Lynch, Sean

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Southern Illinois University CarbondaleOpenSIUCHonors Theses University Honors Program5-2006Direct Marketing of Table Grapes in SouthernIllinois: Consumer Purchase and ConsumptionHabits, Attitudes, and Impressions of LocallyGrown Table GrapesSean LynchFollow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/uhp_thesesThis Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the University Honors Program at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusionin Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact opensiuc@lib.siu.edu.Recommended CitationLynch, Sean, "Direct Marketing of Table Grapes in Southern Illinois: Consumer Purchase and Consumption Habits, Attitudes, andImpressions of Locally Grown Table Grapes" (2006). Honors Theses. Paper 289.Sean Lynch PLSS 390-723 Dr. Taylor May 12,2006 Direct Marketing of Table Grapes in Southern Illinois: Consumer Purchase and Consumption Habits, Attitudes, and Impressions ofLocally Grown Table Grapes Introduction: The grape growing and wine making industries are some of the fastest growing agriculture industries in Southern Illinois today. This means there is a growing market for locally grown wine-grapes, but as with any large industry like the wine industry there are outside suppliers that usually have much cheaper prices. This leads the grape growers to wholesale their wine grapes at relatively low prices. This causes grape growers to need a healthy capital in order to establish and produce grapes until they begin seeing a profit, often not occurring until many years down the road. This pressure could be lessened or possibly even avoided if grape growers attempted to direct market some of their grapes. Wine grapes would most likely not work for direct marketing since there is not a high demand from local consumers for winemaking grapes but there seems to be more opportunity in direct marketing table grapes. In one study grapes were one of the fruits most frequently mentioned as locally grown items not available in sufficient quantities (Bruhn et ai, 1992). "Direct marketing eliminates the 'middle man' functions of food exchange, transportation, storage and processing (Cottingham et ai, 1994)." Cutting out this middleman allows farmers to make a much higher profit percentage for directly selling table grapes as compared to wholesaling wine grapes. Farmers see direct marketing as a different option for marketing their produce to increase their profitability while consumers view it as a way to get fresher, higher quality foods at lower prices (Govindasamy & Nayga, 1996). In recent years, US public health initiatives have increased and are placing greater emphasis on preventing diseases. Greater fruit and vegetable consumption is one of the main messages since it can help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease (Padilla, 2000). Consumers seem to be listening too. Over the past five years, consumption of fruits in the household has either increased or stayed the same (Govindasamy & Nayga, 1996). People want the highest quality most nutritious fruit available and many believe that this can be found in local produce. Although some patrons enjoyed supporting the local economy the most important reasons for shopping for local produce were quality and freshness ('Ielasquez et al, 2005). Locally grown produce has the potential for very high quality because it can be harvested when fully ripe. With minimum shipping, it can arrive at market shortly after harvest, and ifheld at the proper temperature it will have little loss in nutritive value. In addition, fresh-to-market produce often tastes better than produce that has traveled through the conventional marketing system (Bruhn et ai, 1992). This has led to the development of an expectation of better quality at direct marketing facilities compared to supermarkets, and in addition to this expectation, many expect lower prices at direct marketing facilities than at supermarkets (Govindasamy, 2003). Although they expect lower prices many are still willing to pay a premium for a higher quality product. A study of Illinois farmers' markets showed that a majority of the customers were willing to pay a ten percent premium for locally grown produce (Velasquez et al, 2005). Growers stated that farmers' markets have been profitable for them and they were satisfied with the market. (Perault et ai, 2003). Consumers are willing to pay more because they are so interested in getting fresh, quality produce that supports the local economy. This is where the local Illinois viticulturist comes into the picture. With an increasing number of wineries opening, an increasing amount of grapes or grape juice must be supplied in order to make the wine. In addition the Illinois viticulturists' potentially have the option to tap into two markets, the wholesale wine-grape market and most likely the direct marketing of table grapes in order to supplement