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Introduction
In recent years, consumer attitudes and behaviours towards honey have garnered considerable interest from researchers, resulting in a large body of scientific production covering different aspects of consumption. Researchers’ interest in this product can be partly explained by the increase in production and consumption (García, 2018; Pippinato et al., 2020), but also by the positive environmental implications of beekeeping, in terms of ecosystem services (Blanc et al., 2018; Tamburini et al., 2019; Sillman et al., 2021).
Regarding consumer behaviour, several publications have investigated consumption characteristics such as places of purchase (Batt and Liu, 2012; Roman et al., 2013a, b), consumption habits and type of honey consumed (Ványi et al., 2011; Kowalczuk et al., 2017) and purchase motivations (Roman et al., 2013a, b; Ismaiel et al., 2014). In addition, considerable efforts have been made to assess the effectiveness of the valorisation tools provided by the European Union, including, in particular, Organic certification (Cosmina et al., 2016). This certification already attracted research interest in the early 2000s, when the willingness to pay for organic labelled honey was assessed (Arvanitoyannis and Krystallis, 2006). Other certifications that can be used by beekeepers to enhance the value of their products include Geographical Indication certifications (GIs) (Brščić et al., 2017) and the optional quality term “Mountain product” (Brun et al., 2020), which was recently introduced in the European legislation (EU, 2012, 2014). Another aspect that has been widely investigated is the consumers’ interest in locally produced honey, purchased directly from local producers. In this regard, it seems that consumers are particularly interested in honey from local producers, considering it to be of superior quality (Roman et al., 2013a, b; Kowalczuk et al., 2017). Equally important are the intrinsic characteristics which can guide consumers towards the choice of honey (Cosmina et al., 2016).
Although many aspects of honey consumption have been studied, little attention has been paid to the drivers that move consumers towards the use of honey for its health benefits and therapeutic properties. Currently, in the literature, honey has been described as a food that provides health benefits (Arvanitoyannis and Krystallis, 2006) further stating that interest in its therapeutic properties may increase the frequency...