Assessing Geographic Branding Strategies: Lessons for Country-of-Origin Labeling

Carter, Colin, Barry Krissoff, and Alix Peterson Zwane

from ARE Update Vol. 9, No. 6, July/Aug, 2006

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Abstract

We draw on the economics of product differentiation in a trade context and use three case studies to assess country-of-origin labeling (COOL) as a branding strategy for farm produce. Lessons are drawn from Vidalia onions, Washington State apples, and Florida orange juice, which suggest that the use of geographic identifiers to achieve differentiation could be profitable in the short run, but any hope that such differentiation will prove useful at the country level for farm produce seems likely to be misplaced.

Keywords

country-of-origin labeling, differentiation, branding, domestic, promotion, geographic

Citation

Carter, Colin, Barry Krissoff, and Alix Peterson Zwane. 2006. "Assessing Geographic Branding Strategies: Lessons for Country-of-Origin Labeling." ARE Update 9(6): 9-11. University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics.
https://giannini.ucop.edu/filer/file/1453327745/16727/