Promoting rural provenance foods -diferences and similarities between producers, distributors and retailers

Abstract

1. PURPOSE
This presentation explores the promotion of rural provenance products, comparing what aspects and specificities do urban specialty shops’ owners, producers and distributors choose to emphasize. It aims at contributing to the yet little explored topic of promotion of rural provenance foodstuffs from a multi-actor perspective.
2. METHODOLOGY
The study draws on four different set of data deriving from a first phase of data collection through survey to a universe of 113 urban specialty shops located in Aveiro, Lisbon and Porto, in Portugal. A hierarchical cluster analysis performed, based on the more common rural provenance products sold, led to the identification of three clusters: ‘The Wine Focused’, including shops mainly commercializing wine; ‘The Rural Provenance Focused’, integrating shops selling mainly rural provenance food products and ‘The Generalist’, including shops commercializing a wide range of products from diverse provenances (Silva et al. 2021). In a second phase, from the results of the cluster analysis, 30 shops were randomly selected, based on the criteria of location and cluster. In these shops, all the printed promotional materials, websites publications and Facebook and Instagram posts alluding to rural provenance food products were collected [7491 files (3744 text and 3747 images)] and subjected to content analysis using Nvivo 12 software. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the 30 shops’ owners or managers. Finally, in a third phase, 9 shops were further selected as case studies and contacts from producers and distributors working with them were collected, resulting in 104 answers from producers and 40 from distributors
3. FINDINGS
The promotion of products by both producers and distributors rely on several types of material, mainly social media (Facebook and Instagram) and websites, which are also the main promotional materials privileged by urban specialty owners, together with flyers and word of mouth. The main targets of promotion for the producers, similarly to shop owners, are the general public, to what follows the retailers and restaurants and, less, intermediaries and other producers. As for distributors the main targets are retailers followed by the general public.
Despite some differences according with the type of products produced and distributed, and according with the promotion means, producers tend to value most in their promotion the national character of the products, their fair price, good taste and certification labels. The same aspects, albeit with different order of relevance, are the top main elements privileged by distributors when promoting the products. Interestingly, the least important element for producers in the promotion is the fact that these products follow traditional recipes and practices and that they support Portuguese agriculture and rural areas. Concerning the former, it may be due to the lower frequency of producers of products anchored in a traditional way of doing (e.g. cheese). For distributors, in turn, besides these two elements, the information on the production and the producer is also overlooked. These criteria and respective order are different from what urban specialty shops owners tend to privilege and what was found in the content analysis of the promotional materials (most of them created by the specialty shop owners themselves). The geographical origin of the products, including their national production is the only criteria equally valued by all, followed by taste. The price is scarcely presented by shop owners as is certification (e.g. Forte et al., 2022). The latter reflect the overall ambivalent attitudes shown by shop owners about the processes, cost and actual value of certified products or the fact that many of the products are often very well-known through place-based denominations that may be more effective than the certification labels themselves.
4. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Despite the limitation of the small number of producers and distributors surveyed, these findings indicate that rural provenance products promotion is not homogeneous in all phases of the supply chain and that the same products are portrayed differently depending on the actor considered. These differences, which may result from the actors’ personal perceptions of what is more valuable and valued about these products, may be conveying a richer and multi-layered image to consumers adding up elements.
5. ORIGINALITY
This contribution is original and was not present elsewhere.
6. REFERENCES
Forte, T.; Figueiredo, E. and Silva, A. (2022). An “Incredible voyage through Portugal” – the promotion of rural provenance foods by urban specialty shops, Food, Culture & Society, ahead of print.
Silva, A.; Figueiredo, E.; Truninger, M.; Eusébio, C. and Forte, T. (2021). ). A typology of urban specialty shops selling rural provenance food products – a contribution from Portugal. British Food Journal, 123(12): 3902-3917.

