About

Dr. Lijun "Angelia" Chen is an assistant professor in the Food and Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida. She holds a B.A. in Logistics Engineering from Nanjing Agricultural University in China, earned in 2012, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics Management from the same university in 2018. During her doctoral studies, she was a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics at the University of Missouri from 2015 to 2018. Her research focuses on Experimental and Behavioral Economics and the Economics of Trust, with an emphasis on informing marketing and management decisions within the agribusiness and food industries. Dr. Chen's work explores consumer perspectives on food choices, the impact of pandemic-related changes on food purchasing behaviors, and trust dynamics in food systems, including alternative food systems such as local food movements and ghost kitchens. She employs theories and empirical tools from behavioral economics, experimental economics, marketing, and consumer psychology to examine how trust influences consumer decision-making and to analyze emerging trends in food consumption.

Research topics

• Biology
• Medicine
• Genetics
• Computer science
• Internal medicine

Selected publications

• Is the juice worth the squeeze? Analyzing the US orange juice supply chain

  The International Food and Agribusiness Management Review · 2026-01-15

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Florida is a significant producer in the domestic and global orange juice markets. However, Florida producers have faced substantial challenges over the past two decades, including the spread of citrus greening disease and recurring extreme weather events such as hurricanes and freezes. This study examines Florida’s rapidly changing orange juice industry by integrating supply chain mapping with a resilience framework and Actor-Network Theory (ANT). Focusing on three supply chain sectors: production and imports, processing and distribution, and retail and consumption, we uncover how sustained production declines have reshaped supply chain relationships, coordination mechanisms and market dynamics across the network. We identify adaptations including increased consolidation and reliance on imported orange juice. We highlight that resilience is enacted through the evolving relationships among human and non-human actors, where continuous negotiation, adaptation, and reconfiguration of roles enable the system to maintain functionality despite persistent disruptions. This study offers actionable insights into how actors adapt through strategies such as sourcing diversification and network reconfiguration. Our findings advance the theoretical understanding of supply chain resilience in agricultural contexts while providing practical guidance for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers seeking to enhance industry sustainability.

  PublisherDOI

• How Did Food Acquisition Patterns Evolve During the Course of the <scp>COVID</scp> ‐19 Pandemic? An International Study During 2021, 2022, and 2023

  Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy · 2025-08-09

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT The COVID‐19 pandemic compelled governments to implement various stringent measures, causing changes in food consumption patterns. In this study, we examine changes in consumer behaviors such as online grocery shopping and restaurant dine‐in/takeouts in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan from 2021 to 2023 using multivariate probit regressions. The results reveal that food acquisition behaviors are shaped by a complex interplay of risk perceptions, socio‐demographic characteristics, and changing pandemic phases. Our study offers insights for food business marketing strategies and provides information for stakeholders in the international agribusiness industry through a multi‐country comparison.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• US Food Shopper Trends in 2018

  EDIS · 2025-07-10

  articleOpen access

  To gain insights into US consumers’ food-related perspectives, we examined their food and beverage preferences and consumption patterns in parallel with those identified in 2017. Using a nationwide sample of 6,412 primary food shoppers in 2018, we assessed consumer perspectives regarding food shopping outlets, responses to food price increases, grocery expenditures, food-related attitudes, food and beverage consumption patterns, and nutritional perceptions. Last, we compared consumer trends in 2018 with those in 2017 to identify any changes over time.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Beyond Borders: An Empirical Analysis of the “Fresh From Florida” State Marketing Program

  Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics · 2025-01-30

  articleOpen access

  Abstract In this paper, we examine the effect of the “Fresh From Florida” marketing program on the preferences of consumers located in geographically distant regions. We administered a choice experiment to consumers from the Northeastern region of the US, the Eastern region of Canada, and from Florida. Our findings show that the logo recall rate is significant for out-of-state consumers. While the WTP for the “Fresh from Florida” attribute is not statistically significant for Northeastern US respondents, logo recall positively influences the WTP. Logo recall positively affects WTP in Canada, but only for respondents with positive or neutral opinions of Florida.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Bringing lapsed consumers back to the market might not be as simple as reversing why they left: the case of generic food

  Journal of Marketing Analytics · 2025-03-17 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Bridging Demand and Supply in Specialty Crop Diversification: Exploring Market Potential of Finger Limes

