Grass-Fed Milk Perception: Profiling Italian Consumer

Giovanni Peira, Damiano Cortese, Giampiero Lombardi and Luigi Bollani
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Giovanni Peira: Department of Management, University of Torino, Corso Unione Sovietica, 218bis, 10134 Torino, Italy
Damiano Cortese: Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Modern Cultures University of Torino, Via GiuseppeVerdi, fronte n. 41, Complesso Aldo Moro, 10124 Torino, Italy
Giampiero Lombardi: NatRisk, Research Centre on Natural Risks in Mountain and Hilly Environments, University of Torino, Corso Unione Sovietica, 218bis, 10134 Torino, Italy
Luigi Bollani: Department of Economic, Social, Mathematical and Statistical Science, Corso Unione Sovietica, 218bis, 10134 Torino, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: This paper aims at analyzing the consumers’ perception of grass-fed milk so as to understand if a production based on a sustainable business model could represent a response to new and emerging needs in consumption. The sample of the study was constituted by a total of 750 Italian members of the International Association Slow Food. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to summarize the quantitative variables, which, grouped in “dimensions”, were used as input for multivariate statistics (HCA, MCA) in order to define and explain consumer profiles. Our data confirm an in-progress change in milk consumption: Consumers were more oriented towards quality, local supply chains, traceability, and are characterized by an increasing propensity to a higher expense for grass-fed milk. Further research will enlarge the proposed panorama covering a sample of more general consumers. The study was a preliminary market analysis that could be used as the basis for a production, distribution, and consumption chain grass-fed-based model. Grass-fed milk is a product linking individual and societal needs for more sustainable production and entrepreneurship that creates a higher value product aligned with market needs.

Keywords: milk; grass-fed milk; pasture-raised milk; grass-fed; dairy farms; consumer behavior; consumption; milk market; quality milk; sustainability; value creation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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