KEYWORDS – distributors; producers; promotion of rural provenance foods; retailers; rural provenance foods;

Full text

Promoting rural provenance foods –diferences and
similarities between producers, distributors and
retailers
Teresa Forte, Elisabete Figueiredo (University of Aveiro)
and Alexandre Silva ( Instituto de Ciências Sociais –University of Lisbon)
STRINGS - Selling The Rural IN (urban) Gourmet Stores –establishing new liaisons between
town and country through the sale and consumption of rural products (PTDC/GES-
OUT/29281/2017/ POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029281)

Introduction
➢Provenance foods’ marketing strategies are attuned to the
products’ main features and consumers’ demands
➢Authenticity and tradition are built upon places of origin, raw
materials, culture, history and local communities’ know-how.
➢The role of (often small) specialty food shops both in
promoting rural provenance foods in urban settings
alongside with and linkages with producers and territories of
origin is still underexplored

Aims
Contribute to better understand the promotion of rural provenance foodstuffs
from a multi-actor perspective.
Urban specialty shop owners
Producers
Distributors
Explores what is valued in the promotion of rural provenance foods by:

Methods
The study follows a mixed methods sequential design
➢1st phase –Empirical evidence from a survey to the specialty food
shops (n=113).
➢A hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted segmenting the stores
according to the most sold rural provenance Portuguese products.
➢Three clusters were identified:
1)Wine Focused (n=13)
2) The Rural Provenance Focused (n=49)
3) The Generalist (n=51)

Methods
2nd phase- Selection of 30 stores for semi-structured
interviews
3rd phase- Collection and content analysis of
promotional materials related to Portuguese rural
provenance food (physical, websites, Facebook,
Instagram) Sample= 7491 text and images
analysed)

Methods
4rd phase- Case studies of surveys to 9 stores’
producers and distributors
N=9
Aveiro (n=2) Porto (n=5) Lisbon (n=2)
Producers/ City
nº %
Aveiro
24
23,08
Lisboa
25
24,04
Porto
55
52,88
Total
104
Distributors/ City
nº
%
Aveiro
5
12,50
Lisboa
6
15,00
Porto
29
72,50
Total
40

Promotional materials –main categories
Type of products
n=17382
28.5%
Products’ features
n=15725
25.8%
Characteristics of the
store
n=10941
17.9%
Geographical origin
n=5099
8.4%
Producers
n=4516
7.4%
Processes of
production
n=983
1.6%

Physical and sensorial features
Products features (n=15725) References
Physical and tangible attributes 21,9%
Logo/Brand 35,7%
Colour 22,5%
Aspect 11,7%
Ingredients 10,8%
Consistency 10,4%
Size 5,7%
Price 2,8%
Weight 0,5
Sensorial attributes 12,9%
Package 68,9%
Taste 44,6%
Flavour 29,2%
Appearance 1,3%
Smell 1,1%
Temperature 0,8%

Symbolic features
Symbolic features References
Health and Environment 32,5%
Organic 28,5%
Healthy 16,8%
Specific effects on health 11%
Fresh or with freshness 8,8%
Nutritive 8,1%
Status/Excelence 21,6%
Awarded 17,2%
International recognition 12,1%
Special nature 10,1%
Gourmet 4,3%
Unique 4,3%
Authenticity and typical 13,7%
Artisanal 25,3%
Traditional 21,7%
Authenticity 19,6%
Typical 8,4%
Regional 5,8%

Symbolic features of the products
Symbolic features References
Atractiveness 7,5%
Elegance 31,5%
Delicious 26,9%
Sweetness 8,8%
Beauty 7%
Delicate 5%
Quality 4,5%
Quality 80%
Good 14%
Duration 2,2%
Well structured 2,9%
Robust 0,9%
Experiences 3,3%
“Moments”70,4%
Surprising 10,2%
Unforgetable 4,8%
Irresistible 3,7%
Indispensable 2,4%
Innovation 1%
Modern 31,8%
Irreverent 21,2%
Versatile 21,2%
Inovative 12,9%
Unusual 10,6%

Region of origin of the products
Salience of NUTSII Trás os
Montes, Serra da Estrela and
specific villages
Douro is a demarcated
region much references,
symbolically or objectivelt
(topographic and climateric),
especially in Porto stores
Alentejo, very rich in
references, is not
circunscribed to wine, also
including cheese, vegetables
and meat derivatives