their income. Per capita consumption of table grapes was expected to increase during the period from 2000-2004 at an annual rate of about one percent (Adu-Asamoah, 2000). Fruit consumption is increasing and many consumers view local produce as being fresher and of a higher quality so there seems to be quite a potential market for locally produced fruits including table grapes. Local growers could provide fresher, higher quality grapes of a greater variety, which is what consumers want. Growers already growing wine grapes could fairly easily add some table grapes into their production practices and have a crop with a much higher net value if directly marketed. Production could be met and it seems as though there should be a demand for locally produced table grapes yet there is little research in Illinois on marketing of local fruits, especially table grapes since they are a newer item in the local produce market. Many things need to be assessed in order to know in what way to approach the marketing of table grapes. The different market segments must be identified, the needs of each type of customer determined, and the characteristics that influence purchase and the potential for purchase must be found (Gold et ai, 2004). "There is a need to document various characteristics ofdirect marketing consumers to better serve the needs of the consumers efficiently. The needs of consumers can be met by analyzing the direct marketing consumer behavior and purchasing patterns (Govindasamy & Nayga, 1996)." Consumer attitudes tend to change with changes in age and occur fairly rapidly so new assessments of consumers' views must be conducted every few years in order to keep up with new trends and desires (Kelley et al, 2002). Our objective is to gain not only a fimdarnental knowledge of consumer purchase and consumption habits of locally grown table grapes but also an understanding of their attitudes and impressions of locally grown table grapes. In particular, our intentions were to conduct consumer surveys to evaluate the direct market potential of table grapes in different direct market venues. Specifically we ran evaluations at a farmers' market, a state fair, an on-farm market, a roadside market, a class of college students and a small chain supermarket to assess the familiarity of consumers with locally grown table grapes and the conditions that lead to greater purchase and consumption. Interpretation of the results of the consumer surveys will help us to develop some possible marketing strategies to be used for the direct marketing of the table grapes. Successjitl marketing 0/new products encourages consumer acceptance and has a long­range goal o/building loyalty (Kelley et ai, 2002). Materials and Methods: We surveyed consumers at six different venues where produce was sold. Participants were asked at random to voluntarily complete the survey. The survey was split into two separate parts: a pre-sample survey and a post-sample survey ( and sensory evaluation table). The pre-sample survey was given to the participants first and consisted •1'" of thirty questions regarding their purchase and consumption habits, as well as their attitudes and impressions toward locally grown table grapes. There were 19 multiple-choice questions and 7 ranking questions. Upon completion of the pre-sample part of the survey, participants were given the second-part, the post-sample portion, and asked to taste five different varieties ofJocally grown table grapes grown out at our slue research vineyard. Variety #1: Jupiter (purple) Variety #2: Marquis (green) Post-Sample Survey at Schnuck's • Variety #3: Vanessa (red) Variety #4: Neptune (green) Variety #5: Mars (purple) Participants were asked to fill out a visual and taste evaluation first, followed by fifteen more follow-up questions regarding their purchase and consumption habits, as well as impressions, in order to see if their attitudes had changed after seeing and tasting what locally grown table grapes could be like. There were at least thirty surveys taken at each venue and the surveys were gathered from the end ofAugust to the middle of September 2005. Venues: -Carbondale Farmers' Market Carbondale, IL -DuQuoin State Fair DuQuoin, IL -Hawkins Roadside/On-Farm Market Dix, IL -Braeutigam's Orchard Market Belleville, IL -SIU Vines to Wines Course Carbondale, IL -Schnuck's Supermarket Carbondale, II PRE-SAMPLE I WOULD BUY LOCALLY GROWN TABLE GRAPESResults: IF THEY WERE AVAILABLE Before the 35 en 30 participants had even I-Z W Cl seen or tasted the Z 0 20 samples, they Q. en wa:: 15 10 ~ strongly agreed that 0 5 0 they would buy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6 9 10 STRONGLY DISAGREE NOT SURE STRONGLY AGREE locally grown table grapes if they were available. They also believed that locally grown table grapes were either rarely available or only available several weeks during the summer. On a scale from I(strongly disagree) to 10 (strongly agree), the average