Even in highly developed food markets, aquaponic products have not yet been successfully introduced. This is particularly surprising, as aquaponics is an excellent example of a sustainable circulation food production system.
The purpose of a new empirical study was to determine the factors that influence consumers’ willingness to pay for aquaponic products. The direct and indirect relationships were tested via Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Primary data of 315 respondents from Austria were collected.
The findings revealed that the willingness to pay for aquaponic products was significantly and directly driven by the purchase intention. As a result, the successful implementation of aquaponics in the market requires the provision of information for consumers.
The study's authors suggest emphasizing the value of aquaponics as a sustainable food production system, since indirect factors that influence the willingness to pay are (besides the assessment of aquaponics) environmental awareness and green consumption.