Over the past decades, more and more foods have been marketed, branded or labelled to show where they come from and how they are produced. This 'origin-based' marketing strengthens relations between producers and consumers, adds value to farm produce, and preserves local knowledge and culture (Sylvander et al., 2000). While origin-based marketing has a long history, its importance, both from a demand and from a supply-side point of view, is increasing, partly as a reaction to globalization (Van Ittersum, 2004). Local producers need to be able to distinguish their product in the eyes of consumers from generic, sometimes cheaper competitors. The more global the market, the more important are the criteria used in this distinction. Non-price factors (such as perceived quality, image and taste) are gaining importance at the very moment that price competition is becoming tougher. This applies not only to exports, but also to locally marketed products, which must compete directly with imported products - increasingly the case in many developing countries. Origin-based marketing has been supported through public policies in Europe - especially in France and Italy, where labels of origin for wines, cheese, spirits, olive oil and meat have contributed significantly to maintaining rural vitality. Unsurprisingly, most of the documentation on the mechanisms of origin-based marketing also comes from Europe. In the developing world, however, consumers have less to spend, and they are less concerned about losing high-quality regional foods and the traditional country way of life. Here, the potential of using regional identity to maintain and develop markets for smallholder producers is not yet well understood. Local products are overwhelmingly present in developing countries. In a rapidly urbanizing country, origin is a proxy, an indicator, for quality. References to origin convey trust to newly urbanized consumers. People from a particular region or ethnic group tend to look for f