Market barriers to welfare product innovations

Abstract

New products that are based on higher animal welfare standards encounter several barriers on the road to market acceptance. The authors focus on the Dutch poultry sector and distinguish between retailer and consumer barriers. Retailer barriers include the powerful position of retailers, the price competition, and the price-orientation of decision-makers. At the consumer level, potential barriers are: involving the consumer in animal welfare, making him understand the welfare benefits, convincing him to try the product and delivering satisfying quality. It is crucial to understand what product attributes influence the consumer decision process, as this will involve more than just ethical aspects. A consumer-oriented development process resulting in superior product performance on multiple attributes besides ethics should help producers and industries to overcome the barriers identified.