participant reply was a 7.7 (agree to strongly agree) that they would be willing to learn POST-SAMPLE more about locally grown table grapes WHEN BUYING LOCALLY PRODUCED TABLE GRAPES, I WOULD BASE MY PURCHASE ON••• if the information were available. Results also showed that they would prefer to learn this information from newspaper articles, brochures where products are sold, fairs and festivals, and product labeling. Participants said they would be persuaded to purchase more locally grown table grapes ifthere was better information as to when and where they are available, if the producer was located nearby, and lower cost. 60% of respondents stated that they base their purchase on eating quality and 33.5% say they base it on appearance. Participants ranked all five samples as having an above average overall eating quality, leaning more towards outstanding eating quality. Participants agreed that our samples had a more colorful appearance than what they normally find in PRE-SAMPLE HOW MANY TABLE GRAPES DO YOU PURCHASE PER WEEK? 3D III 2S !Ii: w c z o ll. ril D:: ~ o Iblweek table grapes per week, but changed their answers post-sample to say that iflocally grown table grapes like our samples were available that they would purchase an average their local supermarket, and in addition that they appeared fresher and more­shapely. Participants said pre-sample that they purchase between 0.25 and 0.5 lbs of POST-sAMPLE HOW MANY LOCALLY PRODUCED TABLE GRAPES WOULD YOU PURCHASE PER WEEK IF THEY RESEMBLED THE SAMPLES BEFORE YOU? III ,. I-Z 3D W 25 C Z 20 ~ 15 f3 10 D:: • >!'.• o 'o.:olb o.251b o.5lb 1.0~ ;011 4.01b Iblweek of between 0.5 and 1.0 lbs, doubling the quantity they would purchase. On a scale from l(strongly disagree) to 10 (strongly agree), the average participant reply was a 7.9 (agree to strongly agree) that they would purchase locally grown table grapes like our samples if they were available. Discussion: The results are straightforward and fairly conclusive. Consumers believe locally grown table grapes are rarely available and would buy the locally grown table grapes if they were available and if there was better information on when and where they are available. They would prefer to leam this information through newspaper articles, product labeling, and at fairs and festivals. Consumers base their purchases of table grapes on eating quality and appearance and rated our samples as all having a fresher, more shapely, more colorful appearance and an above average to outstanding overall eating quality. When asked plainly if they 2005 HARVEST DATA would buy locally grown table grapes like our Variety Jupiter Marquis Vanessa Neptune 7.0 Man; 5.6 Cluster Weigbt (Average) samples, they strongly agreed. People are 0.54 willing to buy them and our harvest data from the SIUC research vineyard shows that they would produce large clusters and plenty of them with yields reaching up to 11.6 tons/acre. Consumers want them, growers can grow them, and growers can see increased diversification and increased revenue through direct marketing of the locally grown table grapes. Literature Cited Adu-Asamoah, Richard. 2000. U.S. Fresh Market Grapes: Market Watch and Outlook. NFAPP Summer 2000 Newsletter. Bruhn, C.S., P.M. Vossen, E. Chapman, and S. Vaupel. 1992. Consumer attitudes toward locally grown produce. California Agric. 46(4):13-16. Cottingham, John, J. Hovland, J. Lenon, T. Roper, and C. Techtmann. 1994. Direct Marketing of Farm Produce and Home Goods. University of Wisconsin-Extension Publication A3602. Gold, M., M.M. Cernusca, and L. Godsey. 2004. Consumer preferences for chestnuts, eastern black walnuts, and pecans. HortTechnology 14: 584-589. Govindasamy, Rama. 2003. Characteristics and needs of direct marketing consumers in New Jersey. Rutgers Cooperative Extension Fact Sheet Publication FS914. Govindasamy, Rama and Rodolfo M. Nayga, Jr. 1996. Characteristics offarmer-To consumer direct market customers: an overview. Joumal ofExtension 34(4): 1-5. Kelley, K.M., B.K. Behe, J.A. Biernbaum, and K.L. Poff. 2002. Consumer purchase and use of edible flowers: results of three studies. HortTechnology 12: 282-287. Padilla, Luis. 2000. Health Information and Produce Consumption. NFAPP Summer 2000 Newsletter. Perault, L.L., F. Lawrence, C.E. O'Neil. 2003. Consumer use of farmers' markets. Louisiana Agric. 46(1): 14-15. Velasquez, Cesar, C. Eastman, and J. Masiunas. 2005. An assessment of Illinois farmers' market patrons' perceptions of locally-grown vegetables. Journal of Vegetable Science 11(1): 17-26. 

Direct Marketing of Table Grapes in Southern Illinois: Consumer Purchase and Consumption Habits, Attitudes, and Impressions of Locally Grown Table Grapes

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Direct Marketing of Table Grapes in Southern Illinois: Consumer Purchase and Consumption Habits, Attitudes, and Impressions of Locally Grown Table Grapes

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