AN EVALUATION OF PRODUCTS IN ORGANIC MARKETS FROM THE CONSUMER’S POINT OF VIEW: THE CASE OF ISTANBUL

Abstract

In recent years, with the introduction of pandemics into human life, the thought that the immune system should be kept strong in society has become a current issue. As a result of the frequent mention that the best way to do this is through healthy nutrition and natural nutrition, people have started to search for organic products to protect their health and the health of their families and the sustainability of quality of life. In the past, reaching organic products required quite an effort, but nowadays, organic markets are established in districts. Istanbul is especially rich in organic markets, and it is a city that offers the opportunity to find at least one organic market close to almost every district. This study aims to evaluate organic products for visitors to 7 organic markets located in different districts of Istanbul’s Asian and European sides from the consumer’s point of view (Kadıköy, Sarıyer, Bakırköy, Kartal, Beylikdüzü, Küçükçekmece, and Şişli). The survey method was used in the study, and the reasons for consumers’ preference for organic markets and the positive and negative of the markets were evaluated. Observations revealed that consumers generally come to the organic market twice a week (88.6%) with their private vehicles (49.5%) and spend approximately 1 hour (78.1%) there. While the participants often describe the products in the organic market as healthy, additive-free, and hormone-free, they stated that they buy organic products (84.3%) because they affect their physical health positively. Visitors to the organic market are negative about some issues; specifically, they stated that the products are expensive, the product variety is low, and the salespeople do not have enough information. As a result, it is important to ensure visitor satisfaction by eliminating existing problems to increase the use of organic markets and sustainability.