Organic certification labels from the perspective of consumers in Switzerland

Hanna Stolz, Heidrun Moschitz and Meike Janssen
Additional contact information
Hanna Stolz: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, Switzerland
Heidrun Moschitz: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, Switzerland
Meike Janssen: Agricultural and Food Marketing Faculty of Organic Agriculture Sciences, University of Kassel, Germany

Journal of Socio-Economics in Agriculture (Until 2015: Yearbook of Socioeconomics in Agriculture), 2013, vol. 6, issue 1, 225-246

Abstract: Organic labels have been established to communicate the consumer that a certain product has been produced according to defined organic standards. The aim of the research presented in this paper was to investigate i) how Swiss organic consumers perceived different organic labels and ii) if Swiss organic consumers prefer particular organic certification schemes over others. To achieve these objectives, we carried out focus group discussions with organic consumers, and conducted consumer choice experiments that were combined with a subsequent structured questionnaire. We focused on two labels that are well established in the Swiss market – one mostly in specialised organic shops (Demeter label), the other one also found widely in a larger retail shop (Bio Suisse label «Knospe »). Our analysis shows the high level of awareness of the Bio Suisse label among Swiss consumers. Furthermore, the study provides evidence for the importance of trust in labels in the Swiss organic market.

Keywords: Organic Labels; Organic Standards; Consumer Choice Experiment; WTP (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 Q13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://archive.jsagr.org/v6/YSA2013_Stolz.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cha:ysa001:v:6:y:2013:i:1:p:225-246

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Socio-Economics in Agriculture (Until 2015: Yearbook of Socioeconomics in Agriculture) from Swiss Society for Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Simon Briner ().