Conventions of quality in consumer preference toward local honey in southern Italy

During the last few decades consumer demand for local foods has increased around the world, particularly in the USA and Europe. Such consumer trend also contributes to redefine a new alternative geography of food; in which local foods are perceived to be of better quality and safer. Moreover, consumers frame local food quality not only in terms of general attributes, such as taste and price, but also in terms of more subjective attributes closely linked to social and environmental aspects of products. These attributes are recognised by consumers as a range of socially constructed food quality criteria, which play an important role in the creation of information about quality and consumer decision-making. In this study, to better understand the choice of consumers with respect to food sourced locally, it was decided to analyse, as illustrative case product, the consumption of honey. More in depth, the aim of this study is to identify the quality characteristics that most influence the purchase of locally produced honey, or to identify those that may affect transactions in the local market for honey, guiding the choices of consumers.