How should I tell you this? The effects of the image used to convey that a natural yogurt is sweetened on consumer expectations and willingness to buy

Consumers' Drivers of Perception and Preference of Fermented Food Products and Beverages: A Systematic Review

The fermentation of food products is a transformation and preservation process in which different metabolites are generated, contributing to consumer health. In this sense, this systematic review aims to analyze the factors that guide the perception and preference for fermented foods. In addition, different perspectives are proposed based on the findings. The systematic search was carried out in four databases: Emerald Insight, Science Direct, Wiley Online Library, and Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. The keywords used were (Title/Abstract): fermented products, overall liking, purchase intention, expectations, emotions, interculturality, perception, and consumers. Ninety-two articles (n = 92) were selected and classified. The factors identified were (1) biological and physiological, (2) extrinsic product characteristics, (3) intrinsic product characteristics, (4) psychological, (5) situational, and (6) sociocultural. Intrinsic product characteristics were the most relevant, while the situational factors were the least studied. Our main contribution was a multidisciplinary approach to addressing the different factors in an integrated way, allowing a broader perspective of both products and consumers. This approach could help the reader understand consumer behavior and propose product improvements.

Structural analysis of whey representation between rural and urban populations in western Mexico

Whey is a by-product derived from cheese making. Despite being rich in nutrients, it is little used, it even represents a problem form the environment in Mexico. In this sense, it is important to know the meanings that are associated with this term, especially when it is intended to develop new products from this by-product. The objective of this work was to analyze the representation of the term whey in rural and urban populations through the Central core Theory. Additionally, the relationship between gender-place of residence with the evoked word is explored. Therefore, three hundred and sixty people (from rural and urban areas) were interviewed face to face in two areas in the western region of Mexico. Word association test was carried out, using "whey" as stimulus; the associated words were ordered according to their importance; the polarity index of each associated word was evaluated. The most frequently mentioned words were analyzed based on their frequency of mention and average importance to identify the conceptual structure of the concept representation. The results show and influence of the place of residence on the conceptual structure. Rural participants tend to generate more words with negative connotations, while the central elements of urban consumers are mainly related to dairy products. When comparing consumers by gender, rural and urban women associate "whey" with aspects of both the production process and dairy products. In the case of men, those from the urban zone, relate to aspects related to nutrition, dairy products and nutrients. In contrast, men from the rural area relate whey mainly to negative aspects such as pollution. The study confirms that there is a link between the place of residence and the conformation of the conceptual structure, where the gender-region relationship influences the definition of the term "whey".

Potential Allergenicity of Plants Used in Allergological Communication: An Untapped Tool for Prevention

Plants are often used to illustrate allergy-related medical products, services, patient information materials and news. The illustration of allergenic plants is an important tool in patient education, contributing to the prevention of pollinosis, as patients can recognize plants and avoid pollen exposure. In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the pictorial content of allergy-related websites depicting plants. A total of 562 different photographs depicting plants were collected using image search, identified and categorized according to their potential allergenicity. Of the total 124 plant taxa, 25% of plants were identified to the genus level and a further 68% were identified to the species level. Plants with low allergenicity were found in 85.4% of the pictures, while plants of high allergenicity were shown in only 4.5% of the pictorial information. Brassica napus was the most frequent species identified (8.9% of the overall identified plants), while blooming Prunoidae, Chrysanthemum spp. and Taraxacum officinale were also common. Considering both allergological and design aspects, some plant species have been proposed for more professional and responsible advertising. The internet has the potential to provide visual support for patient education in allergenic plants, but emphasis must be put on the transmission of the correct visual message.

Consumer Preference for Yogurt Packaging Design Using Conjoint Analysis

With the growing consumption market of yogurt products, the continuous innovation of packaging design has become the major means of enterprise marketing for fast-moving consumer goods. Because different combinations of packaging design elements affect the consumers in different ways, the contradiction between the product packaging design and consumer demand has impacted the further development of these products’ marketing. To explore the relationship between the constituent elements of yogurt packaging design and consumer preferences, four kinds of factors to the purchased products’ attributes were selected from the packaging design, including the graphics, packaging colors, packaging shapes and label texts. The consumers’ preferences for different attributes of yogurt packaging design were quantitatively evaluated by the Conjoint Analysis Method (CAM). Consumers showed the strongest preference for yogurt packaging shapes (39.017%), and were the most satisfied with the concrete graphics of cool colors (31.330%); the level combination of attributes most preferred by consumers is that of concrete graphics, cool colors, gable-top boxes and simple labels. The packaging design satisfying consumer preferences gave rise to positive purchase attitudes. Such research results facilitated the understanding of the consumption market and provided the theoretical support necessary for the development of yogurt packaging design to match the consumers’ preferences.

