Different opinions on local food production

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Lastly, the cost barrier can be added to this drawback. The study shows that no matter what low and high socio-economic groups customers come from, they are all mindful of the quality-price ratio. Even though quality is widely acknowledged, local food is, still, in the opinion of many, quite expensive.

The importance of local production for consumers from Nyon

From the research Julie Dumartheray has done for her thesis, there appears to be a clear preference for local consumption among consumers. The interest for local cropping is in vogue in Nyon and the locavore movement is growing in popularity. Furthermore, consumers from Nyon said that they would be poised to pay between six and ten percent more if the food was local.

However, this demand is supported by the lifestyle constraint. Being accustomed to all foodstuffs lying together in one storage location, the Nyon consumers seem to perceive the benefits of local food, but big box stores are still commonly chosen due to the shopping-trip convenience.

Conclusion

Even though local food has some drawbacks for the customers – and consequently for companies -, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages by far. Consumers are increasingly seeking out the flavors of fresh grown food on local farms rather than products trucked to supermarkets from faraway lands. As stated in the thesis, there is a clear demand for such products in the Nyon area. For this reason, I am convinced that stores participating in this niche market of local foods will gain importance in the near future and be profitable for their owners. Consequently, I recommend you to bring your local business project to life. Furthermore, I suggest you to locate your store in downtown Nyon in order to reach more customers through the geographical proximity.

References

S. Chambers, A. Lobb, L. Butler, K. Harvey &W. Bruce Traill, (2007). Local, national and imported foods: A qualitative study, Appetite, 49(1), 208–213. Retrieved from http://ac.els-cdn.com/

J. Dumartheray (2011). L’agriculture de proximité́ pour les habitants de l’agglomération nyonnaise. Haute École de Gestion de Genève (HEG-GE). Retrieved from http://www.nyon.ch/multimedia/docs/2011/

H. Norberg-Hodge & S. Gorelick, (2002).Think Global... Eat Local. The Ecologist, 32(7), 28–31. Retrieved from http://spiritoftheland.ca/