The influence of reputational concerns on purchase intention of fair-trade foods among young Japanese adults

This study explores whether reputational concerns have an effect on purchase intention for fair-trade food products among Japanese young adults. To manipulate reputation cues, we assessed consumers’ intentions to purchase fair-trade food products under two different experimental situations: the ‘observable’ condition, in which participants’ purchase behaviors were observable by others (N = 84); and the ‘anonymous’ condition, in which participants’ purchase behavior could not be observed by others (N = 106). The effect of six sensory and extrinsic attributes including fair trade, price, country of manufacture, taste characteristics, polyphenol content and caloric content on consumer intentions to purchase chocolate was evaluated using conjoint analysis. Results demonstrated that participants under the observable condition valuated fair trade higher than those under the anonymous condition, whereas the opposite tendency was observed for the valuation of price and caloric content for their overall purchase intention. These phenomena suggest that ethical consumption, such as purchasing fair-trade foods, is influenced not only by individual’s intrinsic motives for ethical issues but also by extrinsic social factors such as reputation-enhancing opportunities.     

Determining consumer purchase intentions: the importance of dry matter, size, and price of kiwifruit

Abstract: Knowledge of the relative importance of food quality attributes in determining consumer purchase intention is critical for robust assessment of economic opportunities for industry growth. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how conjoint analysis methodology that incorporates tasting of fruit can be used to collect such information. Three hundred Japanese consumers took part in research designed to measure the importance of dry matter (DM), size, and price of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa “Hayward” and Actinidia chinensis “Hort16A”) for purchase intention. Measurement of consumer liking for kiwifruit of different DM content was a key first step. Liking increased as DM increased and was accompanied by increased purchase likelihood/choice probability for kiwifruit. The size of kiwifruit presented to consumers varied from “small” to “extra large.” Consumers liked “mid‐sized” kiwifruit over “small” or “extra‐large” kiwifruit. Despite these differences in liking, size was of little importance in determining purchase likelihood/choice probability for kiwifruit. Price was a very important factor in determining purchase likelihood/choice probability but was less important than DM content. As price increased, purchase likelihood/choice probability decreased. Beneath these general findings, heterogeneity existed. Some consumers placed more/less importance on the focal purchase drivers than suggested by the aggregate model. Overall, the results suggest that incentive schemes already implemented by industry should consider rewarding high‐DM fruit more than fruit size. Practical Application: This research has contributed to the New Zealand kiwifruit industry gaining a better understanding of the relative importance consumers place on DM, size, and price of kiwifruit and has resulted in changes to grower incentive schemes. The research approach presented forces consumer to tradeoff attributes of kiwifruit against each other and decide on how important two key quality attributes—DM and size—are relative to each other and relative to price. The application of conjoint analysis in this article can be transferred to other fruits, food, and beverages and help guide consumer‐led innovation.     

An integrated framework to explain consumers’ purchase intentions toward green food in the Chinese context

The present study aims to explore an appropriate framework for explaining consumers’ purchase intentions toward green food in the Chinese context. An integrated green food purchase intention (IGFPI) model was designed based on various cognitive and affective variables extracted from the amended theory of planned behavior (A-TPB) and modified stimulus-organism-response (M-SOR) models. An online survey was conducted among Chinese consumers with 1,412 usable responses. Research data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to evaluate the strength of the relationship between constructs and compare the model fit among three models (i.e., A-TPB, M-SOR, and IGFPI). The findings reveal that three models present reasonable fit and the IGFPI model provides a better explanatory power than the other two independent models. In summarizing the results of hypotheses tests among the three models, the variables of perceived behavioral control, face consciousness, group conformity, utilitarian and hedonic attitudes have significant effects on purchase intentions toward green food. Consumers’ perceptions of nutritional content and price attributes of green food have strong effects on utilitarian attitudes, while the sensory appeal and price attributes strongly influence hedonic attitudes. Interestingly, the strength of the association between confidence, personal characteristics and purchase intention, as well as between ecological welfare and utilitarian attitudes vary within the independent and integrated models respectively. This study provides insight for stakeholders and future research in better understanding the framework and factors that influence purchase intentions of consumers toward green food products in the Chinese context.     

Development and evaluation of a cabrito smoked sausage product

In order for the meat goat producer to survive, new avenues for marketing goats must be created. Currently, the live animal is sold directly to consumers, or to brokers who in turn sell the animal directly to consumers or retail stores that cater to various ethnic groups. The production of value-added products with appeal to North American consumers, as well as current ethnic consumers, should result in increased profitability of the meat goat. The objectives of this study were to develop a value added product, cabrito smoked sausage, using goat meat as the sole meat ingredient; evaluate soy protein concentrate (SPC) at various levels in an effort to reduce product cost; determine consumer acceptability; and conduct a cost analysis to determine the approximate market price for the product. Three fermented cabrito smoked sausage products were manufactured containing 0, 1.75 or 3.50% SPC and stored at 2±1°C until evaluated. The sausages were evaluated for sensory characteristics, proximate analysis, pH, water activity and smokehouse yields. Trained panelists detected no significant flavor differences (P > 0.05) between the products. As a result of these findings, sausages formulated with 0 and 3.50% SPC were compared in a consumer sensory evaluation. Consumer panelists detected no significant differences (P > 0.05) in flavor, texture and overall acceptance between the snack sticks. Approximately 65% of the panelists commented that they would purchase the value added products. Proximates, pH, water activity and smokehouse yields were similar (P > 0.05) for the sausages formulated with 0 and 3.50% SPC. The addition of SPC resulted in an 8.79% reduction in the price of the 3.50% SPC formulation when compared to the sausage formulated with no SPC.     

