The Effect of Demographic,Economic, and Nutrition Factors on the Frequency of Food Away from Home

Food away from home, especially fast food, is often cited as contributing to obesity and other nutritional problems. This negative publicity can affect demand. Models explaining visits to table service and fast food restaurants are estimated, with nutrition variables added to standard demographic measures. Demographic effects are similar to those in past studies. Nutrition factors have little impact on table service, but nutrition‐orientated consumers tend to have lower fast food consumption.     

Are nutrition labels useful for the purchase of a familiar food? Evidence from Chinese consumers�� purchase of rice

Nutrition labeling has been accepted by Chinese consumers as an information source to learn about food quality and safety. This paper uses Chinese consumers’ rice purchase as an example to study how consumers use food nutrition labels to make purchase decision of a familiar food product. The goal is to understand how consumers seek information from the labels to make purchase when extensive experience with the food has been developed. Survey data from 400 random respondents in Beijing were analyzed using an empirical framework and a Mont Carlo integral econometrics model. We find that more than 50% of the consumers in Beijing have heard of food nutrition labels in general, 36.50% carefully use label information even if they are familiar with the food, and nearly 70% consider mandatory food nutrition labels as beneficial. Those who are more knowledgeable about rice nutrition labels are more likely to use the labels when purchasing rice, no matter how familiar they are with the product. Frequent users of nutrition labels are more likely to consider food mandatory nutrition labels as beneficial. This study suggests that consumers still use the label information to reassure the quality and safety of food despite a history of consumption.     

Presence of children and household food expenditures at home and away from home

Households with children spend more on food at home than do households without children. On the other hand, compared with households without children, households with children who are at least 12 years of age are associated with higher expenditures on food away from home expenditures. Households with employed spouses are associated with lower expenditures on food at home. Other determinants of expenditures on food at home are seasonality, house ownership, region, household size, education, age and income. House ownership, region, household size, race, education and income also affect expenditures on food away from home.     

Functional Foods and the Young

Factors such as raised consciousness about human health, development of the food industry, and medicine and branches of natural science studying the relation between nutrition and health have led to the popularization of foods with proven health effects. Such foods are called functional foods. Although there is growing interest in functional foods, there are several groups of consumers that are, more than others, interested in functional foods. To examine buying behavior and attitudes toward functional food of young consumers (18–30 years old) and to determine the most interested consumers, we conducted a survey using a self-administered questionnaire on a sample of 570 Croatian students. The majority of the respondents purchase functional foods, usually in supermarkets. Apart from taste, the most important functional food attribute is price/quality ratio. Respondents are buying functional foods because they believe that those foods are healthier and safer than other products. Examined market segments were based on respondents’ attitudes toward functional foods. The results of this research could be used in planning further development of the functional foods market for young consumers.     

Young consumers’ food preferences within selected sectors of the Hospitality Spectrum

In society, young consumers are influenced by an array of factors within their home, school and social environments. The adolescent period is one in which the individual becomes a more independent consumer, exerting increased degrees of independence and a subsequent freedom of preference. Such independence may be particularly apparent within the social environment, despite young consumers generally being categorized under the ‘family market’, within the Hospitality Spectrum. The aim of the study was to analyse young consumers’ food preferences within the home, school and social environments, with particular reference to the role of the Hospitality Spectrum. Young consumers for the study, are defined as being between 11 and 16 years, segmented into two age groups: 11–13 years and 14–16 years. The selected sectors of the Hospitality Spectrum which were studied, were the fast food service and school canteen sectors. In order to fulfil the research aim and objectives, a range of research instruments and analysis techniques were used. The results of the study to date would illustrate that tentative steps have been taken within the school and fast food sectors, to bridge the ‘gaps’ between business supply and consumer preferences. Gender differences were found in food selections within school canteens and fast food establishments, with females more likely to select ‘British’ styled fast foods at school and males more likely to select ethnic foods at fast‐food establishments. No significant differences were found between the two age segments. It is vital that the increasingly important role of the young consumer segment is recognized, in particular considering them as individuals rather than as a part of the ‘total’ family consumer package. However, in market segmentation young consumers are an important consumer group and it must not be overlooked that they will be the future adult consumers. The Hospitality Spectrum must therefore treat this group with respect for the consumer service industry to achieve its full potential. The results of this Northern Ireland study indicates that although the young consumer segment is viewed as important within the selected sectors of the Hospitality Spectrum, the extent of their full potential has yet to be recognized.     

