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The purpose of this paper is to answer the following research questions: which are the main drivers in the choice of a restaurant for Italian consumers? Are local, organic and GMO-free foods important attributes in the choice of a restaurant?

In order to answer the research questions, a discrete choice experiment was applied. In particular, the authors opted for the application of a latent class model to identify any differences in the behavioural structures of the various consumers. This approach is, in fact, based on the assumption that the choices of the subjects depend on observable and unobservable heterogeneity that vary with factors not directly detectable.

People show different preferences when they choose a restaurant. Regarding the choice experiment, the analysis of the importance of the attributes for the final choice highlights how price and service quality are always considered as the most important ones. The presence of menu with local foods, organic foods and OGM-free products is never decisive for the final choice but it is a very appreciated attribute for almost 30 per cent of consumers. This group of consumers (named local oriented) show a willingness to pay (WTP) of 11 euro for local foods, eight euro for organic products and 3.5 euro for OGM-free ingredients. For the locavores, the likelihood of choosing a restaurant offering local products is three times higher than that of a restaurant not possessing this type of certification, all other conditions being equal.

Restaurant owners can differentiate their offerings also considering the local foods and organic products. On the other hand, the restaurants can become powerful marketing channels for local producers. The consumption of organic foods can be increased given the wide WTP displayed. This could positively impact in the promotion of healthier and sustainable diet.

The conditions therefore exist for developing a restaurant offer consisting of a basic menu with local foods, capable of integrating in a virtuous manner with the organic farm productions, which keep an eye on sustainable development and the wholesomeness of foods. If this virtuous process takes root in the restaurant sector, it could certainly represent an important opportunity for the agricultural producers as well, especially in the tourist areas. In order for this opportunity to materially be implemented in a development process, it is, however, necessary to develop certifications and brands capable of constituting credible guarantees for the consumer, as well as strengthening the information and communication campaigns among the younger consumers.

The development of a segment of restaurants that support local foods and organic products would have positive impacts both from the social and territorial point of view.

This is the first paper that considers and evaluate the impact of local foods, organic foods and GMO-free foods in the choice of a restaurant. Findings demonstrate how the probability of choosing restaurants that offer local products, compared to the other conditions, is always higher than those focussing on organic or GMO-free products. The choice probability of the restaurant with local products is three times greater than that of a restaurant without local products, all other variables being equal.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the motivations of young consumers of alcoholic beverages in order to supply information for the definition of corporate and social marketing strategies. The target of young consumers was chosen because of its association with the choice of consumption behaviours often resulting in health and social issues related to alcohol. The focus on motivations, on the other hand, is justified by the need to assess the contents of appropriate and efficient communication campaigns for both producers and public institutions.

A means-end approach was used on a sample of young consumers from Tuscany via face-to-face interviews. The interviews were carried out with students who were completing their last year of high school. The results were processed using an MEC analyst software for the construction of the hierarchical value maps and cognitive maps showing the links between products and consumers.

The results highlighted the perception of a “socialisation” attribute that is stronger when linked to the consumption of beer and spirits; however, wine is still perceived as a non-friendly beverage. The aspect of socialisation underlines both the pleasure of sharing consumption experiences and the dangerous binge drinking behaviour. Thanks to this approach, the study identifies the main elements in the cognitive structure that, if used to define a communication strategy, may guarantee a high degree of efficacy.

The findings of the study constitute valuable information that can be used to prepare stages of communication plans within larger corporate and social marketing strategies. The wine sector can benefit from understanding the motivations that prevent young people from drinking wine and can attempt to fill the psychological and cognitive gap between young consumers and the product. Public institutions, on the other hand, may benefit from understanding the motivations that lead young people towards dangerous drinking behaviours. In turn, the institutions may be able to send appropriate messages within their communication activities aimed at containing such behaviours.

Food habits are undergoing profound changes owing to the social, economic and technological transformations. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the evolution of the food patterns of generation X in the past decade, in view of formulating a reflection on the trends of a fundamental component of society.

Applying latent class clustering to the food spending of a representative sample of Italian consumers has made it possible to identify the principal food patterns and to interpret them in light of demographic characteristics and sociocultural changes.

The results show a strengthening of dietary lifestyles displaying a high content of animal proteins, especially in consumers with low levels of education. The importance of convenience foods emerges, mainly among couples but also among families with children. The role of out of the home consumptions grows, mostly among single males. Parallel to this critical picture, the authors note the birth of a new dietary sensitivity that leads a niche of consumers to choose healthier foods. These evolutions offer new challenges and new opportunities for both public and private operators.

The study is limited to the analysis of family food spending. A challenging development of the study unfolds in closely examining the food choices of individuals, particularly for the consumption patterns at greater risk. Extending the study to other countries would permit a comparison between diet, lifestyles and food education policies on a supernational level.

The study indicates several possible strategies both for operators of the food sector to better respond to the demand, and for public institutions in view of contributing to correct current trends, reorienting food habits towards healthier patterns and, in any event, patterns compatible with the demands tied to the new lifestyles.

This introductory paper aims to place the contributions to this special issue within the context of the recent impact of globalisation on the wine industry, characterised by rapidly growing and evolving international markets, the expansion of New World wines on international markets, and the response of Old World rivals to New World competition.

This paper examines the new competitive environment in the wine industry created by globalisation and outlines the way in which the authors of the papers in this special issue have contributed to an understanding of that environment.

This paper reflects a renewed academic interest in winemaking, one of the most dynamic and rapidly developing agricultural sectors.

The paper hightlights how the authors of the papers in this special issue have contributed to an understanding of this new competitive environment.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on measuring the importance of the attributes, which influence the wine choice of Italian consumers when they buy wine either in a retail or an on‐premise setting, identifying significant behavioural differences across geo‐demographic subgroups of the sample.

