Market development of organic products in Europe: conditions and role of Organic Marketing Initiatives

Abstract

The contribution presents some of the main results of a European program of investigation (titled Organic Marketing Initiatives – OMIs – and Rural Development). Firstly, consumer behavior, as well as attitudes, expectations, motives and buying barriers concerning organic food are explored. Then, authors give a brief overview of the organic market analysis of 18 European countries, based on a Delphi inquiry. Finally, the third part highlights the role of OMIs in the organic market development and the reasons for their success, defined as the effective and efficient implementation of goals set out by the initiatives themselves. By examining the history of 67 OMIs, authors show that internal factors (role of key persons, management, motivation, skill…) are clearly more important than external ones when predicting the success of an OMI. Despite the heterogeneity of organic market development and consumer concerns over the countries, the analysis allows the formulation of policy recommendations in order to promote organic agriculture.