In the agri-food sector marketing and marketing research focus mainly on classic quality products like meat or organic products and food products that are ready for consumption. There’s a wide spread view in the sector that commodities like grain are not suitable for specific product related marketing. But due to different developments, this view is increasingly challenged. Increasing levels of consumers’ requirements with respect to quality and food safety have an impact on whole production chains. New possibilities of vertical cooperation in data collection and documentation, the visualisation and communication of quality and a traceable location of wheat origin create new forms of success promising wheat marketing strategies based on regional identities.
This research identifies and assesses success factors of regional wheat marketing based on supply chain spanning quality assurance schemes. The underlying approach aims at vertical quality communication focusing on wheat trade and milling. There are particular interests on a combination of guarantees given by suppliers, traceability for consumers and regional identification as a trust building means.
The development of a quality communication system that supports quality statements is based on Quality Function Deployment and Prototyping. Success factors are subsequently supported with geo information in order to visualise them for communication. The combination of quality information and geo information creates a relation between wheat quality and region of origin. This relation supports marketing communication and value creation for participating companies.
This research contributes to the improvement of competitiveness of local wheat. Hence, it makes a contribution to commodity marketing. Supply chain spanning quality communication based on success factors, integrates elements of marketing communication and quality management. This suggests that quality management and marketing management are closely linked together.
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