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.
BACKGROUND: Consumers often express concern about the quality of fruit available to buy and the rate at which it deteriorates in their homes. Despite this there are few studies on quality of fruit collected from consumers. This study considered three questions: (1) what was the quality of fruit in retail stores and how did it vary over the study period? (2) What was the extent that fruit quality deteriorated in consumers' homes? (3) Were there any consumer behaviours or attitudes that extenuated or mitigated the effects of fruit deterioration in the home?
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