Toward a better understanding of market potentials for vegan food. A choice experiment for the analysis of breadsticks preferences

Recently, vegan food has received increased attention from Italian consumers. Despite this fact, it has rarely been the subject of analysis. Our study focuses on consumer preferences for breadsticks in North-Eastern Italy. We applied a choice experiment where a hypothetical market was designed to analyze five characteristics of breadsticks (country of origin, vegan product certification, production method, type of flour, and price). We collected data by interviewing 487 consumers and analyzed them by means of the random parameter logit model. Results suggest that 8% of respondents are willing to pay a premium price for vegan breadsticks and that there is the opportunity to develop local chains for vegan niche markets.