Material and symbolic description of the region
Material atributes References
Natural/wild 38,6%
Montado 36,3%
Forest 7,7 %
Natural Resources 7,3 %
River 5,1%
Mount 4,7%
Planicie 1,7%
Mountain 2,1%
Planalto 0,9%
Agricultural 58,2%
Agricultura 37,1%
Quinta vinícola 24,6%
Olive grove 24,4%
Herdade 12,7%
Horta 8,2%
Demarcated 4,2%
Pasto 1,7%
Pomar 1,4%
Biophysical
features
23%
Soils
6,3%
Topography
5,5%
Climate
5,2%
Symbolic description of the region
Essence
(51.4%)
Attractiveness
(41.1%)
Preservation
(7.5%)

Processes and ways of production
Ways of
production
•Traditional- 38.9%
•Artisanal- 31.3%
•Organic- 14%
•Combines tradition with innovation- 9.8%
Processes of
production
•Based on local savoir-faire- 29.8%
•Based on specific regional cultures- 19.9%
•Based on individual savoir-faire- 19.9%
•Based on specific regional and local preparation

Promotion by producers and distributors
Producers
MSD
National
Production, Portuguese 4,44 0,608
Fair
price 4,37 0,621
Taste
4,33 0,829
Certification
(BIO; PDO; PGI) 4,16 0,898
Local
production 4,12 1,044
Appearance
of the products 4,06 0,944
Availability
in Urban areas 4,03 0,914
Healthier
products 4,01 0,985
Use
of quality raw materials 3,97 0,984
Proximity
to the consumer 3,96 0,871
Freshness
3,94 1,127
Trust
in the places of commercialization 3,82 0,929
Production
in national rural areas 3,79 0,923
The
lower environmental impact of production 3,76 1,081
Recognition
of the Brand 3,76 0,916
Small
-scale production 3,70 1,087
Information
on the region of provenance 3,69 1,069
Information
on the production processes 3,65 1,004
Nutritional
Information 3,59 1,052
Information
on yourself and the production 3,56 1,028
Production
according to traditional recipes
and
practices
3,46 1,165
The
support Portuguese agriculture and
rural
areas
3,37 1,050
Distributors
MSD
Taste
4,48
0,508
National Production, Portuguese
4,39
0,667
Fair price
4,16
0,779
-
Certification (BIO; PDO; PGI)
4,16
1,003
-
Freshness
4,10
0,870
-
Healthier products
4,10
0,700
-
Local production
4,06
0,964
Availability in Urban areas
4,00
0,775
Use of quality raw materials
4,00
0,931
-
Appearance of the products
4,00
0,894
-
Proximity to the consumer
3,84
0,934
Recognition of the Brand
3,81
0,792
Production in national rural areas
3,77
0,805
-
Trust in the places of commercialization
3,77
0,884
-
The lower environmental impact of production
3,74
0,893
-
Small-scale production
3,71
0,783
-
Information on the production processes
3,71
0,783
Nutritional Information
3,71
0,824
-
Information on the region of provenance
3,68
0,832
-
Information on you and your enterprise
3,65
0,709
-
The support Portuguese agriculture and rural areas
3,58
0,886
-
Information on the production and the producer
3,58
0,886
Production according to traditional recipes and practices
3,37
1,098

Stakeholders’ comparison
More
valued
Producers
Distributors
Retailers
Portuguese
products
Fair Price
Good
taste
Good
Taste
Portuguese
Products
Fair Price
Portuguese products
and
specific origin
National
Production
Taste
Least
valued
Producers
Distributors
Retailers
Traditional
recipes and
practices
Support
of PT agriculture and
rural
areas
Traditional
recipes
and
practices
Support
of PT
agriculture
and
rural
areas
Information
on
producer
and
production
Price
Certification

General conclusions
➢Despite the limitation of the small number of producers and distributors
surveyed, these findings indicate that rural provenance products
promotion is not homogeneous in all phases of the supply chain and that
the same products are portrayed differently depending on the actor
considered
➢These differences, which may result from the actors’ personal
perceptions of what is more valuable and valued about these products,
may be conveying a richer and multi-layered image to consumers
adding up elements

Thank you!
STRINGS - Selling The Rural IN (urban) Gourmet Stores –establishing new
liaisons between town and country through the sale and consumption of
rural products (PTDC/GES-OUT/29281/2017)
https://www.stringsproject.pt/