional Products? A Systematic Literature Review of Consumer Characteristics and Attitudes in Short Food Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Nguyen Thi Nha Trang & Thanh-Thuy Nguyen & Hong V. Pham & Thi Thu Anh Cao & Thu Huong Trinh Thi & Javad Shahreki, 2022. "Impacts of Collaborative Partnership on the Performance of Cold Supply Chains of Agriculture and Foods: Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-28, May.
    6. Lusk, Jayson L., 2012. "The political ideology of food," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 530-542.
    7. Rolf Becker, 2023. "Short- and long-term effects of reminders on panellists’ survey participation in a probability-based panel study with a sequential mixed-mode design," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(5), pages 4095-4119, October.
    8. Vahid Sobhani & Mohammadjavad Rostamizadeh & Seyed Morteza Hosseini & Seyed Ebrahim Hashemi & Ignacio Refoyo Román & Daniel Mon-López, 2022. "Anthropometric, Physiological, and Psychological Variables That Determine the Elite Pistol Performance of Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-10, January.
    9. Barbara Ryan & Rachel King, 2020. "How ready is ready? Measuring physical preparedness for severe storms," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 104(1), pages 171-199, October.
    10. Yang Liu & Jan Hannig & Abhishek Pal Majumder, 2019. "Second-Order Probability Matching Priors for the Person Parameter in Unidimensional IRT Models," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 84(3), pages 701-718, September.
    11. Elisabeth Deutskens & Ad Jong & Ko Ruyter & Martin Wetzels, 2006. "Comparing the generalizability of online and mail surveys in cross-national service quality research," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 119-136, April.
    12. Janose Osedeme & Robert Barron & Christian Salmon & Joseph Ekong, 2024. "An Electric Vehicle Adoption Model for Nigeria—A Fuzzy MCDA Policy Analysis Tool with Implications for Developing Nations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-19, August.
    13. Giancarlo Condello & Laura Capranica & Mojca Doupona & Kinga Varga & Verena Burk, 2019. "Dual-career through the elite university student-athletes’ lenses: The international FISU-EAS survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, October.
    14. María del Mar Serrano-Arcos & Raquel Sánchez-Fernández & Juan Carlos Pérez-Mesa, 2021. "Analysis of Product-Country Image from Consumer’s Perspective: The Impact of Subjective Knowledge, Perceived Risk and Media Influence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-25, February.
    15. Björn Hofman & Gerdien de Vries & Geerten van de Kaa, 2022. "Keeping Things as They Are: How Status Quo Biases and Traditions along with a Lack of Information Transparency in the Building Industry Slow Down the Adoption of Innovative Sustainable Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, July.
    16. Bader, Benjamin & Berg, Nicola & Holtbrügge, Dirk, 2015. "Expatriate performance in terrorism-endangered countries: The role of family and organizational support," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 849-860.
    17. Wells, Victoria K. & Manika, Danae & Gregory-Smith, Diana & Taheri, Babak & McCowlen, Clair, 2015. "Heritage tourism, CSR and the role of employee environmental behaviour," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 399-413.
    18. Selmi, Noureddine & Chaney, Damien, 2018. "A measure of revenue management orientation and its mediating role in the relationship between market orientation and performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 99-109.
    19. Paméla Baillette & Bernard Fallery & Naoual Rahali, 2012. "Les systèmes de traçabilité dans la filière viti-vinicole : quelle opportunité pour les coopératives?," Post-Print hal-00822040, HAL.
    20. Toepoel, V. & Das, J.W.M. & van Soest, A.H.O., 2005. "Design of Web Questionnaires : A Test for Number of Items per Screen," Discussion Paper 2005-114, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.

    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:20:p:8846-:d:1497375. 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.