Food Waste and Food Retail Density

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the relationship between food retail density and municipal solid waste. We test for correlations between the volume of solid waste and the number of food-at-home retailers (e.g., grocery stores) and food-away-from-home retailers (e.g., restaurants) at the county level in the state of Mississippi over 2007–2012. Since food scraps comprise the largest share of post-recycling municipal solid waste in the United States, we control for the overall level of economic activity to account for other sources of solid waste, as well as demographic factors, county, and time effects. We find that increases in food-at-home retailer density are negatively correlated with solid waste volume. Conversely, we find that increases in the number of food-away-from-home retailers lead to more waste. While we do not explicitly investigate the mechanisms, we discuss possible avenues such as increased food access in the case of food at home, and increased portion sizes and substitutability in the case of food away from home.     

The Allocation of Food Expenditure in Married‐ and Single‐Parent Families

Differences in food expenditures in married‐ and single‐parent families are examined using the Consumer Expenditure Survey Diary Component (1990–2003). Single parents, compared to married parents, allocate a greater share of their food budget to alcohol and food purchased away from home; conversely, they spend a smaller share of their food budget on vegetables and fruits. Compared to married parents, single fathers spend a greater share on alcohol and food purchased away from home and a lesser share on vegetables, fruits, meat and beans, desserts and snacks, and prepared foods. Single mothers, compared to married parents, spend a greater share on grains and nonalcoholic beverages and a lesser share on vegetables and alcohol. Single mothers and fathers differ from each other in almost all categories of food and beverage expenditure. We also find important differences based on the employment status of parents in the household: families where all parents are employed, irrespective of family structure, spend a greater share of their food budgets on food purchased away from home and a lesser share on vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat and beans compared with married‐couple families in which the mother is not employed. We discuss ways in which family structure and parental employment status may be associated with food purchasing decisions.     

Common biases and heuristics in nutritional quality judgments: a qualitative exploration

The ways in which consumers make judgments about the nutritional quality of food products are a major concern for public policymakers. Given the focus on nutrition information in public health policies, the information processing paradigm has been widely used in past research. However, there is evidence that nutrition information processing is a difficult task for consumers. We examined 14 interviews from consumers of diverse social background in order to inventory the different kinds of heuristics used for making nutritional quality judgments. Narratives in which consumers elaborate about their strategies to assess nutritional quality of food products were analysed. Our findings show that: (1) consumers tend to use shortcuts to simplify nutrition information processing; (2) heuristics unrelated to nutrition information are commonly utilized; and (3) these heuristics rely on semantic, sensory and visual cues. The implications of our findings are discussed from a public policy standpoint.     

Consumption Patterns Among the Young-Old and Old-Old

Data on 2,810 elderly households were drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 1990 Consumer Expenditure Survey. Multivariate Tobit analysis was used to examine spending pattern differences between households with a reference person aged 65–74 (young-old) and households with a reference person aged 75 and older (old-old). Significant differences in spending were found for expenditures on food at home, food away from home, alcohol and tobacco, housing, apparel and apparel services, transportation, bealthcare, bentertainment, personal care, and personal insurance. The impact of socio-demographic factors on expenditures by either age group was not uniform.     

Consumer Unit Types and Expenditures on Food Away from Home

This paper explores the relationship between consumer unit type and expenditures on food away from home using microdata from the 1989 Consumer Expenditure Survey. A log-linear model is used to purge the effects of income and race/ethnicity from the consumer unit type/food-away-from-home expenditure relationship. The income-and race/ethnicity-controlled propensities to purchase food away from home among eight consumer unit types are revealed in simple percentage form. These adjusted percentages are discussed in regard to current and future business strategy designed to address industrywide declines in expenditures on food away from home. The results offer support for some existing strategies as well as provide the basis for viable alternatives. Log-linear purging is shown to be a valuable tool for consumer researchers.     

