Building Short Value Chains for Animal Welfare-Friendly Products Adoption: Insights from a Restaurant-Based Study in Japan

As global attention on sustainable and ethical food systems grows, animal welfare-friendly products (AWFP) are increasingly recognized as essential to addressing consumer and producer concerns. However, traditional research often neglects the interdependencies between production, retail, and consumption stages within the supply chain. This study examined how cross-stage interactions among producers, consumers, and retail intermediaries can promote AWFP adoption. By establishing a short value chain from production to consumption, we conducted a two-month choice experiment in the operational restaurant, employing a mixed-method approach to quantitatively and qualitatively assess stakeholder responses. The results revealed that providing information about AWFP practices significantly influenced consumer behavior, increasing both product selection and perceived value. Retailers recognized the potential for economic benefits and strengthened customer loyalty, while producers identified new revenue opportunities by re-fattening delivered cow. These coordinated changes - defined as synchronized actions and mutual reinforcement across production, retail, and consumption - generated positive feedback loops that motivated stakeholders to adopt AWFP practices. This research underscores the potential of strategically designed short value chain to foster cross-stage coordination and highlights their role as practical entry points for promoting sustainable and ethical food systems on a larger scale.