The impact of obtaining a European quality sign on origin food producers

A unique Europe-wide research study was conducted among all the producer organisations having a European Union quality sign (protected designation of origin, protected geographical indication, traditional speciality guaranteed) registered in the DOOR database with the use of postal and Internet surveys. 840 requests to complete the survey were sent. The final sample consisted of 56 entities from 11 countries. Descriptive statistics,.2-tests, t-tests, bivariate regressions and a multivariate regression model were applied. In the majority of cases, the adoption of a European quality sign for origin food results in an increase of marketing outlays, number of clients, production, and net profit. The most important marketing consequences of implementing the system of origin product protection consist in image enhancement, distribution policy innovations and refreshing the marketing strategy of the organisation. The principal determinants of the competitive advantage turn out to be taste, followed by the quality guarantee in the form of certificates and signs, and emphasising the product identification with its region of origin. As far as the general assessment of the impact of obtaining a European quality sign on the organisation development is concerned, positive answers prevailed decidedly. 59% estimated the impact to be rather good, and 22% very good. Neutral assessments amounted to 17%, and negative to less than 2%. In a multiple regression model, factors that influence the evaluation of the impact of obtaining a European quality sign for origin food were identified. They include: increasing production, entering new distribution channels, building one's competitive advantage on consumer loyalty and selling one's products on a market.