Estimating factors for the demand of organic milk in Turkey

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the sociodemographic factors that affect Turkish consumers’ decision to purchase organic milk. It is also of interest to derive the demand curve for organic milk based on the consumers’ stated preferences. Design/methodology/approach: The data used in this search are based on a face-to-face consumer survey that asked the respondents about how much they are willing to pay for organic milk and what factors affect their purchasing decision. A variant approach is applied where the determinants selected include both product/market characteristics and household-specific demographic factors. The data are analyzed by means of tabular analysis, summary tables, contingent valuation, stepwise regression, χ² tests and logistic discrete-choice modeling. Findings: The tabular analysis suggests that price, packaging and brand image are the primary milk characteristics that affect consumers’ decision. According to the contingent valuation analysis, consumers are willing to pay substantial premiums for milk products. The stepwise regression, χ² tests and logistic regression results unanimously suggest that educational attainment is the only significant indicator. Households with university education are twice more likely to purchase organic milk. Research limitations/implications: The data used in this research are based on stated preferences which might be different than actual shopping behavior. Originality/value: This paper presents a pioneer study on the characteristics of Turkish organic milk consumers and represents a credible, empirical case study to complement existing literature. It also lays the framework for follow-up research work that can be conducted in future.