Consumer Attitudes on Price, Quality and Value-Added - A Study of the Swedish Meat Market

Abstract: Sweden joined the European Union in 1995 and since then the competition on the Swedish meat market has become very fierce. The opening of borders resulted in an increased number of foreign competitors which could compete under different terms. Sweden is known to have strict regulations on for example environmental issues, animal care and testing procedures, all which causes a higher price on the final product. The foreign meat producers can take advantage of this though they are not bound to the Swedish regulations and thereby can offer a lower price. Our research problem is that Swedish consumers choose to buy foreign meat instead of domestically produced meat. The purpose of this dissertation is to find out the Swedish consumers’ attitudes towards the price difference between Swedish and foreign meat when comparing the quality and value-added. The dissertation is based on consumer behaviour and attitudes in order to find out if domestically produced meat will be competitive in the future in Sweden as well as an export merchandise. This is done through a literature sturdy which consists of secondary sources only. It is our conclusion that Swedish meat will stay competitive on the Swedish market but on a lower level. It should be marketers’ priority to turn regular consumers into aware consumers, aware not only of the value-added in Swedish meat but also of the absence of value-added or even “value-taken” in many foreign products. It is our conclusion that Swedish meat will not, in a higher degree, be successful on the international market.