Consumer Attitudes and Preference Exploration towards Fresh-Cut Salads Using Best–Worst Scaling and Latent Class Analysis

Abstract

This research explored the preferences and buying habits of a sample of 620 consumers of fresh-cut, ready-to-eat salads. A best–worst scaling approach was used to measure the level of preference stated by individuals regarding 12 attributes for quality (intrinsic, extrinsic and credence) of fresh-cut salads. The experiment was carried out through direct interviews at several large-scale retail outlets in the Turin metropolitan area (north-west of Italy). Out of the total number of questioned consumers, 35% said they did not consume fresh-cut salads. On the contrary, the rest of the involved sample expressed the highest degree of preference towards the freshness/appearance attribute, followed by the expiration date and the brand. On the contrary, attributes such as price, organic certification and food safety did not emerge as discriminating factors in consumer choices. Additionally, five clusters of consumers were identified, whose preferences are related both to purchasing styles and socio-demographic variables. In conclusion, this research has highlighted the positive attitude of consumers towards quality products backed by a brand, providing ideas for companies to improve within this sector and implement strategies to answer the needs of a new segment of consumers, by determining market opportunities that aim to strengthen local brands.

Oh my darling clementine: heterogeneous preferences for sustainable citrus fruits

“…Consistently, the general perception among consumers of clementines and other citrus fruits is that they are a very healthy food (Di Vita et al, 2020;Iofrida et al, 2019). Taking into consideration other agri-food products, our research is consistent with the cluster identified by Massaglia et al (2019), which revealed how some consumers attached importance to high-quality and high-priced products, while they were not interested in sustainability and origin attributes.…”

“…Farmers' implementation of integrated agriculture has been widely investigated in the scholarly literature, identifying various adoption determinants, such as financial aspects (Lavik et al, 2020), pesticides knowledge (Bagheri et al, 2019), access to highly demanding market segments (Buurma and Van der Velden, 2017), perceived complexity (Peshin, 2013) and positive contact with agricultural extension agents (Stallman and James, 2015). However, an overarching interpretation of these drivers is hard to reach, due to contextspecific issues depending on diverse IFS approaches, crops, agricultural systems and geographical areas (Stallman and James, 2015;Midega et al, 2016;Zhang et al, 2018;Sadique Rahman, 2020), leading for instance to a wider adoption in developed countries compared to developing nations (Alwang et al, 2019).…”

Chocolate culture: Preferences, emotional implications and awareness of Italian consumers

“…The comparison included the following aspects: chocolate preferences in terms of types and formats available on the market; linking emotional attitudes before and after chocolate consumption and a correlations analysis between the attitudes reported before and after chocolate consumption. The socio-demographic characteristics of the two samples are in accordance with some authors (Bernardi 2016;Aprile et al, 2016;Massaglia et al, 2019;Merlino et al, 2018) in terms of gender composition, while represent the real profiles of randomly chosen purchasers in the selected geographical areas.…”

“…Respondents were informed verbally about the study procedure. Interviews were carried out during the survey period from Monday to Sunday, in two time slots (from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.) by randomly intercepting respondents outside several shops of the main Italian large-scale retail chains (Aprile et al, 2016;Massaglia et al, 2019;Merlino et al, 2018).…”

“…Overall, the surveys completed by 284 women (Piedmont = 141 and Sicily = 143) and 109 men (Piedmont = 54 and Sicily = 55) aged between 19 to 63 years, from two different regions in Italy were considered for this study (Table 1). The gender imbalance, in both regions, is probably due to the fact that the interviews were conducted at food shops where, typically in Italy, it is mainly women who represent the household purchasing manager (Bernardi, 2016;Aprile et al, 2016;Massaglia et al, 2019;Merlino et al, 2018). More than 50% of respondents hold a bachelor's degree or high school education.…”