Consumer Preferences for Quality Foods from a South European Perspective: A Conjoint Analysis Implementation on Greek Olive Oil

The objective of the present study is to describe the preferences of younger, more educated and higher income Greek consumers for "quality" olive oil brands - quality being defined as a bundle of extrinsic quality cues such as quality assurance labels, health-related information, country-of-origin indication, bottling material and price. The aim of the research is, with the implementation of a conjoint analysis task, to describe and analyze consumer preferences using a random, stratified, sample of urban consumers. The extrinsic quality attributes of olive oil, strongly linked to a previous qualitative, Means-end Chains (MEC) analysis survey, is used as starting points for the development of conjoint profiles. Special emphasis is given to the development and evaluation of different quality marketing mixes and the analysis of the importance consumers attach to the series of extrinsic quality cues used. The identification of different consumer segments in terms of this importance and the development of their socio-demographic and behavioral profile is also mphasized. The final step of the research is the measurement of demand for quality through the calculation of potentially larger market shares across segments of different quality hypothetical) brands in comparison to the common (real).Quality extrinsic cues, Conjoint analysis, Segmentation, Market shares, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Adding more value to added-value. An exploration of consumers’ perceptions of improved animal welfare standards in organic production processes

Recent studies reveal that consumers respond favourably to “organic plus” products with additional ethical attributes. The aim of the current study is to explore whether consumers would notice and value further improvements in the animal welfare standards than those imposed by the organic regulation. The results of a qualitative concept test reveal positive attitudes towards the proposed production process. The discussions about fewer standards being sufficient or about options “in-between” conventional and organic standards indicate that the difference in production processes is noticed, yet it is probably valued less than expected. The added attributes need to be thoroughly considered when developing and marketing “organic plus” products, as their effect on other product characteristics (e.g. high prices) can detract from their added value

One size does (obviously not) fit all: Using product attributes for wine market segmentation

The intense competition affecting the wine industry in recent decades has forced wineries and retailers to reshape their marketing strategies on the basis of consumer preferences. The current study aims to identify such preferences and the effects they might have in influencing consumer decisions. Preferences for different wine attributes as well as the psychographic traits of respondents were revealed through a web-based questionnaire administered to 504 wine consumers living in the wider metropolitan area of New York. Best-worst scaling (BWS) was used to detect consumer preferences for eleven wine attributes. Based on individual best-worst scores, a latent class segmentation analysis was implemented to classify consumers into four segments on the basis of psychographic characteristics such as involvement, subjective knowledge, innovativeness and loyalty proneness. The four segments identified (i.e. experientials, connoisseurs, risk minimizers and price-sensitive) differ significantly in terms of their preferences towards wine and psychographic characteristics, suggesting that a mass marketing approach is no longer suitable. Accordingly, managers need to adapt their marketing strategies to meet the preferences of different target groups. The results provide broad implications for marketers, wineries and retailers interested in successfully targeting consumers in a highly competitive market

Food safety and quality, strategic levers for European products in emerging markets: the case of China.

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

A cross-cultural perspective on impact of health and nutrition claims, country-of-origin and eco-label on consumer choice of new aquaculture products

Over the last decade, an increasing number of new value-added aquaculture products made their way onto the European market, as a response to growing demand for healthier diet, and more sustainable and locally produced protein sources. The importance of these drivers of consumer choice for aquaculture products' acceptance paves the way for a relevant reorientation of the European aquaculture industry towards a more consumer-centred approach. This research uses discrete choice experiments to examine the effect of health and nutrition claims, country-of-origin (COO), and eco-labels on consumer choice of new aquaculture products in a cross-cultural context. Three products with different preserving methods have been chosen for the study: fresh (chilled), canned, and smoked product. Results indicate that COO label “produced in own country” together with ASC eco-label function better than the health and nutrition claims as driver of choice. Results further point to the existence of different segments of “nutrition conscious”, “ethnocentric”, “price conscious”, and “eco-conscious” consumers.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

"One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”: How ethical beliefs influence consumer perceptions of “blue” aquaculture products?

