How do consumers react to food products labelled as “antibioticfree”?

Abstract

This study aims to answer the research question: How do consumers react to food products labelled as “antibiotic-free”?, by unraveling whether consumers are positively influenced by an “antibiotic-free” label affixed on products. We here investigate if the presence of an “antibiotic-free” label positively influences the respondent’s purchase intentions, the product’s perceived quality and taste, as well as the respondent’s trust towards the product, the price he is willing to pay to acquire the product, and if this price is affected by the respondent’s knowledge about antibiotics. We here focus on food products and more especially on meat, investigating the French market and French consumers, in a context of blurred legislations due to a controversial ratification of the CETA, and in a climate of sanitary crisis caused by the outbreak of the Covid-19. By presenting respondents, thanks to an online experiment, with three different products bearing one, three and no “antibiotic-free” label at all, we came to the conclusion that the presence of an “antibiotic-free” label generates higher purchase intentions and willingness to pay, positively influences the product’s perceived quality, and positively influences trust towards the product. However, we could not state that the presence of an “antibiotic-free” label on a product positively influences the perceived taste respondents report. In addition to that, we conclude that there is a positive significant correlation between the respondents’ level of knowledge about antibiotics and their willingness to pay for products that bear at least one “antibiotic-free” label. Therefore, creating an official “antibiotic-free” label could be beneficial for European and French meat producers, since there is a potential market for it. However, in order to maximize the sales, it seems to be crucial to educate the French public to deepen their knowledge about antibiotics. Customers with a thorough knowledge of antibiotics would be able to fully understand the advantages of such a label, providing an additional value for the product bearing it, compared to a product imported from Canada, which may even present risks for customers’ health.