Producers’ cooperative products in short food supply chains: consumers’ response

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate an innovation concerning a short food supply chain (SFSC) created by a newly established producers’ cooperative in Greece that sells fresh milk to consumers via automatic vending machines; the consumers’ response toward this innovation; and the financial performance of the cooperative. Design/methodology/approach The case study focused on consumer’s attitudes toward the cooperative’s fresh milk sold by automatic vending machines and the cooperative’s financial performance. A structured questionnaire was answered by 912 consumers in Thessaloniki during 2015 and analyzed using the IBM SPSS STATISTICS program, version 22. Additionally, the cooperative’s financial data (2012–2015) were used in order to calculate its financial performance. Findings The authors identified five unique consumer categories according to consumer motive, of which social motives are considered in the sample as the most important. The cooperative’s financial indicators are satisfying, especially taking into consideration the severe economic crisis in Greece over the past years. Research limitations/implications It is difficult to evaluate Thesgala as there exists no similar producer cooperative in SFSCs in Greece. The cooperative is recently established and therefore financial indicators represent a short time period. Practical implications Producers, especially small ones in remote or peri-urban areas, can be involved in a SFCS and reach consumers via their cooperatives (or by founding a cooperative). Producer’s cooperatives can include SFSCs in their strategic planning in order to stimulate changes in the food system for the benefit of both producers and consumers. Social implications Policy makers should orient the appropriate policy measures to support SFSCs for the benefit of society as a whole. Originality/value The research investigates an SFSC that was created as a producer’s initiative (not a consumer’s) via their cooperative. It advances knowledge of how to initiate changes in the food system.