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This paper aims to describe and understand the offer of premium private labels (PPLs) in Italy, with a case study on the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).

The empirical study on EVOO in Italy was aimed to investigate the drivers of the offer of PPLs and its effects on assortment policies. The study was carried out in three Italian provinces, using a cross-sectional design with data collected through direct observation. A two-step data analysis was performed. First, descriptive statistics were used to preliminary appraise hypotheses on the rationale underlying the offer of PPL, and then, the drivers of PPL policy were studied using a logistic regression model.

The estimated model indicates that in the case of EVOO the probability of offering a PPL is higher for stronger with a stronger competitive position (with respect to other stores), and increases with the size of the category assortment (Total Assortment Width) and with the share of the PL products offered by the store (PL Assortment Index). It also increases if the average price (Total Average Price) and the average price of the standard private label (SPL Average Price) improve; by contrast, it decreases if the national brand (NB) share in the assortment (NB Assortment Index) augments.

Overall, the study confirms that the multi-tiered PL strategy is one of the current competitive strategies of top retailers, centred more on a differentiation than on a low cost/price policy. Such a differentiation policy may have various effects in terms of channel structure and social welfare depending on the underlying corporate and consumer goals and beliefs and on the existing institutional framework.

This is the first study to investigate the PPL market in Italy using original data and taking into account policies actually carried out at the individual store level. A further element of novelty is the attention given to the welfare effects of multi-tier strategies. This paper suggests that these latter may have various effects in terms of channel structure and social welfare depending on the underlying corporate and consumer goals and beliefs and on the existing institutional framework.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate attitudes of Italian consumers towards a set of applications of nanotechnology in the food domain. The chief goal is to identify the main factors influencing the willingness to buy nanofoods (WTBN), distinguishing between factors related to the products, in terms of perceived risks and benefits and psychological factors.

A questionnaire was administered to a sample of about 300 people to gather information about the willingness to buy six nanofoods (namely: creamier ice cream with the same fat content; salt and sugar that do not form lumps with moisture; fruit juices enriched with bioactive molecules; bread enriched with Omega-3; plastic bottles for beer; antimicrobial food packaging for meat) and psychological characteristics, measured by several attitudinal scales. In order to study the influence of the attitudinal factors on the WTBN a simultaneous equations model was estimated, defining both its structural and reduced form.

Respondents show a certain reluctance to buy foods produced using nanotechnologies The estimates of the econometric model indicate that WTBN is affected by the risks and benefits perceived with respect to the six nanofoods under consideration; the level of neophobia, as captured through the food technology neophobia scale; and the level of trust in food industry.

The study extends the literature on nanofood consumer acceptance by adding useful evidence from the Italian case, which has not yet been studied.