The halo effect of PDO labeling on sensory experience and consumer perception of Bergkäse

The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label is awarded to foods exclusively produced within a designated area. Austria has eleven registered PDO foods, seven of which are cheeses, including the hard raw milk cheese Tiroler Bergkäse PDO. Some manufacturers in Tyrol produce their cheeses according...

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Main Authors: Hannah Innerbichler, Florian Danzl, Jürgen König, Katrin E. Bach
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Applied Food Research
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502224002439
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author Hannah Innerbichler
Florian Danzl
Jürgen König
Katrin E. Bach
author_facet Hannah Innerbichler
Florian Danzl
Jürgen König
Katrin E. Bach
author_sort Hannah Innerbichler
collection DOAJ
description The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label is awarded to foods exclusively produced within a designated area. Austria has eleven registered PDO foods, seven of which are cheeses, including the hard raw milk cheese Tiroler Bergkäse PDO. Some manufacturers in Tyrol produce their cheeses according to the PDO specification but hesitate to commercialize them as such. However, foods bearing a seal (PDO, organic, fair trade) can be perceived as possessing superior taste, quality, and health benefits, and can influence consumers’ willingness-to-pay. This study examines the effect of PDO labeling on the sensory experience, the purchase criteria for cheese, overall liking, perceived quality, perceived healthiness, purchase intention, and willingness-to-pay of Bergkäse, a hard raw milk cheese. In a one-way (PDO label vs. control) between-groups experiment, 165 participants tasted the same cheese and completed a questionnaire, with only the informational text differing between groups. Results show that many taste descriptors (e.g. high-quality flavor), overall liking, perceived quality, the purchase criterion quality labels (AMA, PDO etc.), and purchase intention were rated significantly higher in the PDO group. This suggests a halo effect, where a positive impression of one attribute favorably influences the consumer's overall opinion. In this study, the PDO label did not affect the willingness-to-pay. The effects of the tested moderators were almost entirely absent. This research implies that Tyrolean cheese manufacturers producing Bergkäse according to the PDO specification may consider retailing their products with the PDO label to enhance the taste experience, perception, and purchase intention of consumers.
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spelling doaj-art-8f8a7b7c1c4744298e1ceff278928c932024-12-18T08:55:04ZengElsevierApplied Food Research2772-50222024-12-0142100633The halo effect of PDO labeling on sensory experience and consumer perception of BergkäseHannah Innerbichler0Florian Danzl1Jürgen König2Katrin E. Bach3Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, Wien A-1010, Austria; Department of Food Technology & Nutrition, MCI | The Entrepreneurial School, Maximilianstr. 2, A-6020 Innsbruck, AustriaDepartment of Food Technology & Nutrition, MCI | The Entrepreneurial School, Maximilianstr. 2, A-6020 Innsbruck, AustriaDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, Wien A-1010, AustriaDepartment of Food Technology & Nutrition, MCI | The Entrepreneurial School, Maximilianstr. 2, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria; Corresponding author.The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label is awarded to foods exclusively produced within a designated area. Austria has eleven registered PDO foods, seven of which are cheeses, including the hard raw milk cheese Tiroler Bergkäse PDO. Some manufacturers in Tyrol produce their cheeses according to the PDO specification but hesitate to commercialize them as such. However, foods bearing a seal (PDO, organic, fair trade) can be perceived as possessing superior taste, quality, and health benefits, and can influence consumers’ willingness-to-pay. This study examines the effect of PDO labeling on the sensory experience, the purchase criteria for cheese, overall liking, perceived quality, perceived healthiness, purchase intention, and willingness-to-pay of Bergkäse, a hard raw milk cheese. In a one-way (PDO label vs. control) between-groups experiment, 165 participants tasted the same cheese and completed a questionnaire, with only the informational text differing between groups. Results show that many taste descriptors (e.g. high-quality flavor), overall liking, perceived quality, the purchase criterion quality labels (AMA, PDO etc.), and purchase intention were rated significantly higher in the PDO group. This suggests a halo effect, where a positive impression of one attribute favorably influences the consumer's overall opinion. In this study, the PDO label did not affect the willingness-to-pay. The effects of the tested moderators were almost entirely absent. This research implies that Tyrolean cheese manufacturers producing Bergkäse according to the PDO specification may consider retailing their products with the PDO label to enhance the taste experience, perception, and purchase intention of consumers.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502224002439PDOFood labelHalo effectHard raw milk cheeseTiroler bergkäse PDO
spellingShingle Hannah Innerbichler
Florian Danzl
Jürgen König
Katrin E. Bach
The halo effect of PDO labeling on sensory experience and consumer perception of Bergkäse
Applied Food Research
PDO
Food label
Halo effect
Hard raw milk cheese
Tiroler bergkäse PDO
title The halo effect of PDO labeling on sensory experience and consumer perception of Bergkäse
title_full The halo effect of PDO labeling on sensory experience and consumer perception of Bergkäse
title_fullStr The halo effect of PDO labeling on sensory experience and consumer perception of Bergkäse
title_full_unstemmed The halo effect of PDO labeling on sensory experience and consumer perception of Bergkäse
title_short The halo effect of PDO labeling on sensory experience and consumer perception of Bergkäse
title_sort halo effect of pdo labeling on sensory experience and consumer perception of bergkase
topic PDO
Food label
Halo effect
Hard raw milk cheese
Tiroler bergkäse PDO
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502224002439
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