Consumers’ perceptions of organic food attributes and cognitive and affective attitudes as determinants of their purchase intentions toward organic food

The current study investigates how consumers perceive organic food attributes, which in turn influence their utilitarian and hedonic attitudes and intentions to purchase organic food. Specifically, consumers’ perceptions of nutritional content, ecological welfare, and price attributes of organic food have strong effects on utilitarian attitudes as well as hedonic attitudes toward buying organic food, while perceptions of the sensory appeal attribute have a strong effect on hedonic attitudes. Interestingly, consumers’ perceptions of the natural content attribute of organic food are not a significant determinant of the two dimensions of attitude. Lastly, utilitarian and hedonic attitudes play an important and influential role in determining behavioral intentions to purchase organic food. This study raises questions about the lack of a theoretical framework in previous organic food studies. Therefore, a modified S–O–R model is applied to provide theoretical support for organic food research. In addition, this study employs a bi-dimensional approach to attitudes (i.e., utilitarian and hedonic attitudes), contributing to a better understanding of consumers’ expectations and perceptions in their behaviors regarding organic food.     

The influence of involvement on purchase intention for new world wine

Understanding the ways in which consumers’ involvement levels influence how they use different cues to make purchase decisions has been a topic of research for several decades. This study, which provides a specific extension to the more general study by Lockshin et al. [Lockshin, L., Wade, J., d’Hauteville, F., & Perrouty, J. P. (2006). Using simulations from discrete choice experiments to measure consumer sensitivity to brand, region, price, and awards in wine choice. Food Quality and Preference, 17(3–4) 166–178] examines the moderating effects of wine product involvement and wine purchase involvement on wine purchase decisions. A sample of 187 New Zealand regular wine consumers participated in a conjoint experiment using the variety New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The product stimuli were defined by three attributes: (i) presence/absence of region of origin information, (ii) price level, and (iii) presence/absence of a price discount. Purchase intention ratings, which were analysed using multiple regression and non-parametric bootstraps, suggested that the cue pertaining to information about region of origin was more important for consumers high in product involvement and purchase involvement than for consumers with low levels of involvement. There was also some evidence to suggest that consumers who are high in product involvement place less importance on price and, that consumers who are low in purchase involvement place greater importance on price discounts.     

Influence of packaging information on consumer liking of chocolate milk

Chocolate milk varies widely in flavor, color, and viscosity, and liking is influenced by these properties. Additionally, package labels (declared fat content) and brand are some of the extrinsic factors that may influence consumer perception. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of packaging labels and brand name on consumer liking and purchase intent of chocolate milk. A consumer acceptance test, conjoint analysis survey, and Kano analysis were conducted. One hundred eight consumers evaluated 7 chocolate milks with and without brand or package information in a 2-d crossover design. A conjoint analysis survey and Kano analysis were conducted after the consumer acceptance test. Results were evaluated by 2-way ANOVA and multivariate analyses. Declared fat content and brand influenced overall liking and purchase intent for chocolate milks to differing degrees. A subsequent conjoint analysis (n = 250) revealed that fat content was a driver of choice for purchasing chocolate milk followed by sugar content and brand. Brand name was less important for purchase intent of chocolate milk than fat or sugar content. Among fat content of chocolate milk, 2 and 1% fat level were most appealing to consumers, and reduced sugar and regular sugar were equally important for purchase intent. Kano analysis confirmed that fat content (whole milk, 1, or 2% fat chocolate milk) was an attractive attribute for consumer satisfaction, more so than brand. Organic labeling did not affect the purchase decision of chocolate milk; however, Kano results revealed that having an organic label on a package positively influenced consumer satisfaction. Findings from this study can help chocolate milk producers as well as food marketers better target their product labels with attributes that drive consumer choice of chocolate milk.     

