Will consumers pay for less fat on beef cuts? The case in Bloemfontein, South Africa

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that most of the fear expressed by consumers in terms of the link between cholesterol in the diet In this paper the willingness of consumers to pay for less fat in selected beef cuts (T-bone and rump) was investigated with a log-linear hedonic price model. The results showed that more affluent consumers in Bloemfontein were (i) willing to pay for additional external fat (this was contrary to expectations). This was attributable to the culture of food consumption and traditional cooking style (braai). The result does not imply that the amount of external fat can be unlimited, but rather that current external fat levels are desired by consumers; (ii) seam fat had a negative impact on prices of the selected beef cuts in Bloemfontein indicating that reducing the amount of a less desired attribute could shift the demand curve outward; (iii) marbling fat did not have a significant impact on prices of selected cuts in Bloemfontein; and (iv)

The Value of Brand and Convenience Attributes in Highly Processed Food Products

“…Little research has applied HPMs to decompose the prices paid for heterogeneous consumer packaged goods such as value‐added and frozen meat or seafood products. The majority of previous studies used stated preference and experimental methods to elicit values of the following attributes within fresh meat products: eating quality (Melton et al 1996; Hahn and Mathews 2007), fat content (Shongwe et al 2007), organic (Boland and Schroeder 2002), packaging (Harrison et al 2004), and labeling (Loureiro and McCluskey 2000; Loureiro and Umberger 2003). In addition, studies by Froehlich et al (2009), Enneking (2004), Loureiro and Umberger (2007), and Alfnes and Rickertsen (2003) focused on brand, food safety, traceability, and origin attributes that may indirectly influence prices paid.…”

Value of Beef Steak Branding: Hedonic Analysis of Retail Scanner Data

“…Shongwe et al (2007) found that bone-in T-bone and rump steaks were discounted 23 percent relative to boneless products. as opposed to brands grouped into categories (special, program/breed, store, other, and none/ generic).…”

Towards consumer-driven meat supply chains: opportunities and challenges for differentiation by taste

“…Research interest into the price-quality relationship in meat markets using hedonic methods only emerged in recent years. Existing empirical studies (Brester et al, 1993; Loureiro and McCluskey, 2000; Dutton et al, 2007; Hahn and Mathews, 2007; Shongwe et al, 2007; Ward et al, 2008) are mainly motivated by the increasing market differentiation and attention to food safety and quality assurance programs in meat marketing. Melton et al (1996) and Parcell and Schroeder (2007) are examples of studies focused on different pork products.…”