Joachim Scholderer

Consumer acceptance of functional foods: issues for the future

In the past, it has been assumed that consumers would accept novel foods if there is a concrete and tangible consumer benefit associated with them, which implies that functional foods would quickly be accepted. However, there is evidence that individuals are likely to differ in the extent to which they are likely to buy products with particular functional properties. Various cross‐cultural and demographic differences in acceptance found in the literature are reviewed, as well as barriers to dietary change. In conclusion, it is argued that understanding consumers’ risk perceptions and concerns associated with processing technologies, emerging scientific innovations and their own health status may enable the development of information strategies that are relevant to wider groups of individuals in the population, and deliver real health benefits to people at risk of, or suffering from, major degenerative illnesses.

Closing the gap between values and behavior--a means-end theory of lifestyle

Abstract Means–end chain theory and lifestyle are reconstructed within a dual-process framework, incorporating bottom–up and top–down information processing routes. The bottom–up route is defined as a hierarchical categorization process, and the top–down route as goal-directed action. Lifestyle, then, is a system of individual differences in the habitual use of declarative and procedural knowledge structures that intervene between abstract goal states (personal values) and situation-specific product perceptions and behaviors. Access to the intervening knowledge structures is considered a necessary condition for both information processing routes to reach their ends, predicting a strict mediation model. The model is tested on survey data gathered in France in 1998, using the list of values as a measure of abstract goal states, the food-related lifestyle instrument as a measure of intervening knowledge structures, and a newly constructed behavior list as a measure of behavior. Data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling. Compared against five alternative model structures, the strict mediation model fitted the data best, thus confirming the predictions derived from the reconstructed theory.

Exploring the Relationship between Convenience and Fish Consumption: A Cross-Cultural Study

The purpose of the present study is to explore cultural differences in the meaning of convenience and the relationships between convenience, attitudes and fish consumption in five European countries. The results suggest that the meaning of meal convenience is not culture specific, whilst the absolute levels of convenience orientation and the perceived inconvenience of fish differ between cultures. Convenience orientation was highest in Poland, followed by Spain, and was lowest in the Netherlands. The relationships between convenience orientation and attitudes towards fish, and convenience orientation and fish consumption, were insignificant in most countries. However, convenience orientation was positively related to the perceived inconvenience of fish. Perceived inconvenience of fish was negatively related to both attitudes towards fish and to fish consumption. Together, these results confirm some earlier findings that fish is generally perceived as a relatively inconvenient type of food. This study suggests that convenience orientation can be crucial to understanding food choice or behaviour only when critical mediating constructs are explored.

Four questions on European consumers’ attitudes toward the use of genetic modification in food production

Four questions on European consumers’ attitudes to the use of genetic modification (GM) in food production are posed and answered: (1) how negative are consumer attitudes to GM applications in food production? (2) How do these attitudes affect perception of and preference for products involving GM applications? (3) How deeply rooted are these attitudes? (4) Will the attitudes change due to more information andyor product experience? Drawing on two major studies researching these questions, it is concluded that consumer attitudes towards GM in food production are negative, that these negative attitudes guide the perception of food products involving the use of GM and lead to a range of sweeping negative associations which overshadow potential benefits perceived, that these negative attitudes are embedded in a system of more general attitudes, especially attitude to nature, to technology, and alienation from the marketplace, implying that they are deeply rooted, and that they will not easily be changed by information. They may change, however, due to own experience with products produced using GM and involving clear consumer benefits. 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perceived barriers to consumption of fish among Norwegian women.

This study aimed to characterize constraints on consumption of fish perceived by consumers in Norway. A random sample of Norwegian women aged 45-69 years answered a self-administered mail questionnaire in 1996 about eating habits, perceived barriers to fish consumption, socioeconomic status, and questions related to health. Altogether, 9407 women answered the questionnaire (response rate: 52.5%). Data were analyzed by means of logistic regression. Limited supply of fish products that satisfy childrens wishes reduce at-home fish consumption. People with health problems and those who wish to lose weight are dissatisfied with the range of products offered in the marketplace. Satisfaction with quality and availability of wild lean codfish, especially in inland regions, is lower than for aqua-cultured fat salmon. Neither income nor education or health factors were significantly associated with consumption levels among those who would like to eat more fish. Higher education and income were associated with increased dissatisfaction about fish consumption, but also with reduced perception of most barriers. It is concluded that improvements in the supply of high-quality fresh and processed fish products that satisfy (a) childrens wishes, (b) health-oriented family members, and (c) convenience-oriented consumers, will significantly increase at-home consumption of fish.

