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Abstract
Although several studies have investigated consumer preferences for olive oil country-of-origin labelling
(COOL), very little is known on consumers’ preferences for new health claims (EC Reg. n. 1924/2006). This paper
aims to analyse the introduction of these attributes, providing more insights into Italian consumer perception and
preferences for different extra-virgin olive oil labelling schemes. After preliminary focus group and in-depth personal
interviews with representatives of retailers and producers’ organizations, a choice experiment (CE) was employed on
a sample of Italian consumers to analyse preferences for different extra-virgin olive oils. CE methodology allows to
weight the relative importance of any given attribute for consumers, measuring the effects of interaction between
different attributes. It can also provide an estimation of the marginal willingness to pay (WTP), or part-worth, of an
attribute, such as health claim or indication of origin. The results provide supply chain actors with valuable
information to develop marketing strategies, as well as concrete evidence for policy makers of consumers
understanding of health claims and COOL labelling.