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Journal of Hygienic Engineering and Design
115
Original scientific paper
UDC 634.7-114.7:366-05
INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES ON ROMANIAN
CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISIONS FOR ORGANIC DRIED BERRIES
Mona Elena Popa1*, Alexandra Jurcoane2, Elena Tanase1, Amalia Mitelut1,
Paul Popescu1, Vlad Ioan Popa1, Mihaela Draghici1
1Faculty of Biotechnologies, University of Agronomic Sciences and
Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, 59 Marasti Blvd, 011464, Bucharest, Romania
2iSense Solutions, 89-97 Grigore Alexandrescu Street, 010624, Bucharest, Romania
*e-mail: monapopa@agral.usamv.ro
Abstract
Data collected in recent years has shown an enormous
growth in overall consumer health consciousness.
Nowadays the food industry is facing a new profile
of consumers, and these consumers are demanding
healthier options. Packaging claims are considered to
have an influence on consumer purchase decisions for
food products.
In our research we included 289 participants that an-
swered to our questionnaire that have two parts. The
first part of the questionnaire focuses on attributes
like: price (7 Romanian leu - RON, 12 RON; 1 EUR = 4.59
RON, exchange rate on 30.08.2017), origin (Romania,
European Union), drying method (microwave, sun-
dried, air-dried), and nutritional claim (with or without
nutritional claim) for a specific organic dried berries
mix, to allow us to supply specific values for these
factors to the research participants. The second part
of the questionnaire focuses on evaluating a series of
statements regarding consumers’ attitudes towards:
organic food, naturalness, healthy food, and novel pro-
cessing technologies. Data were processed by conjoint
analysis.
Conjoint analysis of responses from this 289 partici-
pants (representative sample for the Romanian urban
population), with a margin of error of ±6% at a 95%
confidence level) reveals that specific attributes affect
consumer purchase decisions of organic dried berries
mix (P ≤ 0.05). We found that consumers’ willingness to
pay for microwave-dried berries is independent from
values associated with price, origin and nutritional
claim.
This study offers demographic information on Roma-
nian consumer’s attitude towards new technologies
for organic berry-based products. Also, it is established
that conjoint studies technique is a useful instrument
in designing new products.
Financial support for this project is provided by fund-
ing bodies within the CORE Organic Plus FP7-ERA-
NET-618107 Ensuring quality and safety of organic
food along the processing chain and with cofounds
from the European Commission UEFISCDI - ERA NET
for Romanian Partner USAMVB - “Innovative and
eco-sustainable processing and packaging for safe and
high quality organic berry products with enhanced
nutritional value” EcoBerries.
Key words: Organic berries, Conjoint analysis, Consumer
purchase decision, Drying method, Origin, Price,
Nutritional claim.
1. Introduction
Fruits and vegetables are important components
of a healthy diet and may reduce the risk of certain
non-communicable diseases [1].
Berry fruit have been widely recognized as an excellent
source of bioactive phenolic compounds including:
flavonoids, phenolic acids, and tannins that both indi-
vidually and synergistically may help protect against:
cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammation, obesity,
diabetes, and other chronic diseases [2]. In addition to
flavonols commonly found in berries, anthocyanins are
dominant in dark-skinned berries, such as blackcurrant
(Ribes nigrum) and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) [3].
Referring to the factors that influence the purchase
decisions, the healthiness of berries or berries-based
products can be an important factor affecting their ac-
ceptance and use. Moreover, the individually varying
sensitivities for different tastes may have an important
impact on the perception of berries or berries-based
products [4 - 7]. Di Palma [8], points out that among the
Journal of Hygienic Engineering and Design
116
factors that influence the growth of consumption of
berries there is on the one hand, the growing interest
in food preparations by a large part of consumers, and
on the other, the health properties owned by such fruit.
Consumers are nowadays much more interested in in-
formation about the production methods and compo-
nents of the food products that they eat, than they had
been 50 years ago [9]. For the majority of consumers,
how they perceive food naturalness is very important
in the decision-making process as they link natural-
ness to healthy eating (Figure 1). According to Roman
et al., [10], the items used by consumers to measure the
importance of naturalness can be classified into three
categories: 1) The way the food has been grown (food
origin): 2) How the food has been produced (what
technology and ingredients have been used): and 3)
Final product properties.
Novel processing technologies such as microwave dry-
ing have great market potential to be alternative or
supplement for conventional processing technologies.
Generally, microwave is applied for phytochemicals
extraction, heating and drying. Microwave-assisted ex-
traction shortens the extraction duration and protects
thermally susceptible compounds in an environmental
friendly and economic way [11]. However, such technol-
ogies face low consumer acceptance being perceived
“less natural”, as revealed by the present study as well.
Figure 1. Consumer decision-making process and its main determinants
(Adapted from Symmank et al., [12] and Popa and Popa [13])
The aim of the present study is the determination of
consumer purchase decisions for organic dried berries
in Romania and the influence of different packaging
claims for this particular food product, with respect to
origin, drying technology and nutritional properties.
