Legumes are valued in agricultural systems, as they can contribute to a more sustainable land use. However, their economic value is low. Despite health and environmental benefits, marketers struggle to communicate the worth of legumes to consumers. We evaluate the worth of health and, in particular, environmental claims that would spread consumers’ awareness of ecological advantages. Utilizing a large consumer sample, we execute binding online auctions. Comparing claim-treated and untreated subjects (between design), we model the price premium that potential customers are willing to pay (WTP) for having pasta in a legume instead of a wheat version. We find that claims may increase the WTP, however, a mix of environmental and health claims is superior to individual claims. Effect sizes suggest that the mix of claims increases the WTP by roughly 35% (20 cents). The link of WTP and food attitudes, such as concern for health in eating habits or social reservations towards legumes, varies depending on whether the green-pea or chickpea pasta was evaluated. A critical perception of legumes’ association with flatulence reduces the WTP. Developing the online auction may enable researchers to increase the external validity of consumer samples. We discuss implications for researchers and marketers.

Although there is no legal definition of the word ‘superfood’, in recent years exotic foods and ingredients have become popular in German food retailers. The aim of the study was to determine consumer preferences for superfood ingredients in different types of bread; to accomplish this, a choice experiment was set up with a representative sample of 503 German consumers. Respondents had to choose between products with varying attributes such as type of bread, superfood ingredient, nutritional information, production method, durability, and price. The results indicate that consumers value bread that serves a functional purpose through superfood ingredients such as linseed or chia. Using latent class segmentation, the respondents were divided into four segments, of which three groups valued bread with superfood ingredients. All in all, the type of bread is the most important factor when choosing a bread. Further market research could take into account different types of superfoods (processed/unprocessed), as well as regional deviations in Germany and the EU member states to analyze differences regarding the market potential of staple foods such as bread that serve a functional purpose through superfood ingredients.

German horticulture, as well as horticulture and agriculture in other industrialized countries, faces increasing skilled labor shortage. Additionally family run businesses in horticulture and agriculture are lacking a new generation of entrepreneurs, leading to increased structural change. Insights about job attributes attractiveness as well as their impact on job satisfaction lead to a more transparent environment in which employers and employees can make better-informed decisions and redesign the professional environment, resulting in increased job satisfaction, performance and career sustainability. For this purpose, a survey was undertaken from August 2013 to February 2015 through a questionnaire examining the preferences and perception of employees (N=229) regarding job characteristics. The theoretical background of the study is Warr’s vitamin model, which assumes non-linear relationships between job characteristics and job satisfaction. The strongest connections with job satisfaction among employees are with future prospects and conflict between work-andfamily. The study is one of the first of its kind to provide a detailed overview of job satisfaction of different groups of employees in German horticulture.

There is little known about the links between gender and job satisfaction in the agricultural sector. Considering the ongoing shortage of agricultural staff in Germany, gaining insight into this issue is valuable, in particular, if one is interested in retaining workers in the business and in identifying gender-specific strategies to recruit new staff. For this reason, a survey among employees (N=218) of German horticultural companies was carried out. The results indicate that, while there are no significant differences for job satisfaction between the two genders in general, the determinants of job satisfaction differ substantially in their importance between the genders.