Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-v2bm5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-11T02:58:16.888Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Consumer Acceptance and Willingness to Pay for Blueberry Products with Nonconventional Attributes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Wuyang Hu ,
Timothy Woods  and
Sandra Bastin
Wuyang Hu
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Timothy Woods
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Sandra Bastin
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Consumer acceptance and willingness to pay for three nonconventional attributes associated with six processed blueberry products was examined through an in-store conjoint experiment survey. Both credence and experience attributes were considered, including whether the products were produced locally, and whether they were organic or sugar-free. The results indicate heterogeneity in consumer preference and willingness to pay for different attributes across product categories. Local products and organic formulations generally received positive willingness to pay across all products. This information has implications for blueberry growers and retailers who are trying to create and position value-added products for maximum revenue.

Keywords

blueberriesconjoint experimentKentuckywillingness to payD12Q13
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , April 2009 , pp. 47 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amo, K. (2005) “Taking Value-Added Foods to Market.” Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. April 13, 2005. Internet site: http://business.mainetcday.corn/selfemployment/savvy/050413foodmakers.shtml (Accessed April 10, 2007).Google Scholar
Baxter, B. (2006) “Who's Buying Organic?: Demographics 2006.” Heartbeat Taking the Pulse of the Marketplace, May 17, 2006. Internet site: http://www.hartman-group.com/products/HB/2006_05_17.html (Accessed November 20, 2007).Google Scholar
Bernard, J.C., Zhang, C., and Gifford, K. “An Experimental Investigation of Consumer Willingness to Pay for Non-GM Foods When an Organic Option is Present.” Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 35(2006):374–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canavari, M., Nocella, G., and Scarpa, R. “Stated Willingness-to-Pay for Organic Fruit and Pesticide Ban: An Evaluation Using Both Web-Based and Face-to-Face Interviewing.” Journal of Food Products Marketing 11(2005):107–34.Google Scholar
Carlsson, F., Frykblom, P., and Lagerkvist, C.J. “Consumer Benefits of Labels and Bans on GM Foods—Choice Experiments with Swedish Consumers.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 89(2007a):152–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlsson, F., “Consumer Willingness to Pay for Farm Animal Welfare: Mobile Abattoirs Versus Transportation to Slaughter.” European Review of Agriculture Economics 34(2007b):321–44.Google Scholar
Colombo, S.J., Calatrava-Requena, J., and Hanley, N. “Testing Choice Experiment for Benefit Transfer with Preference Heterogeneity.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 89(2007):135–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cortez, R., and Senauer, B. “Taste Changes in the Demand for Food by Demographic Groups in the United States: A Nonparametric Empirical Analysis.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 78(1996):280–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, R.G., and Taylor, L.O. “Unbiased Value Estimates for Environmental Goods: A Cheap Talk Design for the Contingent Valuation Method.” The American Economic Review 89(1999):649–65.Google Scholar
Darby, K., Batte, M.T., Ernst, S., and Roe, B. “Willingness to Pay for Locally Produced Foods: A Customer Intercept Study of Direct Market and Grocery Store Shoppers.” Paper presented at the American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Long Beach, California, July 23-26, 2006.Google Scholar
Dietary Guidelines for Americans. (2005) USDA. Internet site: http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/default.htm (Accessed April 10, 2007).Google Scholar
Eastwood, D.B., Brooker, J.R., Hall, CR., Rhea, A.J., Estes, E.A., and Woods, T.A. “Changing Produce Marketing Barriers: A Comparison Among Three Southern States.” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 35(2003):297–304.Google Scholar
