The fair trade products: a marketing innovation or a manifestation of considered consumption

Responsible consumption trends have become increasingly pronounced in the foodstuffs market as reflected by the interest in healthy foods (organic and green products). This is consistent with the fair trade concept which, in the Polish market, is still considered to be a highly innovative project, and may be developed only after reaching a higher level of consumer awareness. As shown by the results, in the Polish market, the consumers are primarily guided by the price of the product when making their purchase decisions. However, as the market changes dynamically, there is an increase in the awareness level of buyers of food products. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and assess the consumers’ behavior in respect to fair trade goods on the product market, and to identify the main motives for choosing them. This paper presents the results of the authors’ own studies of a quantitative nature, performed as a part of a research project. A CATI survey was carried out in 2015 with a sample of 508 respondents from all over the country.