Do the Colors of the Label and the Sweetening Agent Information Influence the Sensory Expectations Consumer? A Case Study with Skyr-Type Yogurt

The objective of this research was to evaluate the sensory expectation and buying intention of consumers from different Brazilian regions for skyr-type yogurt based on the colors and sweetener on its label. Ten images of skyr mango yogurt labels were created varying in color (orange, white, yellow, blue, and green) and sweetening agent (sucrose and natural sweeteners). Consumers (151 consumers) were asked to rate their expectation for the ideal of sweetness, healthiness, acceptance, and buying intention. Labels containing the information “sweetened with sucrose” had a higher percentage of expectation of sweeter than ideal. Label color and sweetening agent had a significant effect on the expectation of acceptance, with a higher percentage for yogurt sweetened with natural sweeteners. There were not statistical differences (p > 0.05) between the labels regarding expected healthiness. Results also showed that consumers had a low level of familiarity with skyr-type yogurts, but it is presented as a healthy yogurt alternative.

Effect of information about mandarin internal maturity on consumer hedonic and sensory expectations: a cross-cultural study in Spain and Mexico

BACKGROUND

Under certain climate conditions, citrus fruit may reach optimum internal maturity while the rind is still green. It is therefore customary to enhance skin colour changes by submitting early citrus varieties to ethylene degreening treatment, which implies a cost and may result in external disorders. In this study, the effect on consumer expectations (sensory and hedonic) of providing them with information about the internal maturity of non-degreened mandarins (greenish-coloured rind) was evaluated.

RESULTS

Mandarins with three different external colour indices (CI), CI = -6, CI = +1 and CI = +5, and three ways of conveying information, were investigated: (i) No information (NoInfo), (ii) The text 'Mandarins ready to eat' (Text) and (iii) Text + Visualisation of mandarin flesh (orange-coloured in all cases) (Text+Flesh). Consumer expected liking, purchase intention and sensory expectations were markedly affected after receiving the different information types. The greatest effect was detected when Text+Flesh information was provided. Rind mandarin colour was also a determinant factor of how consumer expectations were modified by the received information. Moreover, our results revealed some differences among Spanish and Mexican consumers, since maturity information had a stronger effect on hedonic expectations of Mexican consumers.

CONCLUSIONS

When mandarins reach CI = +5 (pale orange-coloured rind with small areas still green), letting consumers know that mandarins are ready to eat by means of Text+Flesh information may be a non-cost strategy to avoid degreening treatment or to shorten its length. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Free word association perceptions of red meats; beef is 'yummy', bison is 'lean game meat', horse is 'off limits'

Reduced consumption of conventional red meats due to environmental and health concerns may create interest in less familiar red meats from alternative animal species. The objective of this study was to identify perceptions of three red meats; beef, a familiar meat, and bison and horse meat, less familiar red meat alternatives. A total of 145 western Canadian participants completed an on-line survey that included a free word association task, food variety seeking and food involvement scales, and meat consumption and demographic questions. The free word association yielded 41 word categories of diverging perceptions of the 3 meats. Beef was described with positive sensory attributes and well-liked foods, yet with environmental, ethical and production concerns, reflecting the 'meat eaters' paradox'. Bison was perceived as a lean game meat, suggesting a lack of awareness of current bison production and retail availability. Horse meat was unfamiliar to 80% of the participants. Horse meat was acknowledged to be consumed in other regions, however as a companion animal and pet, the dominant perception of horse meat was that it was unacceptable for eating. Participants were clustered into four groups based on the combined food-related personality traits of variety seeking and food involvement. The high food involvement cluster associated bison with positive eating quality attributes and may be amenable to its consumption when provided with accurate information about bison production.