Organic food is produced in a way that strives towards maintaining and improving natural resources. The welfare of both producers and consumers is central, also taking both animals and the environment into account. The Swedish government finds this important and in 2006 they made a resolution that the consumption of organic food should be stimulated. The goal was that 25 % of the municipalities’ consumption of food should be organic in 2010. The municipality of Ludvika reached the government's target in 2011 and is currently increasing their proportion of organic food by one new product every year.  Ludvika is a member of The National Association of Swedish Eco-municipalities and the town of Ludvika is also a Fairtrade city. These commitments have resulted in an increased focus on environmental and justice issues, where organic food is an important part. An analysis of Ludvika’s work with organic food was done throughout this thesis. The results were then compared to the leading municipality in the county, Borlänge, which is also the best in the nation. This was done to give a picture of how their work is done today and how it could evolve in the future. The municipality of Ludvika has a good diet policy and an ambitious theoretical basis for their climate policy. The membership of the The National Association of Swedish Eco-municipalities and the fact that Ludvika is a Fairtrade city is founded on certain commitments and strategies. The action taken in accordance with these strategies can be more clear and closer to the initial level of ambition. The importance of a holistic approach has been mentioned in this thesis. It has been suggested how the choice of organic food contribute to a better environment and health, relative to the use of taxes paid by the inhabitants. An important conclusion from the comparison with the leading municipality in organic foods is that it has not had to be more expensive to increase the share of organic food. Through good planning, innovation and an increased knowledge much can be done, even if a limited budget initially is perceived as a problem.

The booming organic food industry has led to an increased complexity in the way in which organic foods are marketed. Consumers now encounter a multitude of reasons for why they should (or should not) purchase organic foods. This research examines the promotion of organic food from four different food companies (three grocery stores and a food delivery program) as a way to uncover the narratives used to describe and endorse organic food. With an analysis of website and in-store content from chain, organic and local companies, I have used previous research in the area of organic food discourse to identify themes within the selected content. This study concludes that while there are important commonalities among the narratives, it is not the organic food itself that these commonalities stem from, but rather the company context (company goals and values) that frame the promotional narratives. / Graduate

In recent years there has been a significantly rising trend amongst consumers for health and environmental issues, which has resulted in greater attention for and sales of organic food. Organic food production strives to use natural resources, such as land, energy and water in a sustainable way and the products does not contain artificial fertilizers or chemical pesticides. However, organic food products are also often more expensive and less available in comparison to conventional food products. Despite this, interest for and sales of organic food products have increased around the globe, and in Sweden particularly, the increase in sales has grown largely from an international perspective. This thesis is of qualitative character and is focused on studying some consumers from the Swedish market of organic food. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute with a better understanding on the buying decision process regarding organic food purchase. To achieve this, the authors have studied some consumers that purchase organic food and have searched for patterns that could be identified in the decision process. The consumer buying decision process model has been used for portrayal of the chosen consumers’ decision to purchase organic food products. Interviews with six Swedish consumers were conducted, whereas each respondent continuously purchase organic food products. Results show that the purchase of organic food products begins with discovering an unsatisfied need state, which the consumers of this study desired to change with the purchase of organic food products. This study show how six consumers reason when passing through the stages of the buying decision process, in order to satisfy their desired need state. The authors found that the respondents feel satisfied with purchasing organic food products, which lead them in to continuously buying these products. Altogether, the findings contribute with knowledge that can come to be helpful when wanting to understand more about the consumer decision to purchase organic food.

In this study, we argue the organic industry's move towards a more legal definition of organic production indicated a shift in the legitimating criteria in the organic agriculture institutional field, which can be observed through the analysis of the legitimating accounts of various actors. Prior to USDA certification, institutional actors in the organic food field largely relied upon the norms and values of its participants to maintain order. Legitimacy was based on the perception that a firm embodied a certain value set, which typically included opposition to large-scale commercial operations (DeLind, 2000; Drinkwater, 2009). To some, the introduction of federal standards signaled a replacement of the personal trust between consumer and producer, and an increased reliance on external policies mandated by federal certification (Guthman, 2000; 2004a; 2004b). This study explores the intricacies of the various actors' legitimating accounts during this time of a shifting institutional field. Central questions include: how do these actors adapt their legitimating accounts to the changing context? Is there a discernible pattern to their rhetoric, not only over time, but also in relation to the other contemporary legitimating accounts? And finally, if patterns are evident, can they provide insight into the dynamics of legitimating sources in this institutional field?

The diploma thesis deals with the issue of organic food, organic food market, their prices and trade margins. The main part of the thesis is a survey of the prices of selected organic foodstuffs, both at the level of the producers (purchase prices) and at the level of the traders (selling prices). The data are collected at various points of sales chains, specialized stores and e-shops within the South Bohemian Region, as well as by addressing manufacturers. The thesis monitors the margins of individual sales formats for selected commodities and then evaluates them from several points of view.

research of price aspects, motivations of consumers

The thesis is engaged in market research of the organic food in the Czech republic. It summarizes basic information about organic food, describes current trends in the ecological agriculture and in the consumption of organic food. The thesis brings results of the consumer audit, which tried to find out consumers' attitude to the organic food and their foreknowledge in this sphere. Part of the thesis is focused on the differences in prices between organic and conventional food.

Despite the negative effect of the global financial crisis the Czech market with organic food is growing rapidly. In the past ten years the consumption of organic food increases as well as its product line. The label bio covers almost every kind of food. There has been also an increase in awareness concerning the organic food and people start asking questions about the origin of the food. Organic food is no more the issue of a narrow group of consumers, but it is going mainstream now. The main goal of this thesis is to analyse the specificities of Czech market with organic food which will help the Jacoby Company to adapt its marketing strategy on Czech market with organic food and beverages. The main tools of the thesis are the research of the purchase behaviour of Czech customers and the research of competitive organic beverages in the main retail chaos in Czech republic.

This thesis deals with the situation on the market of organic food in the Czech Republic. The aim is to determine the attitudes, awareness and purchase behaviour of Czech organic food consumers. Find out how different purchasing behaviour of women and men by age and what is typical organic food consumer. The thesis is divided into two parts. In the first theoretical-methodological section describes the basic concepts and legislation on the matter. Furthermore, mapping the situation of the contemporary state of the organic food market. The practical part consists of market segmentation obtained from desk research MML-TGI and quantitative research purchasing behaviour and attitudes of Czech consumers to organic food.

The main goal of my diploma thesis is to analyze the offers of organic food in chosen retail chains operating in the Czech market. At the beginning there are defined retail and retailing and there is briefly outlined the development of retail in the Czech Republic. In the second chapter there is introduced organic farming, its definition, goals and its current position in the world and in the Czech Republic. In this chapter is defined what is organic food, how is organic food labeled and which organizations do this business in the Czech Republic. The third chapter analyses the situation in the organic food market in the Czech Republic and there are introduced certain marketing activities and projects to promote organic food. The next chapter analyses the current retail net in the Czech Republic and in the following chapter there are introduced the retail chains chosen for the analysis of their assortment of organic food. The last chapter deals with analysis of assortment of organic food in chosen retail chains.