E. van Kleef

Successful Development of Satiety Enhancing Food Products: Towards a Multidisciplinary Agenda of Research Challenges

In the context of increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in societies worldwide, enhancing the satiating capacity of foods may help people control their energy intake and weight. This requires an integrated approach between various food-related disciplines. By structuring this approach around the new product development process, this paper aims to present the contours of such an integrative approach by going through the current state of the art around satiety enhancing foods. It portrays actual food choice as the end result of a complex interaction between internal satiety signals, other food benefits, and environmental cues. Three interrelated routes to satiating enhancement are to change the food composition to develop stronger physiological satiation and satiety signals, anticipate and build on smart external stimuli at the moment of purchase and consumption, and improve palatability and acceptance of satiety enhanced foods. Key research challenges in achieving these routes in the field of nutrition, food technology, consumer, marketing, and communication are outlined.

Consumer evaluations of food risk management in Russia

Purpose – Consumer perceptions regarding what constitutes best food risk management (FRM) practice may vary as a consequence of cross‐cultural differences in consumer perceptions, cultural contexts, and historical differences in governance practices and occurrence of food safety incidents. The purpose of this paper is to compare the views of Russian consumers with those of consumers in European Union member states.Design/methodology/approach – A survey previously conducted in five EU member states was replicated using a Russian consumer sample (n=460, SEM analysis). Psychological factors underpinning consumer evaluations of food risk management quality (FRMQ) were identified. A qualitative study (consumer focus group, n=9) allowed for in‐depth interpretation of the quantitative results.Findings – Russian consumers hold similar views to consumers in EU member states regarding their perceptions of what constitutes effective FRM practices. However, the perceived honesty of food chain actors was an important ...

Methodological Challenges of Research in Nudging

Complex societal issues, related to health and sustainability, provide major challenges to scientists, business managers, and policy makers alike. Despite their diversity, these issues have in common that effective solutions to public health (e.g., reducing prevalence of overweight and obesity) and environmental degradation (e.g., reducing pollution and household level waste), as well as social inequality issues (e.g., working conditions of primary producers in developing and emerging countries) critically depend on initiatives of companies but certainly, and probably even more so, on behavioral change on the part of end consumers. Mobilizing commitment of and actual demand from end consumers, in the end, is the “oil in the machinery” needed to move markets into a more healthful and sustainable direction (Van Trijp & Fischer, 2010). Unfortunately, despite societal urgency, there is not a strong track record to build on regarding the success of previous efforts to change consumer behavior “for the better.” Notwithstanding considerable policy attention, such approaches have not been particularly successful, as for example exemplified by the fact that no country in the world has been able to reverse the obesity epidemic (Roberto et al., 2015).

Effects of bread roll unit size on bread and energy intake in children

Background Bread choice • The average number of consumed bread rolls was 4.2 (SD=1.9). • White bread rolls were favourite: the first chosen bread roll was usually white (89%) regardless of size of offered rolls. 81% of total bread consumption was white. • Children ate more bread in grams when white rolls were larger-sized (Ps<0.001). Objective Although people tend to eat more when food is served in larger units (unit size effect), children often prefer food served in smaller units as they look more appealing. Whether unit size of bread rolls can be used to encourage children’s intake of whole wheat bread is unclear. Objective: To determine the effect of unit size of bread rolls on lunch energy and bread intake during a school lunch.

Risk Analysis: Risk Communication: Diet, Nutrition, and Health

Nutrition and food safety related diseases such as foodborne illnesses, some cancers, and obesity belong to the most challenging health concerns of our time. As a consequence, the provision of information about diet, health, and nutrition is increasing, spread rapidly by the (mass) media, including social media. Communication regarding diet, health, and nutrition is about providing knowledge and skills so that consumers are better able to select and consume healthy and safe foods. Various barriers to effective communication about healthy food choices can be identified. Communicators need to focus on a variety of issues, ranging from reaching the right target population to ensure that the message is understood and implemented in daily life. Therefore, in the present article some relevant consumer behavior issues facing the communication of risk in the field of nutrition and diet will be examined.

Evaluation of Segmentation Bases for the Heterogeneous Elderly Consumer Population: the Functional Food Market

It is beneficial for both the public health community and the food industry to meet nutritional needs of elderly consumers through product formats that they want. The heterogeneity of the elderly market poses a challenge, however, and calls for market segmentation. Although many researchers have proposed ways to segment the elderly consumer population, the elderly food market has received surprisingly little attention in this respect. Therefore, the present paper reviewed eight potential segmentation bases on their appropriateness in the context of functional foods aimed at the elderly: cognitive age, life course, time perspective, demographics, general food beliefs, food choice motives, product attributes and benefits sought, and past purchase. Each of the segmentation bases had strengths as well as weaknesses regarding seven evaluation criteria. Given that both product design and communication are useful tools to increase the appeal of functional foods, we argue that elderly consumers in this market may best be segmented using a preference-based segmentation base that is predictive of behaviour (for example, attributes and benefits sought), combined with a characteristics-based segmentation base that describes consumer characteristics (for example, demographics). In the end, the effectiveness of (combinations of) segmentation bases for elderly consumers in the functional food market remains an empirical matter. We hope that the present review stimulates further empirical research that substantiates the ideas presented in this paper.It is beneficial for both the public health community and the food industry to meet nutritional needs of elderly consumers through product formats that they want. The heterogeneity of the elderly market poses a challenge, however, and calls for market segmentation. Although many researchers have proposed ways to segment the elderly consumer population, the elderly food market has received surprisingly little attention in this respect. Therefore, the present paper reviewed eight potential segmentation bases on their appropriateness in the context of functional foods aimed at the elderly: cognitive age, life course, time perspective, demographics, general food beliefs, food choice motives, product attributes and benefits sought, and past purchase. Each of the segmentation bases had strengths as well as weaknesses regarding seven evaluation criteria. Given that both product design and communication are useful tools to increase the appeal of functional foods, we argue that elderly consumers in this market may best be segmented using a preference-based segmentation base that is predictive of behaviour (for example, attributes and benefits sought), combined with a characteristics-based segmentation base that describes consumer characteristics (for example, demographics). In the end, the effectiveness of (combinations of) segmentation bases for elderly consumers in the functional food market remains an empirical matter. We hope that the present review stimulates further empirical research that substantiates the ideas presented in this paper.It is beneficial for both the public health community and the food industry to meet nutritional needs of elderly consumers through product formats that they want. The heterogeneity of the elderly market poses a challenge, however, and calls for market segmentation. Although many researchers have proposed ways to segment the elderly consumer population, the elderly food market has received surprisingly little attention in this respect. Therefore, the present paper reviewed eight potential segmentation bases on their appropriateness in the context of functional foods aimed at the elderly: cognitive age, life course, time perspective, demographics, general food beliefs, food choice motives, product attributes and benefits sought, and past purchase. Each of the segmentation bases had strengths as well as weaknesses regarding seven evaluation criteria. Given that both product design and communication are useful tools to increase the appeal of functional foods, we argue that elderly consumers in this market may best be segmented using a preference-based segmentation base that is predictive of behaviour (for example, attributes and benefits sought), combined with a characteristics-based segmentation base that describes consumer characteristics (for example, demographics). In the end, the effectiveness of (combinations of) segmentation bases for elderly consumers in the functional food market remains an empirical matter. We hope that the present review stimulates further empirical research that substantiates the ideas presented in this paper.