Consumer attitude and behaviour towards tomatoes after 10 years of Flandria quality labelling

Abstract

Summary In recent years, trust in food safety and food quality has decreased as a result of consecutive food crises. Consequently, numerous quality labels signalling process‐related credence characteristics have been established. One of these labels is the Belgian Flandria quality label for fresh fruit and vegetables. Based on cross‐sectional data collected through a self‐administered consumer survey ( n = 373), this paper addresses consumer attitudes, behaviour and perception towards tomatoes in general, and the Flandria tomato label in particular. Buyers, who constitute 26.8% of the sample, perceive Flandria tomatoes as superior to other tomatoes because of their guarantee of origin, better taste and stricter production control. However, they also report the strongest perception of Flandria as an ordinary tomato as compared to non‐buyer segments. Overall, findings indicate that the Flandria label – after being intensively used for 10 years for a wide range of other fruits and vegetables besides tomatoes – has become fairly standard for tomatoes with little perceived differentiation apart from its certified production and origin.