The spirit of the fruit: contextual and transituational motives for consumption

Abstract

PurposeThis research aims to reach meaningful insights into fruit consumption motives. The study articulates contextual motives observed through inherent fruit characteristics (i.e. attributes and benefits) with personal motives that transcend the situation (i.e. emotions and cultural values).Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study used the focus group technique comprising eight groups of eight to 10 subjects (n = 94). The participants were frequent fresh-fruit consumers.FindingsThe analysis differentiates contextual motives from transituational ones. Older participants are motivated by taking care of health matters. They value fruit as an expression of their determination to take action and care for others. Younger participants are motivated by the experience of pleasure. Fruits have a hedonic value related to joy, being refreshing and tasteful.Practical implicationsResults serve marketers and decision-makers to better target motivations for fruit consumption enhancement. These motivations could be implemented by communicating specific fruit attributes that respond to short-term needs. In the long run, marketers could create fruit consumption campaigns that respond to deeper consumer values.Social implicationsDesigning fruit consumption campaigns aligned with individuals' motives could effectively strengthen the adoption of a healthy lifestyle. This study is helpful from the aspect of a public-policy approach expected to improve public health.Originality/valueConsumers' fruit preference transcends tangible product characteristics to motives aligned with their goals, emotions and human values. This path merges two approaches: contextual motivations and the Means-end chain model. The first approach recognises short-term observable product characteristics, whereas the latter works on long-term values.

Support farmers: sustainability claims that influence moral satisfaction and purchase intention

“…Understanding which claims move consumers the most could increase fruit consumption, representing an important step in tackling the obesity issues that are becoming increasingly prevalent in Latin America (Halpern et al, 2021). Additionally, motives to consume fruit are related to the value of pleasure-joy and taking care of oneself (Arboleda et al, 2023). These motives are consistent with the emotional value attributed to green food (i.e.…”

“…, 2021). Additionally, motives to consume fruit are related to the value of pleasure-joy and taking care of oneself (Arboleda et al. , 2023).…”

Does this fruit look appetizing? Psychometric modeling of fruit consumption preferences

“…However, other sensory characteristics like texture and odor (Péneau et al, 2007a) influence the consumers' perception of fruit quality. A pleasant sensory experience motivates fruit purchase and consumption (Arboleda et al, 2023), as consumers enjoy smelling, tasting, and touching the fruit as they make up their minds.…”

“…For example, visual product characteristics can communicate attributes associated with taste (Spence and Levitan, 2021), mouthfeel experiences like thickness and refreshing (Arboleda et al, 2021), and even possible health threats (Garcia-Burgos et al, 2017). Additionally, two main consumption motives of fresh fruit are its health benefits and the experience of pleasure and joy (Arboleda et al, 2023). Future research could evaluate to what extent fruit's visual attributes could communicate (un)pleasant and health-related information.…”

“…Finally, the characteristics of the sample are a limitation because the results were drawn from relatively young individuals who regularly consume fruit. Although it is important to understand and promote fruit consumption among young individuals, who are more likely to purchase online (Eriksson and Stenius, 2022), their fruit preferences and motives differ from more mature individuals (Arboleda et al, 2023). Thus, future research should explore a different context regarding age and familiarity with agricultural products to understand consumers' capability to assess fruit quality based on visual information.…”