The best‐worst (BW) method was applied together with simple statistical methods to measure the degree of importance given by respondents to attributes, avoid rating bias problems, and compare potential market segments.

A general analysis of BW scores showed that direct, personal and sensorial experiences are the most important attributes when choosing wine. The statistical analysis evidenced that, while choosing wine in retail stores, the level of involvement respondents have toward wine, the age of the interviewees and the geographical provenance of the respondents showed the greatest differences in attribute importance. Respondents in the on‐premise sector were more similar across the socio‐demographic groups compared to the retail respondents, with differences in the age and involvement having the greatest effect compared to other variables.

The BW method has never been applied in Italy so far. Moreover, it has never been used to measure preferences of Italian consumers for wine, either in the retail or in the on‐premise setting. The BW method allowed researchers to identify the attributes able to influence consumers choices for wine at most (and at least). Compared to other methodologies, this has been done avoiding problems of rating bias, favouring a cross regional comparison of the way diverse populations judge similar attributes.

The purpose of this paper is to verify the market potentials of health claims by means of a study that tests the effectiveness of extra-virgin olive oil promotion based on the nutraceutical indications recently authorised by European regulations.

The methodology utilises a discrete choice experiment on a sample of Italian consumers. Market segmentation is performed by means of applying a latent-class model.

The health claim proves particularly interesting for two consumer segments: the “functional claim seekers” (24 per cent) and the “reduction of disease risk claim seekers” (13 per cent). The former segment consists of young, single males who prefer more moderately priced olive oils. The latter is instead made up of elderly individuals who prefer an explicit message on disease and are oriented towards the higher price ranges.

The potentials in implementing a promotional strategy based on the awareness of olive oil’s nutraceutical properties are demonstrated. Strategies will have to target specific characteristics of the various consumer segments.

This paper has confirmed the opportunities that the recent European regulations on health claims have introduced for the olive oil market. This form of promotion could prove particularly important for quality productions that are often insufficiently recognised vis-à-vis their high production costs.

This paper aims to argue that the polarization index (φ) represents a valid loyalty measure for evaluating changes over time.

The brand performance measures (BPM) are a valid and useful tool for marketing managers in measuring the loyalty consumers attach, in a single time period, to a product or brand. However, the BPM reflect other attributes and not only loyalty. Over time, what might appear to be a change in loyalty may actually be a change in market size or market share. The polarization index (φ) is not biased in this manner and is more appropriate for evaluating changes over time. The study compares the results obtained with three well known BPM utilised for the analysis of loyalty – the purchase frequency, the share of category requirements and the repeat rate – with those obtained with the φ on the purchases of wine made by Italian consumers in the retail sector over two three‐year periods (2003‐2005 and 2006‐2008).

The study shows that the BPM are a fundamental source of information on the loyalty consumers attach to brands and products at one point in time. However, their strong relationship with market share risks providing results that do not reflect actual trends in loyalty. By comparison, φ provides a valid and useful analysis of the ways in which loyalty evolves over time.

Although several researchers have studied the uses of φ on one‐year and three‐year periods, none observed how the index offers more valid results than the BPM over time. The paper shows that marketing managers should always compare the results obtained with the BPM with those derived from the φ before drawing conclusions on the real loyalty trends of their products and brands.

The principal aim of this article is to examine attitudes of Italian consumers in relation to wine, identifying specific types of wine buyers.

A sample of 442 Italian wine consumers has been surveyed and three measurement instruments have been developed for grouping the observations by means of multivariate statistical analysis. The study then investigates both the consumer and product characteristics that significantly differentiate between the derived clusters of buyers and finally provides an external validity check.

Although the study is exploratory in nature, there is evidence that four wine‐related consumer segments exist in our sample. These segments are habitual wine buyers, rational buyers, interested consumers, and professionals of promotions.

For wine marketers, the results of this research clearly support the need for a targeted approach to their consumer market. The study identifies the principal consequences of the results in order to provide both retailers and producers some useful marketing suggestions.

This paper aims to offer an insight into the fundamental structural changes that the wine sector world‐wide is undergoing as a result of globalisation and mounting international competition.

The most important recent trends in wine production, consumption and distribution are analysed and possible future scenarios for the wine industry outlined. The constraints and opportunities that wine operators are facing and are likely to face in the future are also examined, as is competition between Old World and New World producers. In this context, an analysis of the structure of the Italian wine industry serves to underscore the importance of the local factor and its link to quality as a competitiveness tool.

Globalisation has boosted competition between Old and New World producers. However, varying structures of production suggest the appropriateness of adopting competitive strategies shaped according to the varying relationship between different producers and their distribution (and especially major retail chain) networks, notably with respect to quality segments. For Old World producers a very important role will be played by product differentiation and the combination of tradition and innovation.

This paper examines the options open to such producers, notably in Italy where strategies adopted vary according to economies of scale.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: to give a descriptive outlook of the competitive environment in the UK wine market, and then to show the presence of “consumer confusion” elements in it.

The consumer confusion concept has been considered as a framework in order to test the existence of the principal elements of consumer misunderstanding in the buying process. Data have been collected from secondary sources and through in‐depth semi‐structured interviews among a sample of 40 stakeholders of the wine supply chain in the UK.

The main findings prove the existence of the essential characteristics that can generate a certain degree of consumer confusion, and the relative consciousness of key informants that some strategies need to be adopted to reduce it, although only a few have already been performed.

This paper is probably the first work that tests the consumer confusion conditions through a qualitative analysis following the expectations of previous research conducted by Drummond and Rule.