State and Retail Outlet Impact on Premiums for Locally Grown Berries

Consumption of locally labeled products has increased dramatically over the last decade. As such it is essential to understand what consumers are willing to pay for locally produced products and to understand if differences are present between states. Using berries as a product category given their availability at a wide range of retail outlets, we examine whether consumers’ willingness to pay for locally grown berries vary between farmer’s markets, farm stands, and grocery stores. Adding to the literature, we also investigate the differences in willingness to pay at these outlets throughout the Northeast. Our results indicate that farmer’s markets garner the highest premium followed by farm stands then grocery stores. We also see that locally grown berries at these outlets receive a significantly higher premium than berries grown in the Northeast, U.S. or outside the U.S. Further, we find that there are some states with varying willingness to pay values across retail outlet.