From Commodities to the Consumption of Quality Foods in Eastern European Context An Empirical Examination of the Determinants of Consumer Behavior Towards Honey

While not much attention has been paid in the international literature to the consumption of premium food products with enhanced quality properties in Central-Eastern European Countries, the present survey aims to investigate consumer behavior in Romania with regards to honey as an example of such a product. The research concludes that, despite the changes in eating habits induced by changes in the retail environment, honey remains a popular product and purchases in bulk from producers and in open markets still represent the dominant trend. The survey further identifies four main dimensions of honey-purchasing motivation: medical benefits of its consumption, dietary quality, ethical character of honey, and compatibility with food consumption lifestyle. Using these dimensions, three clusters of honey consumers in Romania have emerged. The distinctive features of Romanian consumers also include a low attention paid to labels. Quality cues are defined by search attributes of the bulk product, rather than credence attributes. Marketers targeting this market should be aware of this skepticism towards label information, which necessitates more communication effort to built consumer trust in brands.