On the willingness to pay for food sustainability labelling: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Sustainability labelling is an extremely complex, multifaceted, and debated topic. Through a systematic and meta-analytical approach, we disentangled the informative contents of environmental and social labels and investigated their effect on the consumer willingness to pay for food products. The premium prices for sustainability labels are largely heterogeneous depending on the information disclosed. Generic and specific messages seem not to differ in terms of consumer acceptance. Not all facets are equally important as social issues tend to be less considered. Policy interventions should combine hard and soft measures to holistically achieve sustainability in the food system.