Why fresh fruit and vegetable producers use direct marketing in northern France

Consumers today are paying much more attention to where their food comes from and the means by which it has been produced.
To satisfy this demand, increasing numbers of food producers are distributing their products direct to consumers through on-farm stores, farmers markets, community-supported agriculture schemes, the internet and directly to institutional users.
Theoretically, this mode of selling has several advantages for producers, enabling them to build closer relationships with their customers and to secure a greater proportion of the retail margin.
Through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with fresh fruit and vegetable producers in Northern France, this study sought to examine the drivers for, and the benefits derived from direct marketing.
The results highlight five motivations for producers to use direct marketing: economic advantage, consumer contact, attention to production, convenience and the producers desire to sustainably develop their farm.

XXXI International Horticultural Congress (IHC2022): International Symposium on Value Adding and Innovation Management in the Horticultural Sector

F. Dupont, P.J. Batt

food production, distribution, sustainability

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1380.9