How do Brazilian consumers perceive a non-traditional and innovative fruit juice? An approach looking at the packaging

Consumer interest in nutritious and innovative foods encourages the development of products based on raw materials with nutraceutical potential. The health benefits provided by pomegranate have been recognized; therefore, the development of pomegranate juice may match consumer expectations regarding this goal. However, the concept has to first be accepted by the consumer. The aim of the study was to utilize a rating based conjoint analysis to investigate how Brazilian consumers perceive pomegranate juice by identifying the role of packaging attributes relevant to the consumer's intention to purchase. Five factors were considered in the study: technology used in the juice production (high hydrostatic pressure – HHP – a technology that preserves nutritional and sensory properties), antioxidants, price, preservatives, and colorant. Eight hypothetical pomegranate juice packages were created following an incomplete block design and evaluated by 150 fruit juice consumers. Three clusters were identified. The average results revealed that antioxidants were the attribute of greatest relative importance to cluster 1 (RI: 36%), followed by HHP (RI: 25%) and colorants (14%). Consumers in cluster 2 considered price as the most important attribute (RI: 41%), followed by antioxidants (RI: 21%) and HHP (RI: 18%). Cluster 3, as well as cluster 2, considered price the most important attribute (RI: 28%), followed by antioxidants (RI: 26%) and HHP (RI: 22%). The results showed that consumers valued information on the health benefits of antioxidants as well as on the technology, suggesting that both types of information may be relevant tools to increase the intention to purchase the product. The application of HHP for pomegranate juice processing was positively perceived by consumers, suggesting a potential commercial application in the Brazilian industry.     

Development and evaluation of a fermented cabrito snack stick product

In order for the meat goat producer to survive, new avenues for marketing goats must be created. Currently, the live animal is sold directly to consumers, or to brokers who in turn sell the animal directly to consumers or retail stores that cater to various ethnic groups. The production of value-added products with appeal to North American consumers, as well as current ethnic consumers, should result in increased profitability of the meat goat. The objectives of this study were to develop a value added product, cabrito snack sticks, using goat meat as the sole meat ingredient; evaluate soy protein concentrate (SPC) at various levels in an effort to reduce the cost of the product; determine consumer acceptability of the product; and conduct a cost analysis to determine the approximate market price for the product. Three fermented cabrito snack stick products were manufactured containing either 0, 1.75 or 3.50% SPC and stored at 2±1°C until evaluated. The snack sticks were evaluated for sensory characteristics, proximate analysis, pH, water activity and smokehouse yields. Trained panelists detected no significant flavor differences (P>0.05) between the products. As a result of these findings, snack sticks formulated with 0 and 3.50% SPC were compared in a consumer sensory evaluation. Consumer panelists detected no significant differences (P>0.05) in flavor, texture and overall acceptance between the snack stick products, and approximately 61% of the panelists commented that they would purchase them. Cabrito snack sticks formulated with 3.50% SPC had lower fat (P<0.05) and higher ash contents when compared with the control (0% SPC) sticks. Moisture, protein, water activity and smokehouse yields were similar (P>0.05) for both products. Moisture: protein ratio and pH values were higher (P<0.05) for snack sticks formulated with 3.5% SPC when compared with the control sticks. The addition of SPC resulted in a 4.60% reduction in the price of snack sticks formulated with 3.50% SPC when compared with control sticks.     

Colour and shape of design elements of the packaging labels influence consumer expectations and hedonic judgments of specialty coffee

Packaging plays an important role on attracting the consumers’ attention and creating hedonic and sensory expectations, which may affect actual product experience. The present study aimed at investigating whether the colour and/or shape of design elements of packaging labels would influence sensory and hedonic judgments of specialty coffee by amateur consumers. Participants (n = 174) first evaluated their expectations of coffee acidity and sweetness by looking at the coffee package, and subsequently, their experience of the same attributes when tasting a cup of coffee, in addition to rating their liking and purchase intent. The experiment followed a 2 × 2, between-subject design for label type (green or pink, round or angular), and the same coffee was served to all participants. Multivariate analysis of variance was conducted in order to assess main effects of colour and shape of the design elements of the packaging labels as well as interactions on sensory and hedonic ratings. Both colour and shape significantly affected consumers’ sensory expectations (pre-tasting ratings) regarding the specialty coffee, but they had no significant effect on post-tasting (actual perception) sensory ratings. Interactions between colour × shape were found to affect the hedonic measures. The coffee associated with the congruent labels (i.e., angular/green or the round/pink) received higher liking and purchase intent ratings than the one associated with the incongruent labels (i.e., angular/pink and the round/green). The implications of these results for the design of coffee packaging that convey some functional benefit as well as possible directions for future research are discussed.     

Consumer preferences for additional ethical attributes of organic food

This paper examines the relevance of additional ethical attributes of organic food for consumers’ purchase decisions. By means of an Information-Display-Matrix (IDM) and an accompanying consumer survey, the information acquisition behaviour of consumers regarding seven additional ethical attributes and the product price of organic food was investigated in five European countries. The ethical attributes, ‘animal welfare’, ‘regional production’ and ‘fair prices to farmers’ turned out to be the most important. The results also show that the vast majority of consumers of organic food was willing to pay higher prices for organic products with additional ethical attributes. Contrasting the results with those from direct inquiry by means of a ‘single source approach’ revealed considerable differences between both methods, particularly regarding the preferences for the product price relative to some of the ethical attributes. This may serve as evidence for higher external validity of the IDM with respect to social desirability bias.