Consumers’ categorization of food ingredients: Do consumers perceive them as ‘clean label’ producers expect? An exploration with projective mapping

Abstract

Consumers are said to increasingly assess processed food in terms of whether or not they perceive it to be 'clean label' food. This term refers to what is seen as little processed and 'natural' or 'free from' negatively associated ingredients, or even organic food. However, it is difficult for food producers to predict how their product ingredients will be perceived, and how they should position new products. The present study aimed at exploring how consumers perceive and categorize food ingredients, and testing this under different communication frames. These frames are positioning the product in relation to different consumer choice motives. Potato protein as a replacement for negatively associated ingredients was used a case study. Ninety consumers participated in a projective mapping task in Denmark that consisted of placing and characterising ingredients on a bi-dimensional surface. In a betweensubjects design, three groups of consumers had to map the ingredients of four products (dairy-free ice cream, vegetarian candy, plant-based sausage, and a protein drink). In each group products were presented as either sustainable, healthy, or plant-based. The results showed that consumers categorized ingredients in terms of firstly and secondly, objective type of ingredient or its function, and thirdly, subjective individual assessment of its value. Communicational framing had little impact, but ingredient-level differences emerged from the comparison of the frames. Despite product-related differences, a similar pattern emerged for the different food categories. Findings confirm that consumers perceive ingredients according to a 'known-natural-good' vs. the opposite category. Implications for food industry are discussed.

Influence of information received by the consumer on the sensory perception of processed orange juice

“…For the samples called FLC and PDM, an increase in citations of positive terms such as orange color, breakfast and vitamin C was observed; however, it was also associated to the same negative terms of the informed test. These results reinforced the negative impact of information on FLC and PDM, such as the low concentration of natural orange juice (%) and a long list of unknown ingredients, contrary to the growing demand of consumers of clean label foods (Aschemann‐Witzel, Varela, & Peschel, ).…”

“Clean label” as one of the leading trends in the meat industry in the world and in Poland – a review

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