The trend of local food consumption, also known as locavorism, plays an ever-growing and important role in global food production. As such it can be understood as a common point around which the majority of oppositional and alternative discourses of local food systems have appeared in the past 30 years. Since Slovenian consumers are faced daily with the idea of locally produced goods, it is important to be aware of its constructed nature and absence of its definition. Whether or not we take into account the political and cultural borders or the number of kilometres that the food travels before it reaches our plates, it is evident that the popularity of locally produced food is growing due to its perception as healthier, cleaner, more beneficial, and less environmentally damaging. Consumers choose locally produced food due to various reasons, ranging from those connected to personal interest to more altruistic ones. Because consumers dictate the changes in the production process – from packaging to distribution – their desires and needs are an important link in food marketing chains. This is why it is important to try to understand the factors that influence their purchasing decisions. The aim of this assignment is to identify relevant factors based on recent and relevant literature and then to test their influence on the intent of purchasing locally grown food products in Slovenia. Based on the poll responses received as part of the empirical analysis, I found that sustainability and concern for the environment are the two biggest factors in purchase intent, followed by intrinsic food characteristics. I also found a link between purchase intent and economic ethnocentrism, health management, and food safety, which supports our hypotheses, but because the data was statistically inconsequential, I could not generalise it across the general population.
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