Respecting ethical beliefs of consumers is an important precondition for food manufacturers in their attempt to improve their positioning in the European food market. Based on a cross-cultural survey of 2511 European participants, this research demonstrates how ethical beliefs affect consumer perceptions of “blue” (i.e. environmentally friendly) aquaculture products. The study further emphasises that the positive effect of ethical beliefs on purchase intention operates via an indirect route mediated by consumers’ trust in a product category. Consumer involvement has limited moderation effect on the above relationships. To expand its “blue” business, a key policy recommendation to aquaculture product manufacturers and policy makers is to urge stable and reliable standards of control in environmentally responsible aquaculture production so that consumers can rely on the information source and increase their trust in aquaculture products.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

New Trends in Chinese Diet: Cultural Influences on Consumer Behavior

Although the Chinese market is traditionally characterized by a gastronomic culture which is profoundly different from its Western counterpart, the emerging social classes is expressing a growing demand for processed food, opening up to foreign influences, which are neither accepted with prejudice nor viewed passively.This paper analyzes of the propensity of consumers to include in the ancient Chinese culinary culture food products from other countries. A market segmentation of the Chinese consumers was performed, according their degree of cultural openness towards non-Chinese food, taking into account both socio-demographic and cognitive and psychographic variables. The research was carried out by administering a questionnaire to 500 Chinese consumers, living in urban areas, including a consumer analysis of the "values" and the "lifestyle".The results seem to confirm the relevant potential of the Chinese market as a destination for quality western products. The cognitive and modern approach in the market segmentation, provides a Chinese consumer profile “open mind” that is very useful for the implementation of policies for specific marketing and promotion strategies

European consumer segments with a high potential for accepting new innovative fish products based on their food-related lifestyle

Consumer lifestyles influence consumer behaviour towards food product choices and provide important insights about the existence of consumer segments that vary in their response to new food products. With the aim to contribute to a more market-oriented enhancement of the European aquaculture industry competitiveness, the objective of this study was to identify and profile food-related lifestyle segments of consumers that vary in terms of their willingness to buy new aquaculture fish products. Data were collected through a survey among respondents in three large European fish markets (Spain, France and Germany, N = 1500 in total). Certain core dimensions of the food-related lifestyle construct were used as segmentation bases. We identified five consumer segments across two country groups. The segments differed mainly in terms of their psychographic profile and their intention to buy new aquaculture fish products. Our results contribute to identifying the most promising European consumer segments in terms of buying intention that can be targeted when promoting new aquaculture fish products. The findings have important strategic marketing implications for the food industry and aquaculture, while highlighting the important role food-related lifestyles can play in European segmentation for new food product development.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Farmed or wild fish? Segmenting European consumers based on their beliefs

Wild fish cannot meet the global demand of fish, making aquaculture the most suitable alternative to support increase in fish consumption. However, farmed fish have a less positive image among consumers than their respective wild-caught equivalents. Food product images can be affected by consumers' beliefs, which are useful to infer the quality of the food product and the consumers' food choices. This paper investigates European consumers' beliefs regarding farmed versus wild fish. The goal is to understand not only what hinders farmed fish consumption but also provide guidelines for producers and governments to improve the image of farmed fish. An online questionnaire reaching 2511 consumers in five European Union (EU) countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) assessed 19 beliefs. The results showed that European consumers believed that wild fish had a higher quality, but that farmed fish were superior in terms of control, price, and availability. Even though most consumers were in favour of wild fish, they reported higher consumption of farmed fish, suggesting that positive perceptions of products do not necessarily drive higher consumption. European consumers also believed that farmed fish were less fresh and contained higher concentrations of antibiotics than wild fish. These inferential beliefs that view aquaculture negatively should be addressed in future marketing campaigns to transform them into informational beliefs. Promotional and marketing campaigns should reinforce the positive attributes of farmed fish, including their lower levels of chemical hazards (e.g. heavy metals and marine pollutants) and biological hazards (e.g. parasites). Based on the assessed beliefs, consumers were categorised into five clusters of individuals: pro-wild fish, slightly pro-wild fish, balanced view, open to aquaculture, and pro-aquaculture. The identification of these consumer segments and their profiles should help producers and marketers focus their efforts to enhance the image of the aquaculture.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

New fish product ideas generated by European consumers

Food lifestyles are changing; people have less time to spend on food purchase and preparation, therefore leading to increasing demand for new food products. However, around 76% of new food products launched in the market fail within the first year (Nielsen, 2014). One of the most effective ways to enhance new products’ success in the market is by incorporating consumers’ opinions and needs during the New Product Development (NPD) process (Moon et al., 2018). This study aimed to explore the usefulness of a qualitative technique, focus groups, to generate new aquaculture fish product ideas as well as to identify the most relevant product dimensions affecting consumers’ potential acceptance.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version