Designing and Distinguishing Meaningful Artisan Food Experiences

Abstract

We examine consumer expectations about how specialty versus conventional food products affect well-being and how small, artisan producers can use that information to design better customer experiences. Drawing on recent work examining the costs and benefits of pleasure- and meaning-based consumption, we investigate whether consumer expectations that specialty products are more meaningful lead to increased desire for additional product information. We selectively sampled from the target market of interest: high-involvement consumers who regularly consume a food (cheese) in both more typical and specialty forms. The authors manipulate product type (typical versus special) within participant and measure differences in expected pleasure and meaning as well as a variety of behaviors related to and preference for additional product information. We find that these high-involvement consumers expect special food products to provide both more meaningful (hypothesized) and more pleasurable consumption experiences (not hypothesized) than typical food products. Consistent with our theory, consumer use of, search for, and preference for additional product information was greater for special products. A causal mediation analysis revealed that expectations of meaning mediate the relationship between product type and utility of product information, an effect which persists controlling for the unexpected difference in expected pleasure.

Meaning‐oriented consumption: A systematic review and research agenda

“…Meaningful tourism experiences lead to higher place attachment (W. Lee & Jeong, 2021; Vada et al, 2019a), although the impact on revisit intentions (Rejikumar et al, 2021; Vada et al, 2019b) and word‐of‐mouth is less conclusive (Vada et al, 2019b). Experiencing meaning has also been associated with positive marketing variables such as favourable product evaluations (A. Kim & Briley, 2020; Z. Zhou et al, 2021), favourable attitude towards advertisements and brands (C. Chang, 2020), higher purchase intentions (Xia et al, 2021), seeking product information (Carter & Welcomer, 2021), creating memorable experiences (Sthapit & Coudounaris, 2018; Vada et al, 2019b; Weingarten & Goodman, 2021) and resistance to post‐purchase comparisons (W. Yang et al, 2021).…”

“…Extant research shows that pleasure and meaning evoke different neurological responses in consumers (Luo et al, 2019), but consumers do not necessarily approach consumption as pleasurable or meaningful. Many papers show that pleasure and meaning coexist in the same consumption context (Carter & Welcomer, 2021; Chen & Li, 2018; Güler & Haseki, 2021; Jian et al, 2019; A. Kim et al, 2021; W. Lee & Jeong, 2020; Mugel et al, 2019; Ott et al, 2021; Rieger et al, 2014; Roth et al, 2014; Shaw & Thomson, 2013; Vada et al, 2019b; von Wallpach et al, 2020; Wirth et al, 2012; Zarantonello et al, 2021; H. Zhang et al, 2021). Meaningfulness can also lead to hedonia (C. Chang, 2020; Sthapit & Coudounaris, 2018).…”

“…It is difficult to design experimental manipulations that will be perceived as high or low in meaning universally. Scholars have tried to circumvent this problem by letting consumers define their meanings; for instance, by asking participants to recollect a meaningful consumption experience (Carter & Welcomer, 2021; Vada et al, 2019a). However, this approach prevents us from understanding how the consumer defines ‘meaning’.…”

“…Kim & Briley, 2020;Z. Zhou et al, 2021), favourable attitude towards advertisements and brands (C. Chang, 2020), higher purchase intentions (Xia et al, 2021), seeking product information (Carter & Welcomer, 2021), creating memorable experiences (Sthapit & Coudounaris, 2018;Vada et al, 2019b;Weingarten & Goodman, 2021) and resistance to post-purchase comparisons (W. Yang et al, 2021).…”

Global Dairy Sector: Trends, Prospects, and Challenges

“…The expectations on specialty foods vs. conventional food products that can affect the overall well-being of consumers, and how small-scale artisan producers use this information towards designing better customer experiences are reported by Percival Carter and Welcomer [14]. The study revealed causal mediation analysis in expectations to mediate the link between product types and the utility of product information.…”