Eco-values as product quality attributes in manufacturing of agricultural food ingredients

Worldwide, a growing demand for green, healthy and ethically produced (i.e. eco-branded) food products is evident. Therefore, it is anticipated that eco-branded food products represent a substantial market opportunity. To accommodate to these market chang es, competition in international food markets is lately swayed such that both local and global food brand builders try to differentiate their products by including eco-food ingredients. The insight on how to design and implement such ingredient brand posi tioning strategies is limited in the Norwegian food industry. This multidisciplinary project will look at how emerging demands in global consumer segments with distinct lifestyles can be approached by different actors in the Norwegian food industry. In or der to develop eco-branded food that fulfils strict green, healthy and ethical quality standards it is essential to monitor the entire value chain ("fra jord til bord") including all parties in the chain. It is a question of streamlining all steps of the value chain to ensure that acceptable eco-standards run through the entire system. This will be focused in the present project. To cover the entire value chain, the project will look on the following areas: (1) Production of new agricultural food ingredi ents to replace non eco-friendly elements (e.g. palm oil and GMO soya protein), (2) Innovations in eco-friendly processing systems, (3) Innovations in streamlined purchase/distribution channels with minimal levels of CO2 footprints, (4) New insight into g lobal changes in consumer values and lifestyles to design sophisticated eco-promotion. Being of multidisciplinary nature, the project aims at implementing different scientific approaches (biology, economy, ethics, marketing, and marketing insight) to look for new opportunities for Norwegian food producers and food industry.