Core Organic Taste: Preferences for Naturalness-Related Sensory Attributes of Organic Food Among European Consumers

Consumers’ preferences for organic food have evolved in recent years, moving from altruistic values to more egoistic buying motivations, such as health promoting or nutritional aspects and sensory properties. Hypothesizing that organic consumers have peculiar preferences for naturalness-related sensory attributes, we developed the concept of the “core organic taste” based on the principles of a wholesome nutrition. This article investigates to what extent the “core organic taste” is relevant across different European countries and its potential relevance for food marketing. A sample of 1,798 organic food consumers was interviewed during 2010–2011 in six European countries. Explorative factor analysis, correlation analysis, ANOVA, and post hoc tests were applied to analyze the data. Results show that the “core organic taste” is not applicable for all countries. Indeed, for most countries only single elements seem to be relevant. However, for Germany and Switzerland the “core organic taste”—representing the first “taste style”—has proven its potential value and points at the need for more research in this field. Depending on the country, product developers and marketers could potentially use different elements of the “core organic taste” to better meet organic consumers’ wishes and expectations. Finally, recommendations and suggestions for practitioners and academia are provided.     

Consumer Intentions to Buy Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeled Food Products: The Moderating Effects of Personality Differences

Although the current literature suggests that consumers in general have a desire to eat healthy and also like to obtain nutrition information about food products, there still exists a gap in terms of understanding how consumers utilize nutrition information. Drawing on consumer psychology literature, we examine how self-efficacy, healthy eating intentions, and perceptions about a simple front-of-pack nutrition label affect purchase intentions, and how these effects may be moderated by two information-processing-related personality traits—need for cognition and propensity to self-reference. We find that consumers’ intention to purchase front-of-pack nutrition-labeled products is positively affected by self-efficacy and label perceptions but is not directly driven by a general interest in healthy eating. We also find significant moderating effects from both personality traits considered.     

Price rather than nutrition information the main influencer of consumer food purchasing behaviour in South Africa: A qualitative study

In South Africa there has been a paucity of data on food and nutrition labelling since the publication of the new food‐labelling legislation. This study aimed to explore whether the nutrition information on food products influences consumer purchasing behaviour; reasons for reading or ignoring nutrition information on labels, and to investigate expectations regarding food / nutrition labelling. Nine focus‐group discussions were held with adult consumers (N=67) in Cape Town, South Africa. Food price was sometimes the only consideration when selecting food products, irrespective of quality and nutritional value. When buying products for the first time, consumers were more inclined to read the nutrition information compared to habitual purchases or buying known brands. The list of ingredients, nutrient content claims and specific health endorsement logos were considered important. Reasons for reading nutrition information were mainly to assess the nutritional value or health properties, to avoid certain ingredients/allergens and to determine quality. Consumers struggled to understand the information on labels, specifically the nutrition information table. A lack of time or interest, price concerns and trust in labelling information also emerged as reasons why consumers ignore the nutrition information. There is a need for simpler food labelling, more graphics, and less complex terminology, information overload and quantitative information. It is recommended that a standardised front‐of‐package labelling scheme and a single health endorsement logo for South Africa be considered. More should be done to educate consumers on utilising the information on food labels correctly, in order for them to make healthier food choices.     

Affirmative Disclosure of Nutrition Information and Consumers' Food Preferences: A Review

In order to evaluate a food advertising regulation proposed by the FTC, this paper examines some empirical studies of food marketing practices and their influence on consumer attitudes and behavior toward nutrition information and dietary habits. The requirement for affirmative disclosure of nutrition information may fall short of its intended goal because consumers have low motivation to use such information and inadequate comprehension of it. Moreover, the limited information processing capacity of the average person may preclude effective communication of nutrition information in a television commercial. The regulation's most likely impact would be to create awareness of nutrition information and increase the salience of nutrition in the consumer's food choices. Unless consumer education programs are coordinated with the regulatory efforts, lack of motivation and comprehension in the use of nutrition information will be a major barrier in achieving any significant improvement in the nutrition status of consumers.     

