Trust in ag-related marketing claims: a segmentation with German consumers

Abstract

Purpose

Agricultural-related food marketing claims are gaining in importance. The challenge for the industry is to claim real production characteristics while being in line with consumers’ expectations. Looking at the example of marketing pasture-raised milk year-round and the fact that cows only have access to pasture in summer, the purpose of this paper is to analyse consumer expectations, the potential of deception and the acceptance of more credible marketing strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

An online access panel was used for data collection. The data include 310 German milk buyers, who were grouped using cluster analysis to examine the different target groups for the year-round and seasonal marketing of pasture-raised milk.

Findings

The study distinguished two different consumer groups: one with lower expectations accepting year-round marketing (32.5 per cent) and the other with higher demands, who feel deceived by year-round marketing (46.7 per cent). Furthermore, one part of the last group is also sceptical towards the more precise seasonal marketing due to their general scepticism towards ag-related marketing claims.

Practical implications

To generate consumer trust in ag-related marketing claims, it is beneficial to meet consumers’ expectations. Producers have to decide if they orient their products to more modest or more critical consumer segments. While it is easier to implement lower standards, there is the risk to disappoint (and thereby lose) the most interesting target group of highly involved consumers characterised by some general doubts regarding food marketing claims.

Originality/value

The study is the first to demonstrate the existence of two consumer segments that differ in their expectations towards and acceptance of ag-related marketing claims for food products.

Citation

Kühl, S., Schlüterbusch, L. and Spiller, A. (2017), "Trust in ag-related marketing claims: a segmentation with German consumers", British Food Journal, Vol. 119 No. 9, pp. 1999-2012. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-09-2016-0412