Opportunities, challenges, and extent of collaboration in La Palma's goat cheese sector: an exploratory study

Abstract

This study examines the perceived opportunities, challenges, future, and the extent to which micro businesses collaborate in a traditional food sector of a European ultra–peripheral region. The perceptions of members of La Palma Island's goat cheese regulatory council and local goat cheese producers were gathered through interviews and questionnaires. Overall, the strong commercial potential of local cheeses is acknowledged; however, increasing costs of production are perceived as the main barrier to its further development. Further, whilst the importance of collaboration is clearly acknowledged, most participating cheese producers are currently not involved in any form of collaboration. In turn, the GCRCs leadership appears to be filling some of these obvious gaps, particularly in quality assurance and promotion of 'Palmero' cheese. In this context, some elements of the theory of collaboration were identified. The study's implications, as well as future research avenues will be presented and discussed.