Differences in culture, language, and behavior between Chinese and Western consumers make entering the Chinese market a challenge. Chinese consumers may desire similar product features (e.g. brand name, quality, and flavor) to Western consumers but the value that consumers attach to the same product may differ cross-nationally. Besides values, an understanding of desired product attributes and the consequences linking to these values is also important. To the authors' knowledge, there is no published scientific research that investigates how personal values influence Chinese consumers' food consumption decisions. The aim of this research was to identify the links among product attributes, consequences of these attributes, and personal values associated with healthy drink consumption decisions within the Chinese market. Specifically, this research employed means-end chain theory and used association pattern technique (APT) as the main data collection technique to identify these links. Focus groups (n=6) were held in Hangzhou, China to identify the important attributes and consequences involved in the consumption decisions of healthy drinks. These attributes and consequences along with Schwartz's 10 basic values were used to construct the matrices included in the APT survey. A total of 600 APT surveys were administered in six different companies in Hangzhou, with 570 returned. Construction of the hierarchical value map (HVM) identified four of Schwartz's personal values influencing Chinese consumers' healthy drink consumption decisions: security, hedonism, benevolence, and self-direction. Food safety was the foremost concern for Chinese consumers when choosing healthy drinks. Chinese consumers also sought a good tasting and nutritious drink that was good value for money. Results from this study provide food marketers with an in-depth understanding of Chinese consumers' healthy drink consumption decisions. Implications and recommendations are provided that will assist food marketers to effectively enact marketing strategies in China.

High Pressure Processing (HPP) and Pulsed-Electric Field (PEF) are non-thermal technologies that add value to foods by improving safety through lowering microbial loads in addition to improving the sensory properties such as color, flavor, and texture. While Heat Treatment (HT) is more widely accepted by consumers, it is a more destructive process compared to HPP and PEF. Little is known about how Chinese consumers perceive non-thermal technologies like HPP and PEF. This research aimed to understand Chinese consumer's perceptions of non-thermal processing technologies and ways to mitigate negative perceptions. Specifically, this research sought to investigate: (a) consumers' general knowledge of food processing technologies; (b) the effect of information on consumers' perceptions of HT, HPP and PEF and how these perceptions influence decisions for their treated beverages; and (c) consumers' willingness to pay for products processed using these technologies.Six focus groups were conducted in Hangzhou, China. When participants were provided limited and detailed technology information, six dominant consumer perceptions towards HT, HPP, and PEF emerged. Those perceptions were: (1) consumer association with the given technology, (2) trust towards the technology, (3) health, (4) food, (5) taste and quality, and (6) price. When limited information was provided, consumers were skeptical of HPP and PEF. However, the provision of detailed technology information changed participants' attitudes towards HPP and PEF technologies and increased their stated purchase intentions for the treated products. Participants were also found to place less emphasis on the price for HPP and PEF treated beverages when detailed technology information was provided. Chinese consumers were interested in having fewer additives in their foods. Non-thermally processed foods offer this benefit.Given the change in attitudes after receiving detailed information, HPP and PEF processing technologies have potential to be widely accepted by Chinese consumers. However, to effectively promote these technologies, consumer education is needed to increase awareness of the advantages these technologies have for foods. Practical communication strategies are provided to help food manufacturers inform Chinese consumers about the benefits of these technologies.

Freshness is a multidimensional attribute commonly encountered in everyday life and particularly in association with food. It awakens certain expectations from consumers, as it is a critical variable that affects the food quality and acceptability. The aim of this research was to identify sensory and non-sensory factors contributing to young immigrant Chinese consumers' freshness perceptions of orange juices. Two focus groups were undertaken, where participants (n = 19) evaluated freshness of 20 orange juices and their corresponding packages. The qualitative data from these focus groups was combined with the results from a wide-ranging review of existing literature on orange juice characteristics as well as related consumers' perceptions. From this, a set of 60 statements was derived with the purpose of representing the whole spectrum of possible viewpoints that young immigrant Chinese consumers might have about freshness. To obtain a holistic understanding of freshness, these statements were then used for subsequent sorting exercises using Napping and Q methodology (n = 20). Results showed that perceived freshness was related to an overall notion of healthy and natural. The young immigrant Chinese consumers defined freshness as a level of closeness to the orange, perceiving orange-like sensory qualities as fresh. Results also showed that freshness perceptions were greatly influenced by non-sensory attributes. Three distinct consumer perspectives were identified, with consumers in each of these perspectives holding homogeneous viewpoints about freshness. The new insights obtained from this research are important for food companies in determining long-term new product developments and in developing the marketing mix for products that are marketed on the freshness attribute.

