The study of consumer perception and purchasing behaviors on local and eco-labeled foods, from varied researches, were reviewed and organized. Local food and eco-labeled food are gaining their attention to the consumers, as considered the alternative and differentiated food choices from the conventional food supply chain. Many studies have revealed a trend that consumers have stronger preference for local and eco-labeled foods as they did. It is observed that consumer preference toward local and eco-labeled foods were significantly affected by their socio-demographic characteristics. However, the gap was noticed between what consumers say in hypothetical surveys and their actual consumption behaviors. Researches stated that the willingness-to-pay for both foods are overestimated and do not reflect the actual values of participants. Several researches placed special attention on the survey methods (ex. the design like forced choice, budget constrain reminder, and trade-off decision) to simulated the situation close to a typical purchasing decision, in order to avoid the hypothetical bias. It is indicated that the information provided to the consumers would greatly affect their perception and purchasing behavior on local and eco-labeled food. By using proper label design and other tools, the desired attributes and values of local and eco-labeled can be clearly conveyed to the consumer and, therefore, increase their willingness to pay premium for both foods. This reviewed paper also provides the ideas and direction, from the published studies, for those who are interested in the study of the consumer perception and purchasing behaviors on local and eco-labeled foods in Taiwan.
