IS ORGANIC FOOD A QUALITY ATTRIBUTE OR A PRODUCT CATEGORY?

The present study investigates the relationships between consumer categorization of organic versus non-organic food products, consumers’ underlying perceptions of organic food, and their propensity to consume organic foods. A choice experiment is used to test these relations in a case study involving consumer preferences for attributes relating to milk. First and foremost, we find a strong link between how consumers categorize food and their organic profile. Second, our study supports earlier findings which indicate that certain socio-demographic variables are important drivers of organic demand together with beliefs in organic foods possessing positive attributes. Third, we find that knowledge concerning a claim stating that milk from grazing cows is healthier serves as a way to categorize consumers.