Are GAP‐Certified Eggs a Stepping Stone to Organic‐Certified Egg Consumption? Evidence From Egg Preferences in Türkiye

ABSTRACT Rising interest in sustainable food consumption has boosted demand for certified products such as organic and Good Agricultural Practices eggs. However, it remains unclear whether GAP‐certified products are associated with organic‐certified product preferences or represent a distinct certified category. This study examines the relationship between consumer preferences for organic‐certified and GAP‐certified eggs and evaluates whether the observed cross‐sectional preference structure is consistent with the stepping‐stone interpretation of GAP‐certified eggs. Data were collected through face‐to‐face interviews and an experimental egg‐choice setting in Türkiye. A bivariate probit model was used to jointly estimate certification‐specific preferences for organic‐certified and GAP‐certified eggs and to examine their association, marginal effects, joint probability, and conditional preference overlap. The findings reveal a strong negative association between organic‐certified and GAP‐certified egg preferences. The very low predicted joint probability and weak conditional preference overlap suggest that consumers perceive these categories as distinct or competing alternatives within the observed choice setting. The results do not support the stepping‐stone interpretation of GAP‐certified eggs in the observed cross‐sectional preference context. However, the findings should not be interpreted as evidence of actual consumer transitions or switching behavior over time. Longitudinal or demand‐based approaches would be required to examine transition dynamics directly.