The role of the certificates on consumers chicken meat and egg choice in Antalya central districts

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine whether food certificates, including organic, Good Agricultural Practices, and Halal labelled products, plus cooperative-owned brands for eggs, have an important role in consumer choice decisions and whether there exist different consumer segments. Design/Methodology/Approach: The data used in the research was collected via a face-to-face survey conducted with 282 respondents responsible for household food purchases in three central districts of Antalya in the autumn of 2021. The data obtained by the survey consist of behavioural, socio-economic, and demographic variables and were analysed with multivariate statistics. Findings: The results of factor analysis indicate that three factors account for 74% of the variance in chicken meat choice: certifications (36.3%), economy (23.1%), and freshness (14.7%). For eggs, three factors account for 73% of the variance: certifications (33.7%), freshness (24.2%), and economy (15.0%). The K-means cluster analysis with the factor score data resulted in three clusters for chicken meat and two clusters for eggs being adequate. This study revealed that certification is the primary major factor explaining variance in consumer choice decisions in both chicken and eggs. The segmentation result indicates that freshness and price are still primary discriminatory variables for about 90 per cent of consumers in both products. Originality/Value: This study attempts to contribute to the gap in the national literature with respect to broiler meat and eggs. The results can serve as a basis for strategy development by policymakers, producers and downstream value chain actors and enhance consumers’ knowledge about product labels, including the meaning of various certificates.