In this regard, a survey in the form of an online ques-
tionnaire lasting 12 minutes has been designed and
launched in Romania, in August 2017, via SurveyGizmo
platform.
2. Materials and Methods
Conjoint analysis was chosen for exploring the effects
of and interactions between the various packaging
claims on consumer acceptance. By presenting a set
of ‘complete’ products (Figure 2) described by a group
of attributes, conjoint analysis uncovers the essential
trade-offs consumers consciously or unconsciously
make when judging and purchasing products. Con-
joint analysis is generally considered to be suitable for
assessing consumer acceptance of and preferences for
novel food products [14].
Choice-based conjoint analysis was employed, as it has
the unique advantage of mimicking the actual market-
place choices. The respondents were asked to make a
choice between three products, all organic dried ber-
ries mixes. A choice experiment was conducted with
Journal of Hygienic Engineering and Design
117
Figure 2. Product attributes used in the conjoint analysis design in the form of conceptual cards
4 conjoint attributes: price (2 levels), origin (2 levels
– EU and RO), content of minerals and fibers (2 levels
- normal content and higher content of minerals and
fibers), and processing technology (3 levels - air drying,
sun drying and microwave drying).
The results were automatically reported through the
online platform SurveyGizmo, based on R statistics.
With the assistance of a market research agency, par-
ticipants were recruited from a national online re-
search panel using a quota sampling procedure, where
the quota control variables were age and gender.
The first part of the questionnaire comprised of the
choice experiment. The second part focused on evalu-
ating a series of statements regarding consumers’ atti-
tudes towards: organic food, naturalness, healthy food,
and novel processing technologies.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Demographics
The sample of the 289 participants is representative for
the Romanian urban population in terms of age and
gender distribution, with a margin of error of ± 6%
at a 95% confidence level. More specifically, there are
51.6% women and 48.4% men. The age distribution is,
as follows: 15.2% between 18 - 24 years of age, 26.8%
between 25 - 34, 22.6% between 35 - 44, and 35.4%
between 45 - 64 years of age.
The sample distribution in terms of education, occupa-
tion and income is presented in Table 1. Moreover, the
average number of persons in a household is 2.4, with
31.7% of participants having children under 18 years of
age in the household.
Table 1. Sample distribution in terms of education, occu-
pation and monthly household disposable income
Demographics Distribution among the
participants (n = 289)
Education
66% university graduates
33% high school graduates
1% gymnasium graduates
Occupation
41% employed in private sector
17% employed in public sector
15% retired
11% student
8% freelancer/ consultant
5% others
3% unemployed
Monthly household
disposable income*
28% above 4501 RON
(above ~945 EUR)
31% between 3001 - 4500 RON
(~650-944 EUR)
27% between 1501 - 3000 RON
(~327-649 EUR)
8% less than 1500 RON
(less than ~326 EUR)
6% refused to answer
*1 EUR = 4.59 RON, exchange rate on 30.08.2017.
Journal of Hygienic Engineering and Design
118
3.2 Conjoint analysis
Choice-based conjoint analysis of responses reveals
that specific attributes affect consumer purchase deci-
sions of organic dried berries mix. We found that con-
sumers’ willingness to pay for microwave-dried berries
is low, independent from values associated with price,
origin and nutritional claim.
The results presented in Table 2 show the importance
of individual attribute levels based on their part-worth
utilities. A utility is a measure of relative desirability or
worth. The higher the utility, the more desirable the at-
tribute level. Levels that have high utilities have a large
positive impact on influencing respondents to choose
products. In this case, consumers prefer air-dried or-
ganic berries that come from Romania, at lower price,
and with higher nutritional content.
The most important attribute (Table 2) is processing
technology, contributing almost 46% to the prefer-
ence rating for organic dried berries. The second most
important attribute is represented by: the nutritional
claim (27%), followed by origin (16%) and, lastly, by
price (11%).
Table 2. Estimates of Part-Worth utilities for main effects of dried organic berries mix
Relative importance of
product attributes Utilities Part-Worth
Estimate
Standard
Error
16% origin attributes Origin RO 0.187 0.251
UE -0.187 0.251
46% technology
attributes Technology
Air drying 1.550 0.335
Sun drying -0.763 0.393
Microwave drying -0.787 0.393
11% price attributes Price 7 RON (~1.6 EUR) -0.950 0.503
12 RON (~2.7 EUR) -1.900 1.005
27% nutritional
attributes
Nutritional
claim
higher content of minerals and fibers -3.125 0.503
normal content of minerals and fibers -6.250 1.005
-(Constant) -14.225 1.098
3.3 Usage and attitudes
In terms of buying habits, the results from the survey
reveal that four out of ten Romanian consumers (38%)
purchase organic food products at least once a month,
and 29% at least once a week. In the same time, a third
of consumers (33%) buy organic food only several
times a year or rarely. The buying frequency on type
of berries-based products is depicted in Figure 3. The
results show higher buying frequencies for fresh and
dried berries versus frozen berries, and also for ber-
ries-based dairy products, mixes of nuts and dried ber-
ries, and breakfast cereals with dried berries.
