Open Access

Saskia Prestel

• The present study examines the economic importance of quality labels with special regard to animal and environmental seals. It is analyzed to what extent seals are important for producers but also to what extent quality seals influence the buying decision of the customers. It is clear that customers pay attention to quality seals and opt for tested products. Also, the selling price can be set higher for products with seal award, which is why seals of quality are desirable for producers. The central focus of the empirical study is bee mortality. The 217 subjects in the online survey were asked about quality labels in general, about their personal knowledge of the current wild bee situation as well as their maximum willingness to pay for the following products: organic tea, tea with recyclable packaging, tea made from local ingredients and bee-friendly tea. The regular selling price was set at two euros in this scenario. On average, the subjects have the highest maximum willingness to pay for bee-friendly tea with 3.64 €, followed by regional tea, organic tea and recyclable tea packaging. Nevertheless, more than 70% of participants say that the organic label is generally the most important to them. Over 85% would welcome a new bee-friendly seal. This achieved the second place in importance with almost 58% of the votes. It is followed by the recycling logo, the labeling of regional products and then the animal protection mark. The results clearly show, that this group of volunteers would welcome a bee-friendly seal and want to counteract the bee mortality by purchasing bee-friendly products.