a b s t r a c tDespite the enormous opportunity that the Chinese market provides for exporting companies in the food and beverage industry, little research has considered Chinese consumer decision making processes surrounding these products. This study provides an empirical investigation into how Chinese consumers prioritize extrinsic product attributes (brand, nutrition content claim, ingredient label, shelf-life, price, and manufacturing country) when making their fruit juice purchase decisions. The study illustrates that consumer decision making processes are culturally embedded by presenting a comparison of the study's findings with the more prevalent Western-based literature on consumer decision making processes.A choice-based conjoint survey was administered to 645 Chinese participants in Hangzhou, China using the internet-based software 1000Minds. Three consumer segments were identified through cluster analysis: Health Conscious, Premium Product, and Long Product Shelf-life. The Health Conscious segment wants natural and nutritious fruit juices that have a well-known brand. The Premium Product segment is willing to pay higher prices for imported fruit juices. Compared to the other two segments, the Long Product Shelf-life segment prefers lower priced and extended shelf-life fruit juices that are more convenient to store and consume. While the three clusters were similar in their preferences for the fruit juice attributes and levels, they differed in the rank order of the attributes. These findings highlight the importance of how extrinsic product attributes are traded off by Chinese consumers when making their fruit juice purchase decisions.The identification of these Chinese consumer segments provides juice manufacturers better knowledge on the market opportunities in China and strategic guidance for effective positioning, packaging, labeling, and pricing of fruit juices. This attribute prioritization-based segmentation for the Chinese consumer market is novel and thus provides strong implications for the fruit juice industry. In addition, this paper also makes a novel academic contribution to the Chinese consumer decision making literature on food and beverage products.

This study examined the effects of technology information on Chinese consumers' acceptance of thermal and non-thermal treated apple juices. Apple juice was treated using thermal, high hydrostatic pressure processing and pulsed-electric field processing methods and compared to untreated apple juice. The four juices were evaluated by 118 Chinese consumers in three testing conditions: (a) blind (rating acceptance of the apple juices without any information), (b) label (rating acceptance of the apple juice labels containing different technology information without tasting the juices), and (c) informed (rating acceptance of the apple juices by tasting the juices and observing the labels containing different technology information). Results showed that technology information had the strongest positive influence on consumers' acceptance for untreated and high hydrostatic pressure processed apple juices. No effect of technology information on the acceptance of pulsed-electric field treated apple juice was observed. Acceptance was lower for thermal treated apple juice, but its sensory characteristics were good enough to minimize the negative effect of technology information on acceptability. The findings of this study help manufacturers understand how technology information affect Chinese consumers' acceptance of apple juices. When marketing non-thermal processed beverages, especially high hydrostatic pressure processed ones, to young and educated Chinese consumers, food manufacturers are recommended to focus on technology information as a selling point as this information strongly influences expectations and acceptance of the product. However, it should be noted that sensory characteristics are also important factors driving consumer acceptance and hence repeated consumption.

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This work evaluates consumers' perception of apple juice processed by high pressure processing (HPP) and pulsed electric field (PEF) compared with thermal processing. As a case study, young Chinese immigrants living in New Zealand were selected. Targeting a broad understanding of process impact, three industrially relevant apple cultivars (New Zealand Jazz, Rose and Granny Smith) were chosen. The consumer study was performed using napping with ultra-flash profiling technique (n = 38). The process impact on sensory perception seems to vary among the investigated apple cultivars. For Jazz and Granny Smith apple cultivars, PEF-and HPP-treated juices are perceived as fresh, natural, sweet and balanced flavour. For Rose apple cultivar, however PEF-processed juices appear to be perceived as fresh flavour in comparison with HPP and thermally treated juices. Moreover, thermal processing caused cooked flavour. With respect to colour, immediately after processing, HPP retains the natural apple juice colour compared with other treatments.Consumers' perception of novel treatments P. Y. Lee et al.

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