Das Image deutscher Ökozeichen:Unterscheiden Verbraucher zwischen Öko-Verbandszeichen, Öko-Herstellermarken, Öko-Handelsmarken und dem Biosiegel?

Summary

In Germany, consumers are confronted with more than 100 organic labels, which lead to uncertainty about the reliability of such labels. As a solution, one public organic label, the Bio-Siegel, was designed. This raises two questions from the marketing perspective: (1) Do any of the individual organic labels have a specific image, a unique selling proposition (USP)? (2) Does the federal Bio-Siegel reduce consumer uncertainty with organic products? The overall objective of this study is to reveal and compare product profiles and preferences for organic labels at the German food market. 300 face-to-face interviews of consumers using a standardised questionnaire were conducted. The survey addressed the importance of organic labelling compared to other purchase criteria, the recognition and purchase frequency of selected organic labels, associations, similarities and preferences for specific organic labels. Data were analysed by different qualitative and quantitative methods. First results show that some organic suppliers achieved a successful product positioning of their organic labels.