The degree of knowledge of Italian consumers in the field of PDO and PGI remains limited. A factor that generally reflects the ability to attribute the right value to designations of origin, to fully appreciate the distinctive features and to recognize them a premium price.This emerges from a forthcoming survey of ISMEA, which analyzes the market positioning of products protected by the Community brand and the perception of the consumer experience. The survey, conducted between 2008 and 2010 at 50 chains of big retail on a sample of 12 cities, focuses on products belonging to cheese, wine, meat, olive oil and fruit sectors.
The overall appraisal of the results reveals some critical areas mainly in the sphere of consumer knowledge and the relationships between producers and retailers; the logic of modern distribution is often distant from the productive world of reference.
ISMEA points out that in some product sectors the wide assortment of supply and the segmentation in terms of pricing and lines/formats often cause confusion in the customer. In take-away segment is frequently also the risk of banalization of the PDO/PGI product and indistinguishably compared to the conventional. In the assisted sale the role of the shop assistant is essential but he/she is often inadequate in providing knowledge about products with EU trademark.
The positioning analysis - carried out with qualitative tools such as store check, interviews with key figures of big retail, mystery shopping activities - also showed some dissonance in the relationship between producers and distribution chains. Often, supplies inadequate to requirements and volumes required by the big retail category managers are in fact penalized both in referencing policies and in shelf position.
Finally ISMEA survey identifies a series of corrective marketing actions, primarily designed to reduce the current information gap and to improve awareness on quality food products.
Source: ismea.it