The importance of studying the aspects related to the sustainable food consumption behaviour of students lies in the fact that, at this age, they begin to develop certain consumption patterns that will have long-term effects. The study aimed to identify the type of eating behaviour—sustainable vs. unsustainable—and the socio-demographic factors that influence it, among students in Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova. The research method was a survey based on a questionnaire administered to a sample of 2378 subjects in the 2017–2018 period. The ANOVA test and simple linear regression were used to identify the correlation between the various variables analysed. The results indicate both positive aspects, which characterise a sustainable diet—high consumption of fruits and vegetables, and negative—the adoption of a mixed diet, which will have a long-term impact on the environment. Age is a good predictor of unhealthy eating habits among students, as this behaviour leads to weight gain. Gender, number of household members, rural/urban and country residence are also influencing factors for food consumption behaviour. Eating while standing and having the last meal of the day after 23:00 are practices that also have negative consequences for health. Conducting campaigns to educate students on the adoption of sustainable food consumption is necessary for all three countries to empower them to choose a healthy lifestyle.

PurposeThe present paper explores Generation Z university students' clusters based on the consumption of daily fruits and vegetables in an emerging market economy, indicating young people's reasons to adopt a healthy diet.Design/methodology/approachUsing cluster theory, the authors analyse Generation Z university students who consume fresh fruits and vegetables, highlighting aspects of a healthy diet, in compliance with the WHO recommendations and challenges.FindingsData collected from over 459 Generation Z university students point out the possibility of typologizing them into nine clusters: three consuming fresh fruit and six consuming fresh vegetables. Most cluster members are aware of the value of regular fresh fruit and vegetable consumption in order to maintain health and overall well-being, but the authors also identified a cluster called “urban, but sick humanists at the beginning of their professional careers”, for whom a healthy diet based on fruits and vegetables is not a priority.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this research only refers to consumers in the emergent economy Romania, it also allows the delimitation of specific categories which can be utilized by sector stakeholders, in order to identify issues addressed by each cluster member and to find the most appropriate solutions for encouraging/promoting a healthy diet.Social implicationsThe paper also raises awareness of the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption in other emerging economies, given the advancement of processed food and reduction of time available to cook healthy dishes.Originality/valueThe results contribute to extending studies conducted on emerging markets concerning fruit and vegetable consumption among Generation Z university students, highlighting the importance of a healthy diet, and the proper targeting of these consumer clusters by fresh fruit and vegetable producers and distributors.

This article presents the findings of a research project about the impact of Korean musical products and representations of Korea Romanian fans’ perceptions about the country. This research project conceives of Romanian fans of K-Pop as a distinct segment of the population and outlines certain prevalent characteristics of individuals belonging to this group. It also demonstrates the influence of Korean popular culture products on Romanian K-Pop fans’ assessments of Korea’s culture and society. The data stresses that “hybridity” and “globalism” are the traits most important to the success of K-Pop both in Asia and Eastern Europe as demonstrated in the case of Romania. At the same time, K-Pop fans understand Korean music as a “gateway” not only into Korean culture but also into familiarity with Korean language and society. The results also reveal a parallel between images exported by Korean cultural products in Romania and Romanians’ conception of Korean society and people.

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