  Applied Economics Teaching Resources · 2024-12-01

  articleOpen access

  Peter Wells, a fourth-generation Florida citrus grower, faces increasing challenges from hurricanes, urbanization, and diseases such as huanglongbing (HLB). At a University of Florida field day, he learns about finger limes (Citrus australasica), a recently introduced citrus crop with tolerance to HLB and growing appeal in gourmet food and beverage markets. Finger limes offer diversification and premium price opportunities, but uncertainties remain around supply chains, regulatory hurdles, and long-term demand. This teaching case places students in Peter’s position as he considers whether to convert part of his land to finger limes, continue with traditional citrus, or exit citrus all together. Students are asked to analyze the opportunity using an integrated framework—supply chain mapping, economic systems, and diffusion of innovation—to weigh risks, motivations, and adoption dynamics. Designed for capstone undergraduate and master’s students in agricultural economics and agribusiness, the case develops applied skills in market analysis, innovation adoption, supply chain evaluation, and strategic decision-making under uncertainty.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Food outlet choice patterns of alternative food system consumers

  The International Food and Agribusiness Management Review · 2023-03-27 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of food outlet choice patterns of Alternative Food System consumers (local and organic consumers) and evaluate if these patterns differ from that of conventional consumers. We conducted a nationwide online survey collecting data from U.S. food shoppers monthly. The data utilized in this study were collected and compiled from July 2016 to November 2019, resulting in 21,135 observations. We measured choices of eight food outlet formats within four categories (high-end, traditional, broad-assortment, and limited-assortment). Further, we examined the varying effects of demographic and household characteristics on food outlet format choices. We found that relative to conventional consumers, alternative food system consumers, who are local- and/or organic-minded, tend to be diversity-seekers who patronize various formats of food outlets. Among the four food outlet categories, we identified several complementary and substitute relationships. The occurrences and strengths of these relationships vary across consumer segments identified based on their preferences for local and organic food.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• US Food Shopper Trends in 2017

  EDIS · 2022-12-08 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This study provides an overview of US food shoppers in 2017 and serves as a benchmark for analyzing consumer trends in the future. A nationwide sample of 5,993 adults, primary food shoppers in the United States completed a survey in 2017 to learn about food-related perspectives and trends. Consumers differ in food shopping outlets, grocery spending, response to food price increases, food-related attitudes, food and beverage consumption patterns, and nutritional perceptions.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• An Overview of the Grapefruit Market in the U.S.

  EDIS · 2021-05-12 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Global grapefruit production has been increasing steadily in the recent decade, reaching a historical record of 6.8 million metric tons in 2018/2019. This publication discusses grapefruit consumption as well as a grapefruit consumer survey in the United States. Written by Lijun (Angelia) Chen and Lisa House, and published by the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department, May 2021.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Food lifestyle patterns among contemporary food shoppers

  International Journal of Consumer Studies · 2021-07-17 · 26 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract To obtain a comprehensive picture of current food lifestyle patterns, this study aims to identify consumer segments with a focus on health‐related considerations, and to profile segmented consumers based on demographic characteristics. As an adaptation of the food‐related lifestyle instrument, consumer segmentation indicators in this study capture four dimensions: ways of shopping; importance of quality aspect; healthy eating; and health practice. Nationwide data targeting U.S. food shoppers were collected from June 2016 to November 2019 ( N = 20,827). Latent class analysis, a probabilistic model‐based segmentation approach, identified five distinct food lifestyle segments: passionately involved consumers (11%), nutrition‐focused consumers (30%), moderately involved consumers (17%), convenience‐oriented consumers (21%), and uninvolved consumers (21%). This pattern has differences as well as similarities with the one reflecting U.S. food shoppers in 2003 and those identified in Europe. In addition, these segments are made up of consumers with different demographic and regional characteristics. U.S. census regions, such as East South Central and West South Central, where there is a higher obesity prevalence, tend to have a larger portion of uninvolved consumers and a smaller portion of highly involved consumers (passionately involved and nutrition‐focused consumers). The resulting food lifestyle segments, consumer profiling, and regional comparisons provide insights into effective marketing communication and consumer education on healthy eating.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Alexandre F.R. Stewart

  Ottawa University

  1311 shared

• Robert Roberts

  Creighton University

  1310 shared

• Muredach P. Reilly

  Columbia University Irving Medical Center

  1308 shared

• Ruth McPherson

  University of Ottawa

  1307 shared

• Stephen E. Epstein

  1305 shared

• Daniel J. Rader

  University of Pennsylvania

  1304 shared

• Alistair S. Hall

  1303 shared

• Nilesh J. Samani

  Glenfield Hospital

  1302 shared

Labs

• Food and Resource Economics DepartmentPI