Marketing food products based on credence dimensions
is therefore inherently problematic, and credibility-
enhancing devices are needed. The marketing of
organic products provides a good example of this, as
different means of enhancing credibility have been
employed in different countries. In Denmark, for
instance, organic food products are marked with a
Government-controlled label (a Danish ‘ø’with the
Royal Crown), which is uniformly applied by all producers
of organic products. In Germany, as another
example, various labelling schemes have been used by
different groups of producers. A recent comparison of
buying behaviour with regard to organic food in Denmark
and Germany has shown considerable differences
in confidence in the information (Bech-Larsen & Grunert,
2001). Interestingly, the higher degree of confidence
goes along with less satisfaction with the
measure of information available and more demands
with regard to additional information. This is quite in
accordance with information economics: once one
believes that information can be trusted, information
becomes more useful and will be in higher demand
(Maute & Forrester, 1991).