How to market a new berry?
Given that aronia berries have an astringent/bitter flavor while having high antioxidant levels researchers investigated how taste and health information impact preference and WTP. Furthermore, they add to the literature by investigating the differences in WTP for locally and nonlocally (regional, the United States, and outside the United States) labeled berries across varying retail outlets (i.e., farmer’s markets, farm stands, grocery store).
They find that new berries (aronia and black currant) are heavily discounted compared with more traditional berries. Potentially negative taste information (i.e., astringent/bitter flavor) has a negative impact on WTP, whereas positive health information has a positive impact on WTP. The positive effect of health information tends to offset the impact of the negative taste information.
With respect to local labeling and retail outlet, locally labeled berries at a farmer’s market and farm stand have WTP values similar to locally labeled berries at a grocery store. On the other hand, nonlocally labeled berries sold at a grocery store were discounted compared with locally labeled berries at a grocery store.
Access the full study at HortScience