This paper investigates the current research on how consumers select the foods they buy and how they define ‘quality’. Consumer decisions are complex and whilst a few consumers prioritise local above all other factors when selecting food, for most local is simply one of multiple factors which influence the food choices they make. Short Food Chains are not necessarily local but are based on supply chains with fewer steps in the chain from producer to consumer. Short Food Chains ensure that more of the value of the food is returned to producers and allows consumers to have a more direct connection to where and how their food was produced. Short Food Chains tend to exhibit features which consumers increasingly value, whether these be traceability and provenance, organic, familiarity, tradition or a connection to a specific place and culture. These strengths of Short Food Chains suggest that there is real potential to see major growth in this sector in the coming decade. As Kotler observed, you have to sell to the pocket, the heart and the soul and, in the food sector, embracing Short Food Chains can help producers to do this.

The way in which food reaches consumers is a high profile component of the food chain’s Greenhouse Gas (GHGs) emissions, but is changing rapidly as technology facilitates online and new targeted logistic solutions which deliver directly to the consumer’s home, workplace or other convenient locations. The challenge is how can new, more fragmented supply chains be developed without increasing GHGs emissions. More broadly speaking, digitalisation is transforming how all food logistics functions. This allows consumers to connect more directly with both farmers and food producers, in Short Food Chains (SFCs), which help the former to understand more about the source of their food and how it was produced. This paper aims to analyse the current SFCs’ challenges, with particular attention paid to fresh products, taking into account the evolution of consumers and market trends as well as the transformation of logistics. The analysis is based on evidence and examples from across Europe. New direct delivery food logistics models could help consumers access supplies of fresh products more easily, improve consumer health and reduce the high waste levels and carbon emissions, which represent key challenges for many European fresh product supply chains. Food suppliers would also benefit by securing more of...