In this study, a hedonic price approach was applied to the Italian EVOO high market segment.
This allows us to focus on time-varying features and to check for the emergence of new trends in product specifications in this high market segment which serves sophisticated consumers usually leading the market.
Last, it is worth to recall that the analysis shows how the European quality certifications are not well established and valued by Italian EVOO consumers; this is at least true in this high market segment where consumers seem to value more other clues directly related to the production process and to the production area.
Overall, this discrepancy indicates a sharp market segmentation with respect to this feature with consumers in high market segments that seem to value more features directly related to the producer than official third party certifications (see below the results for the PDO/PGI certification).
In this scenario, producers engage a quality-based competition, especially in high market segments, and winners get market shares and significant price premiums.
It is worth noting that the sample is not representative of the whole Italian EVOO market but refers to the higher market segments where different quality features are relevant.
On the contrary, European quality schemes, such as those for product origin and for organic production, do not bring additional value to consumers in the explored high market segments.
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We were both losing in the lucrative high-end market segment.
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