STUDY ON CONSUMERS' BEHAVIOR CONCERNING BERRIES CONSUMPTION IN ITALY

In Italy, the cultivated land of berries shows a positive trend, nevertheless berries still remain a productive segment of niche and luxury in the Italian agri-food system. In the world, the interest for these productions is high for their healthy aspects that have a strong appeal to the consumers. The objectives of this study are to know the consumers behavior of berries and the determinants of purchase in Italy in order to improve the management of the producing and retailers companies for increase the competitiveness of the supply chain. The results obtained through a multivariate analysis show some difference among the consumers interviewed. The most important results of this study is that good taste and flavor and nutritional properties arethe most important motivation to buy berries as fresh fruit. Among the three geographical Italian macro-regions (Northern, Central and Southern) have not been revealed relevant differences. These are related mainly to the type of fruit consumed, the place and frequency of purchase. Furthermore, consumers living in big capitals, compared to those living in the smallcities, can easily find berries at supermarket and consider label a very important element for traceability of product. Moreover, they usually buy berries for special occasions as fresh fruits or to prepare particular dishes. Several implication both for companies and Institution have been identified.