Lebensmittelhandel in Europa: Wertschöpfung in gesättigten Lebensmittelmärkten durch Marktsegmentierung und Produktdifferenzierung

Summary Large‐scale food manufacturers and retailers vie with each other to capture the attention of the shopper, with the competitive focus being on brand warfare – retailer brands versus manufacturer brands. Manufacturers invest in research to identify what consumers prefer and are willing to pay a premium for, whilst increasingly retailers have access to data on direct shopping behaviour in their own stores. Now, more traditional agribusiness sectors are embracing market segmentation and product differentiation practices in increasingly competitive, mature markets. The challenge for farms and firms of a smaller‐size is to gain horizontal scale and co‐ownership of proprietary products and services to improve their bargaining positions in increasingly fragmented commodity markets. In the prevailing unstable economic environment, market prices for farm inputs and food ingredients may be substantially more volatile and higher than they have been over most of the past 30 years, but so will input costs placing inexorable pressure on margins. This may lead to a business environment in which supply chain partners seek longer‐term relationships with their customers and suppliers. Irrespective, in a more market‐orientated agricultural policy environment in Europe, farmers will need to know more about their customers’ particular requirements than they have heretofore.