The Influences of Portion Size,Context and Package Characteristics on Snack Food Consumption: Evidence from a U.S. Rolling Cross-Sectional Survey

Using a rolling cross-sectional sample of over 40,000 U.S. snack food consumers during 2004–2010, we build a three-dimensional model to study how portion sizes, consumption context, and package characteristics jointly affect the amount of food consumed. As with prior research, we find that consumption does increase with larger portions. However, this effect diminishes significantly when accounting for the consumption context and packaging characteristics as consumption drivers. Most important is how the snack is presented to consumers at the point of consumption (type, size, and quantity of packages). We also find that snacking on impulse, alone, with a beverage, or while watching television increases the amount consumed, whereas socializing or snacking at home decrease consumption. We test our model over seven snack types (potato chips, crackers, cheese puffs, nuts and seeds, tortilla chips, pretzels, popcorn), and find that our results hold even for products with different cross-category granularity, palatability, and satiety.     

Consumer responses to private nutrition signals

Mandatory labelling of nutrition information with a numerical nutrition facts panel is commonly required for prepackaged food products. Recently, food manufacturers and retailers have developed simplified nutrition signals such as front-of-package labelling (e.g. the Traffic Light label) or retail shelf labels (e.g. Guiding Stars), which provide a more intuitive signal of nutritional content. Using survey data from a sample of consumers from western Canada, this paper examines consumer responses to two private nutrition labelling programs: Guiding Stars and the Traffic Light label. Consumers are more receptive to the Traffic Light label than the Guiding Stars. Ordered probit models explore the factors influencing the likelihood of using these nutrition signals. Trust in the food label, perceived difficulty of using nutrition information, nutrition knowledge, and the importance placed on nutrition influence receptively to these labels. Simplified nutrition labels are likely to complement, rather than substitute for, the existing Nutrition Facts Table.     

Elderly consumers and their food store experiences

The population of the world is ageing and the number of people aged 60+years in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland is increasing. Advancing age brings about changes in consumers needs, wants and ability. One need which is continuous, regardless of age is the need for food. For some consumers age-associated changes can limit their access to food, thus compromising their nutrition and health. As a consequence there is a real need to provide older consumers with a more supportive environment by providing adequate opportunities to access a range of affordable food products. Access to food involves a process which includes the provision of adequate retail facilities within easy access to home, the selection and opportunity to purchase products, having the financial means to cover all the costs incurred and be able to prepare and consume the food. It is when access is restricted or limited that food provision becomes an issue of consumer disadvantage and warrants investigation. This is not the case for all consumer segments of the population, but one group proven to be affected are older consumers. The aim of this research was to determine the behaviour and experience of older consumers in Northern Ireland (aged 60+) during the food procurement process and to make some recommendations to minimise older consumer detriment.Data collection involved four focus groups with older consumers aged over 60. Each focus group consisted of eight to ten adults and was carried out in a familiar social setting. The qualitative findings are supported by preliminary results from a consumer questionnaire (n=791), which documents and explores quantitatively the experiences described in the focus groups. The consumer questionnaire was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 15.Both the qualitative and quantitative results have identified shopping patterns and motivations fuelling purchase decisions among this age group, and show that older people face a range of positive and negative experiences when accessing food. The majority of older consumers in Northern Ireland shop on a weekly basis in one of the UK multiple food retailers. Negative factors identified by this age group include a dependence on others in order to physically access food shops (35%) and also 35% face in-store difficulties such as store size and changing layout. Positive factors associated with food shopping include friendly and helpful staff and the provision of additional facilities; e.g. a post office or chemist. Whilst it is recognised that older consumers are not a homogeneous grouping, for the purpose of this paper they are considered as one group and recommendations are made to improve the food shopping experience of older consumers. Practical guidance has been proposed for food retailers and Government policy makers in an attempt to overcome the problems and limitations that restrict food access for this consumer group, e.g. by proving additional in-store assistance, minimising multi-purchase promotions and improving product labelling.