Functional food characteristics in organic food products—the perspectives of Italian consumers on organic eggs enriched with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

Abstract

Innovation in organic food products plays an important role in further developing its competitiveness in the market and meeting the emerging consumers’ needs. However, few studies have analysed consumers’ points of view of innovations on organic food, limited to the change in the natural food composition or the enrichment of the nutritional contents of the product. This study, using experimental auctions, aims to overcome this gap by enriching the knowledge on organic consumers’ preference for organic food with functional characteristics. Specifically, this study analyses the willingness to pay (WTP) of 110 Italian consumers for organic eggs enriched with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), compared to standard organic eggs, and the factors underlying this choice. Findings of the study reveal that over 73% of the sample is willing to pay an average price premium of €0.16 for functional organic eggs. This choice is mainly due to both selfish factors and a high attitude towards the environment. From a theoretical perspective, these findings enrich the literature on consumers of organic food with functional characteristics. At the same time, from a managerial point of view these results could be of interest for those breeding of laying hens that want to innovate and be competitive on the market segment of functional food. Finally, this study also contributes to the political discussions regarding the organic agriculture of the future which may also include health claims.