Consumer Preferences for Olive Oil in Spain: A Best-Worst Scaling Approach

Abstract

This paper studies the preferences of consumers for olive oil in Spain, which is the largest producer and consumer of olive oil worldwide. Olive oil is a prominent, sustainable, healthy, and distinctive product associated with the Mediterranean diet. Based on a survey conducted among a sample of 402 consumers, we apply the Best Worst Scaling method to measure the importance of some attributes that influence consumer preferences for olive oil. Our results show that consumers rate price, geographical origin, protected designation of origin label, and olive variety, as important product attributes. Conversely, attributes such as organic label certification, size, and packaging material are considered less important. As the perceived importance of olive oil attributes differs across individuals, we further estimate a five-class solution and describe each class in terms of knowledge and consumption of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. Finally, we discuss the implications of studying consumer preferences for olive oil and provide managerial insights.