Cross-cultural validity of the food-related lifestyles instrument (FRL) within Western Europe

The food-related lifestyle instrument (FRL) was tested for its validity across food cultures in Western Europe. First, responses from samples of 1000 or more consumers from each of Denmark, France, Germany, Spain and the UK were compared using multi-sample confirmatory factor analysis with structured means. The loadings, covariances and variances of the factors were invariant across countries, although item intercepts and error variances were not. In the second part of the analysis, replication samples (also Ns of 1000 or more) from France, Germany and the UK were examined for intra-cultural stability using the same statistical models. The factorial structure was completely invariant over time in three of five FRL domains, and subject to only minor variations in the other two domains. In the third part of the analysis, a revised version of the FRL was tested for cross-cultural validity, using consumer samples of 1000 each from France and the UK. This version of the FRL was also cross-culturally valid in factor loadings, covariances and variances, but still subject to variation between countries in item intercepts and error variances.

Determinants of consumer understanding of health claims.

The new EU regulation on nutrition and health claims states that claims can be permitted only if they can be expected to be understood by consumers. Investigating determinants of consumer understanding of health claims has therefore become an important topic. Understanding of a health claim on a yoghurt product was investigated with a sample of 720 category users in Germany. Health claim understanding was measured using open answers, which were subsequently content analysed and classified by comparison with the scientific dossier of the health claim. Based on this respondents were classified as safe, risky or other. In addition to the open questions on claim understanding, respondents rated a number of statements on claim interpretation for agreement and completed scales on interest in healthy eating, attitude to functional foods, and subjective knowledge on food and health. Results showed that respondents with a positive attitude to functional foods are more likely to be classified as risky with regard to their claim understanding, whereas respondents with negative or neutral attitudes are more likely to be classified into the other category. Implications for testing claim understanding are discussed.

Does generic advertising work? A systematic evaluation of the Danish campaign for fresh fish

Abstract Before and after the 3‐year generic advertising campaign for fresh fish in Denmark, representative consumer samples were surveyed with regard to their attitudes towards fresh fish, perceived family norms, availability of fresh fish in shops, meal preparation skills, intentions to buy fresh fish, and actual consumption frequencies. In the pre‐campaign survey (effective N = 641), significant determinants of consumption frequency were availability in shops, meal preparation skills, and intentions to buy fresh fish. Consistent with the intended effects of the campaign, availability in shops and meal preparation skills lost their influence in the post‐campaign survey (effective N = 523). Instead, family norms were the only direct as well as indirect (mediated by intention to buy) influences on consumption frequency. Mean levels of intention to buy and consumption frequency were significantly higher after the campaign.

The Dynamics of Consumer Behaviour: On Habit, Discontent, and Other Fish to Fry

Recent research has drawn attention to the role of past behaviour and habit in the overall structure of consumer behaviour. We argue that in cross-sectional data past behaviour and habit must be confounded with present beliefs and attitudes when the behaviour in question has been enacted numerous times before. To disentangle the effects, longitudinal data were collected from a large panel of Norwegian consumers (effective N=4184) in 1996, 2000, and 2004. Cross-lagged panel analysis indicated that higher consumption of traditional seafood led to increasingly negative evaluations of the product supply. These negative evaluations, in turn, prompted substitution of traditional seafood with newly available, processed seafood products and an increasing dominance of aqua-cultured species. The theoretical discussion focuses on the inability of static models of consumer behaviour (in particular, the theory of planned behaviour) to capture such dynamic effects. Marketing and policy implications related to the changing structure of the seafood market are outlined.

Hot Potato: Expert‐Consumer Differences in the Perception of a Second‐Generation Novel Food

Novel foods have been the object of intense public debate in recent years. Despite widespread efforts to communicate the outcomes of risk assessments to consumers, public confidence in risk management has been low. Social scientists have identified various reasons for this, including a disagreement between technical experts and consumers over the nature of the hazards on which risk assessments should focus. The aim of this study was to identify and compare the ways in which experts and consumers understand the benefits and risks associated with a genetically modified example crop. Two qualitative studies were conducted. In Study 1, mental models were elicited from 24 experts by means of a three-wave Delphi procedure. In Study 2, mental models were elicited from 25 consumers by means of in-depth interviews. As expected, the expert mental models were focused on the types of hazards that can realistically be addressed under current regulatory frameworks, whereas the consumers were often more concerned about issues outside the scope of current legislation. Moreover, the experts tended to define risk and benefit in terms of detailed chains of cause-effect relationships between variables for which clear definitions and measurement rules exist. The concepts the consumers used when reasoning about biological processes were very abstract, suggesting that the participants had, at most, a holistic understanding. In line with this, issues of uncertainty played a prominent role for the consumers.