Erickson, K.W., Blank, S.C., Moss, C.B., and Mishra, A.K. “Regional Changes in the Distribution of Net Value Added in U.S. Agriculture, 1960-2002.” Paper presented at the Western Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Honolulu, HI, June 30-July 2, 2004.Google Scholar
Fischer, A., Frewer, L.J., and Nauta, M. “Towards Improving Food Safety in the Domestic Environment: Assessing Individual Differences in the Safety Efficacy of Domestic Food Handling Practices.” Risk Analysis 26(2006):1323–38.Google Scholar
Food & Drink Europe (2005) “Blueberry Boom in Britain Driven by Health Benefits.” Internet site: http://www.foodanddrinkeurope.com/ne ws/ng.asp?id=60073-blueberry-boom-in (Accès sed April 10, 2007).Google Scholar
Giraud, K.L., Bond, C.A., and Bond, J.J. “Consumer Preferences for Locally Made Specialty Food Products Across Northern New England.” Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 34(2005):204–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grolleau, G., and Caswell, J.A. “Interaction Between Food Attributes in Markets: The Case of Environmental Labeling.” Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 31(2007):471–84.Google Scholar
Hanemann, W.M., and Kanninen, B. “The Statistical Analysis of Discrete Response.” Valuing the Environment Preferences: Theory and Practice of the Contingent Valuation Method in the US, EC and Developing Countries. Bateman, I. and Willis, K., eds. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1999.Google Scholar
Hu, W., Cox, L.J., and Edwards, Q.A. “The Market Potential for Gift Baskets of Hawaiian Food Products in China.” Agribusiness International Journal (Toronto, Ont.) 23(2007):553–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, W., Veeman, M.M., and Adamowicz, W.L. “Labeling Genetically Modified Food: Heterogeneous Consumer Preferences and the Value of Information.” Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 53(2005):83–102.Google Scholar
Hu, W., Veeman, M.M., Adamowicz, W.L., and Gao, G. “Consumers' Food Choices with Voluntary Access to Genetic Modification Information.” Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 54(2006):585–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, R.J., and Duke, J.M. “Willingness to Pay for Agricultural Land Preservation and Policy Process Attributes: Does the Method Matter?” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 89(2007):1098–1115.Google Scholar
Lehnen, D. (2008) “Blueberry Production is Skyrocketing Worldwide.” The Fruit Growers News. Internet site: http://www.fruitgrowersnews.com/pages/arts.php?ns=908 (Accessed July 1, 2008).Google Scholar
Loureiro, M.L., and Hine, S. “Discovering Niche Markets: A Comparison of Consumer Willingness to Pay for Local (Colorado Grown), Organic, and GMO-Free Products.” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 34(2002):477–87.Google Scholar
Louviere, J.J., Hensher, D.A., and Swait, J.D.. Stated Choice Methods: Analysis and Application. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lusk, J.L., Fields, D., and Prevatt, W. “An Incentive Compatible Conjoint Ranking Mechanism.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 90(2008):487–98.Google Scholar
McFadden, D. “Conditional Logit Analysis of Qualitative Choice Behavior.” In Frontiers in Econometrics. Zarembka, P., ed. New York: Academic Press, 1974.Google Scholar
Packaged Facts (2004) “The U.S. Market for Organic Food and Beverages: The Mainstreaming of a Trend.” Internet site: http://www.packagedfacts.com/Organic-Food-Beverages-977845/ (Accessed April 10, 2007).Google Scholar
Teisi, M.F., Bockstael, N.E., and Levy, A. “Measuring the Welfare Effects of Nutrition Information.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 83(2001):133–49.Google Scholar
Train, K. Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (2002) Internet site: http://www.blueberry.org/blueberries.htm (Accessed April 10, 2007).Google Scholar
Whole Foods Market. (2005) “Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Have Tried Organic Foods and Beverages” Press release, November 18, 2005. Internet site: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/pr_11-18-05.html (Accessed April 10, 2007).Google Scholar
Yue, C, Alfnes, F., and Jensen, H.H. “Discounting Spotted Apples: Investigating Consumers' Willingness to Accept Cosmetic Damage in an Organic Product.” Working Paper 06- WP 436, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University, 2006.Google Scholar