The main places to buy berries-based products, irre-
spective of the processing (dried, fresh or frozen) are
supermarkets/ hypermarkets (66.7% for frozen berries,
45.9% for dried berries, and 27.1% for fresh berries)
and traditional open markets (42.4% for fresh berries,
20.3% for dried berries, and 10.7% for frozen berries).
Table 3 presents the results of consumers’ evaluation
of a series of statements regarding attitudes towards
organic food, naturalness, healthy food, and novel pro-
cessing technologies.
Figure 3. Buying frequency for different types of berries-based products
Journal of Hygienic Engineering and Design
119
Table 3. Top-2-box (7 points Likert scale, where 7 means total agreement and 1 - total disagreement) scores regarding
consumers’ attitudes towards:
a. HEALTHY FOOD
It is important for me that my daily diet contains many vitamins and minerals 60.6%
I’m very careful about how healthy the foods I eat are 47.7%
It is important for me that the products I eat to have a low fat content 47.4%
I pay attention to the amount of salt in my diet 46.3%
b. ORGANIC FOOD AND NATURALNESS
I support the use of organic or natural food 74.5%
I would like to consume only organically grown vegetables 73.9%
I’m trying to eat foods without additives 58.5%
I do not mind paying more for organic food products 48.4%
I always buy organic food if I have the opportunity 46.7%
c. NOVEL FOOD PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES
Benefits of new processing technologies are often presented in a much better light than they actually are 55.4%
The society should not depend so much on technology to solve its food problems 52.7%
New foods on the market are not healthier than traditional products 50.2%
New technological processes for obtaining food products decrease their natural qualities 47.8%
The new technologies for obtaining food could have long-term negative effects on the environment 47.4%
There are plenty of tasty products on the market right now, we do not need to use new technologies 39.1%
As revealed in Table 3, six in ten consumers declare to
pay attention to nutrient content, while fat and salt
content are also important aspects to consider. More-
over, seven in ten consumers aspire to consume only
organic vegetables, seen as natural and healthy. On the
contrary, novel processing technologies are viewed
with skepticism and often linked to negative effects
than to benefits. This explains the lower appeal of mi-
crowave drying attribute in the conjoint experiment.
4. Conclusions
- This study offers an overview on Romanian consum-
ers’ attitudes towards new technologies for organic
berry-based products. Moreover, it examines which of
the food naturalness attributes (i.e. origin, technology,
and nutritional benefit) are more relevant for consum-
ers, which would be extremely important for the in-
dustry in order to develop their products, as revealed
by Roman et al., [10].
- Air-drying seems to be the most preferred packaging
claim, followed by the Romanian origin.
- Technology preferences interact with nutritional con-
tent. A possible explanation to this is that consumers
would expect the perceived natural or traditional pro-
cessing technologies (i.e. air drying and sun drying) to
be linked to nutritional benefits.
- Conjoint studies technique proved a useful instru-
ment in designing new food products and the food
packaging claims. The findings pose an opportunity for
the food industry. Production processes, ingredients,
packaging, and marketing need to be combined in a
way that consumers perceive the products as natural
foods that have similarities with traditional ones [10].
- In terms of consumers’ attitudes, the study reveals
that the “healthy eating” trend is also present in Ro-
mania. Consumers show higher interest in nutritional
content, additive-free and organic claims.
- Novel food processing technologies appear contro-
versial, with half of the consumers seeing more of their
potential negative effects, while the other half being
rather undecided. One challenge for consumer accep-
tance of these technologies may be the lack of natu-
ralness. Companies working on innovative food tech-
nologies should design these in a way that consumers
perceive the new food products as natural. One would
desire to verify that other ways of describing novel
technologies might spawn higher levels of consumer
acceptance, as careful choice of the wording can affect
consumers’ preferences considerably [15]. For exam-
ple, one might imagine that the use of a claim describ-
ing only the benefits of using microwave processing
could prompt stronger values than directly stating:
“microwave drying”.
Acknowledgement
Financial support for this project is provided by fund-
ing bodies within the CORE Organic Plus FP7-ERA-
NET-618107 Ensuring quality and safety of organic
food along the processing chain and with cofounds
from the European Commission UEFISCDI - ERA NET
for Romanian Partner USAMVB - “Innovative and
eco-sustainable processing and packaging for safe and
high quality organic berry products with enhanced
nutritional value” EcoBerries.
Special thanks go to ResearchRomania.ro online
panel’s team, for their involvement in data collection.
Journal of Hygienic Engineering and Design
120
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