Articles
Communication of sustainability in horticulture what messages do consumers currently perceive and what expectations do they have regarding sustainability?
Article number
1380_4
Pages
31 – 38
Language
English
Abstract
Consumers are placing more emphasis on product sustainability, thus horticultural companies are challenged in their sustainability communication.
We therefore conducted a study to investigate which aspects of the horticultural industrys current sustainability communication are perceived by consumers and if these correspond to the aspects consumers consider to be particularly important.
In 2021, an online survey was completed by 114 participants from Germany.
All three dimensions of sustainability were examined with five aspects per dimension.
Results show that sustainability topics communicated by horticulture producers are hardly perceived by consumers.
They are more aware of the ecological than the social dimension, which, however, is perceived more than the economic dimension.
This order also remains when analyzing single sustainability aspects.
Across all dimensions no aspect can attract medium or stronger attention, which already indicates a potential communication deficit.
Within the ecological dimension, the topics of biodiversity and waste production stand out slightly.
In the social dimension consumer health and safety are perceived most.
Regarding the importance, ecological and social aspects are still central while economic aspects are hardly important.
In addition, the horticultural food sector shows higher values of perception and importance than the non-food sector.
In general, the respondents rank the importance of sustainability aspects of horticultural products higher than the actually perceived communication of sustainability by horticultural companies.
We therefore conducted a study to investigate which aspects of the horticultural industrys current sustainability communication are perceived by consumers and if these correspond to the aspects consumers consider to be particularly important.
In 2021, an online survey was completed by 114 participants from Germany.
All three dimensions of sustainability were examined with five aspects per dimension.
Results show that sustainability topics communicated by horticulture producers are hardly perceived by consumers.
They are more aware of the ecological than the social dimension, which, however, is perceived more than the economic dimension.
This order also remains when analyzing single sustainability aspects.
Across all dimensions no aspect can attract medium or stronger attention, which already indicates a potential communication deficit.
Within the ecological dimension, the topics of biodiversity and waste production stand out slightly.
In the social dimension consumer health and safety are perceived most.
Regarding the importance, ecological and social aspects are still central while economic aspects are hardly important.
In addition, the horticultural food sector shows higher values of perception and importance than the non-food sector.
In general, the respondents rank the importance of sustainability aspects of horticultural products higher than the actually perceived communication of sustainability by horticultural companies.
Authors
L. Knauber, L. Müller, R. Luer, W. Lentz
Keywords
sustainable production, consumer perception, consumer needs, marketing communication, horticulture business
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