The power of certifications

: how sustainability certifications impact the product preference in the Brazilian juice market

Abstract

One common attempt to satisfy consumer demand for more sustainable business practices and increasing product preference is the use of sustainability certifications. Due to the huge number of available certifications, companies have problems to decide for the most beneficial ones. The following study attempts to solve this issue by comparing different certificate groups using a quantitative survey based on conjoint analysis carried out in the Brazilian juice market. The results of 210 respondents indicate, that the certifications picked generally increase product evaluations. However, the effects differ significantly between three segments identified, especially between the two most important ones with combined almost 90% market share. One is a price sensitive segment with weak effects towards certifications and the other a price insensitive cluster, showing strong preferences for certified products. Demographic differences between the clusters are only marginal as well as specific certification preferences, with a small advantage for organic. Therefore, a dual targeting strategy is recommended, on the one hand, a highly priced certified product and on the other hand a lowly-priced uncertified product a should satisfy the identified demands. The certification(s) picked should mostly rely on the specific costs of the process due to the limited consumer differentiation. Furthermore, this limited differentiation, is underlined by remarkable utilities for a superfluous sugar label.

Date of Award	27 Jun 2019
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Fabio Caldieraro (Supervisor)