Case Study
Promoting Sustainable Products in Dry Consumer Packaged Goods: What Should a Grocer Do?
Michael A. Boland(a), Xiaowei Zhang(a)
(a)University of Minnesota
JEL Codes: JEL Codes: A22, Q13
Keywords: Agribusiness, coffee, fair trade, food, grocery, retail supermarket
Publish Date: May 22, 2024
Volume 6, Issue 2
View Full Article (PDF) | Request Teaching Notes/Supplemental Materials
Abstract
The objective of the decision case study is to make a recommendation on whether to introduce a new product into the planogram of an independent retail grocery chain that does not have a formal sustainability strategy. The decision maker is the chief operating officer of the retail grocery chain. The product is a fair trade-certified coffee produced by Equal Exchange, a worker cooperative. Information is presented about the retail grocery chain, an overview of fair trade, a description of Equal Exchange, and background reading on the coffee supply chain.
References
Çakır, M., T.K.M. Beatty, M.A. Boland, Q. Li, T.A. Park, and Y. Wang. 2022. “An Index Number Approach to Estimating Organic Price Premia at Retail.” Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association 1(1):33–46.
Chaddad, F.R., and M. Boland. 2009. “Strategy-Structure Alignment in the World Coffee Industry: The Case of Cooxupé.” Review of Agricultural Economics 31(3):653–665.
Dragusanu, R., D. Giovannucci, and N. Nunn. 2014. “The Economics of Fair Trade.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 28(3):217–236.
Major, M., and D. Chanil. 2012. “The Super 50.” Progressive Grocer 91:34–40.
Meemken, E., C.B. Barrett, H.C. Michelson, M. Qaim, T. Reardon, and J. Sellare. 2021. “Sustainability Standards in Global Agrifood Supply Chains.” Nature Food 2(10):758–765.
Naegele, H. 2020. “Where Does the Fair Trade Money Go? How Much Consumers Pay Extra for Fair Trade Coffee and How This Value Is Split Along the Value Chain.” World Development 133:109006.
Nielsen. 2018. “What’s Sustainability Got to Do With It? Retrieved from https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2018/whats-sustainability-got-to-do-with-it.html/
Raynolds, L.T. 2009. “Mainstreaming Fair Trade Coffee: From Partnership to Traceability.” World Development 37(6):1083–1093.
Volpe, R., and M.A. Boland. 2022. “The Economic Impact of Walmart Supercenters.” Annals of Resource Economics 14(1):43–62.
Volpe, R., C. Risch, and M.A. Boland. 2015. “The Determinants of Price Adjustments in Retail Supermarkets.” Managerial and Decision Economics 38(1):37–52.
Wilkinson, J. 2007. “Fair Trade: Dynamic and Dilemmas of a Market Oriented Global Social Movement.” Journal of Consumer Policy 30(3):219–239.
Articles in this issue
Game-Based Learning in Extension Education: An Assessment of the Impact on Consumer Learning and Behavior
Cristina Connolly and Stacey Stearns
Bringing Behavioral Change Education to Life: Incorporating Healthy Eating into College Classroom Teaching
Yanhong Jin, Mary L. Wagner, Yuxi Lei and Marion Reinson
Promoting Sustainable Products in Dry Consumer Packaged Goods: What Should a Grocer Do?
Michael A. Boland, Xiaowei Zhang
Financial Ratios of the U.S. Grocery Sector in a Changing Industry Landscape
Carlos J.O. Trejo-Pech and Susan White
A Commentary on Extension Programming: An Overview of the Costs and Benefits of Patch-Burn Grazing Extension Program Development Through the Use of a Logic Model
Hannah M. Baker and Hannah E. Shear