Towards an ethical chocolate supply chain: Matching Swiss consumer preferences with policy instruments

The chocolate supply chain exemplifies the social and environmental challenges within global food systems. Growing awareness of environmental impact and ethical production practices is increasingly shaping consumer choices and influencing food policy. This highlights the need for an integrated approach to determine consumption preferences and policy support. A discrete choice experiment with Swiss citizens (N = 1102), analyzed through a latent class model, reveals two consumer segments: an 'ethical-conscious' segment (72%) and a 'price-sensitive' segment (28%). Both favor policy instruments to (1) prioritize small- and medium-sized enterprises within the chocolate supply chain, (2) reduce deforestation, and (3) support chocolate production in Switzerland. However, the 'ethical-conscious' segment, predominantly younger and more aware of social and environmental impacts, tends to support regulatory, persuasive and cooperative policy instruments, while the 'price-sensitive' segment shows no strong opposition. These findings provide critical insights for policymakers seeking to promote a more ethical chocolate supply chain. This study moves beyond preference elicitation, by matching consumption preferences with a set of policy measures.