HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-COMMUNITIES-02: SSH partner on consumer behaviour and engagement in local urban food systems

Local urban food entrepreneurs and initiatives need to understand and engage the citizens who are their customers. Consumer insight and effective communication are key to making these initiatives viable and scalable.

Our Consumer Behaviour research group at the University of Murcia offers to join a consortium as the social sciences and humanities (SSH) partner for this topic. We can contribute:

- Studies of citizens' food preferences and motivations to buy from local and sustainable food initiatives

- Discrete choice experiments to inform the design of products, services and food policies

- Marketing, communication and social media strategies for urban food entrepreneurs

- Training and support for entrepreneurs in market research and consumer insight

EU and research experience: participant in the EU COST Action CIRCUL-A-BILITY (Horizon 2020, 2021–2024); Spanish PI of a European Commission project (2023–2025); partner in an EUniWell (Erasmus+) project; contributor to an international discrete choice experiment on campus food preferences to inform food policies; advisory work for the Region of Murcia.

Our role: partner or task leader for consumer research, market insight and communication.

We are looking for: coordinators, cities and municipalities, food hubs, incubators and food entrepreneurs' networks that need consumer insight and communication expertise.