A Practical Guide to Market Assessment

The authors address the fundamental question, "How does one analyze the potential of a given product for a given market?" A review of the literature suggests that numerous authors have proposed a relatively consistent set of questions that need to be addressed, information sought and key issues to consider when conducting market assessments. The goal of this paper is to review this literature and assemble a set of references that provide insights on how to analyze the market potential of agricultural and food products. This process is of growing importance as U.S. agricultural producers and processors seek to market differentiated products, seek out direct marketing opportunities and focus on meeting consumer preferences for food product attributes