**6. Discussion and managerial implications**

8.9% from farmers' markets. Given that 15.9% of the sample indicated that they do buy local organic products, and only 8.9% do their shopping at the farmers' market, it is questionable whether or not consumers fully understand what local organic is. It may be that when purchasing food products at a local community stores, the consumer might falsely believe they are supporting a local farmer. Furthermore, respondents expressed a willingness to purchase local food products at Supermarkets (22.5%), Local Grocery Stores (93.1%), local community shops (81.8%), local farmer in small quantities (52.4%), in bulk (31.8%) and at local restaurants (60.6%). The high percentages across the board indicate great market potential for farmers to retail their product in all channels, and to strategize better promotion of direct sale of their

Based on the previous section results, different combinations of socio-demographic indicators and psychographic variables have been implemented to determine the optimal segmentation strategy. For the purpose of this study, broad segmentation is defined as a segmentation strategy that has non-distinct segments while good segmentation is defined as a segmentation strategy with very distinct segments. The idea is to maximize intra-group homogeneity and intra-group heterogeneity. This allows for more robust profiling, as consumers will behave in the same way when they belong to the same segment and will behave differently if they belong to different segments. Note that homogeneity and heterogeneity are defined with regards to the segmenting variables. For the purpose of having a good measure of inter-group heteroge‐ neity, several ANOVAs were run to make sure that consumers in different segments have

The three attributes driving the purchasing behavior and the consumption patter are: organic, food mileage, and healthiness. Consumers were clustered using those 3 variables; all are measured using a 5-point bipolar scale. Results of 2-step cluster analysis show 2 groups of consumers that act in a very distinctive way (cf. Table 5). It is clear that cluster 1, referred to as hardcore local food consumers, is composed of consumers that look for higher and elaborate values than only local. They are looking for local organic food products. Further, they score very high on food mileage and healthiness showing that these attributes are crucial in their purchase decisions. Conversely the regular local food consumers are not looking for any organic dimension rather these consumers look for basic food attribute criteria to make their purchases. These results are in line with the previous results but add a clustering dimension

**Segments Percentage Organic Food mileage Healthiness**

Hardcore local food consumers 68% 3.73 4.14 4.43 Regular local food consumers 32% 1.54 3.20 3.67

**Mean**

product.

to the results.

**Table 5.** Cluster Analysis Results

**5.3. Clustering consumers**

18 Food Production and Industry

different profiles. All tests were conclusive.

This study has academic and practical implications to both producers and distributors. Findings show that local foods are a by-product and a response to both supply and demand. It is a philosophy of producing and eating food; it is a culture. Consumers' issues and concerns over conventional food products are determinant factors when purchasing local food products. Those who purchase locally grown food might do so because of other factors such as their perceptions of food mileage, packaging, perceived benefits of freshness, and possibly their feeling of contributing to the sustainability of local farms.

[12] argue that distributors are widening their offer and look for more competitive prices. Hence, they relate these trends to the product life cycle. The organic market is driven by conventional marketing strategies and is consistently looking for standardization of the supply. This defeats the intrinsic sustainability objective of such products. This study shows also that most producers/distributors that were interviewed agree on the importance of the production operations and the distribution logistics. There is a clear differentiation between long-medium channels versus short channels. This shows the current divide in the organic food supply and demand sides. Long channels strategies are convenience and price driven. They offer a local value targeted toward a certain consumer profile; these are customers that buy local for health reasons. Conversely, short channels are production method driven. These channels serve consumers having a principle-oriented life style; thus the environment and the support of the local economy are the main drives of this market demand. Price is not an issue here.

For producers/farmers this study has a number of positive outcomes. Intrinsic values such as taste, quality and freshness, nutrition and health, are very important to the consumer both for local food products in general and local organic foods products in particular. Local farmers should target these variables when positioning the product in the region. The reduced food mileage that is achieved when selling local food products from a local farm to a local consumer should be capitalized. There are many benefits to the sustainability of the local farms. With good marketing, local farmers could better promote their product on this basis. Furthermore, given the strong willingness expressed by respondents to purchase local food products if available at all of the various channels of distribution, i.e. local grocers and community groceries, and restaurants, there is great potential for farmers to develop relationships with community businesses.

It is determined that consumers who purchase local food products in general are more price sensitive than those who buy local organic food products. One of the limitations of the study has been that consumers might not *fully* understand where their local food products come from. It is possible that price premiums paid to local food stores might be perceived as a premium on local foods which for the most part is not the product sold at those points of sale. The willingness to pay a premium is consistent with the frequency analysis that reveals that the majority of respondents, who would buy local foods, would pay a premium for this product. As indicated in the U.K. study [25], the interest in buying local often does not develop into the decision to seek local products (between 6-10% of those who say they are interested). The typical local food consumer in the Ontario and Quebec is consistent with research of [4], that indicates a female, and with a higher-level education. Having profiled this consumer however, it is noted that both the sample and those within the sample who currently purchase local foods are very similar in terms of demographics. It is important to realize that consumers may not fully understand the meaning of locally produced food and demographics alone are not sufficient to explain the purchase behaviour. Given the relationship between concerns and the decision to purchase local food products, local farmers should be pleasantly surprised that price is not the main factor that people consider when deciding to buy local. Future research should be undertaken to assess the effects of different marketing ideas and also to examine if consumers understand the meaning of locally produced food.

To recapitulate, the starting point of the marketing model depicted in Figure 2 starts with the market needs. Depending on the degree of consistency of the need and the knowledge level of the target market, there are two operation sizes: direct (farms gate) or using intermediaries (distributors). Each one of these channels has a value attached to it. The more the consumers know about their needs, the more they will look for an enhanced value capturing all aspects listed in the model. Conversely, if consumers have limited knowledge but are driven by social consciousness (sustainability and helping the local economy), then they will buy from longer channels (specialized, community grocery stores) under the impression that food is local.

**Figure 2.** Local Foods Marketing Model
