Consumers' perceptions of food packaging: an exploratory investigation in Potchefstroom,South Africa

Consumers form perceptions of various food products through their comprehension of the visual stimuli on food packaging that attract their attention. These perceptions directly affect their purchasing decision at the point of purchase, which emphasizes the importance of attention‐capturing packaging attributes. However, little research is available regarding consumers' perceptions of food packaging, especially in the South African context. This study aimed to explore a sample of South African consumers' perceptions of food packaging and how these perceptions were formed through the perceptual process. A qualitative, exploratory study was conducted by means of 25 semi‐structured interviews and through the use of ambiguous mock packaging as a projective technique. Participants were questioned regarding their general perceptions of food packaging. The attention‐capturing ability of packaging as well as consumers' interpretation of this packaging after exposure to the mock packaging was also discussed. Findings from the study indicated that participants mainly based their perception of food packaging on its functional (being purposive, recyclable and informative) and physical attributes (being attractive, of high quality and hygienic). This study also indicated that information and visual attributes of packaging are important to gain consumers' attention in‐store. Participants' comprehension of packaging included general associations of specific food products with certain types of packaging, such as associations with quality and shelf life. Negative associations with packaging mostly entailed difficulty to handle the product, poor quality of the product and environmental problems. This study identifies those product attributes that participants regarded as the most important stimuli for forming positive perceptions regarding food packaging. It is important for manufacturers to pay attention to the information on perceptions that was gained in this study, as it might help them to create packaging that better fulfil consumer needs. These findings could also be applied in a larger study of a quantitative nature, which will ultimately result in more positive consumer shopping experiences and consumer satisfaction regarding food packaging.     

Food choice: student consumers' decision‐making process regarding food products with limited label information

Food label information theoretically facilitates consumer decision‐making and food choice, but the extent to which consumers actually use this information during decision‐making is a subject of considerable debate. Therefore, this study focused on the importance of label information in student consumers' decision‐making process when exposed to limited label information food in a cafeteria environment. Because of a paucity of research in this area, a qualitative research approach that was exploratory in nature was used, accompanied by semi‐structured interviewing and a vignette. Undergraduate students from the North‐West University, Potchefstroom Campus, in South Africa served as the target population. The findings suggest that internal and product‐related strategies are applied when food choices are made whereby the importance of label information only features in the latter strategy. Student consumers with a label interest were more inclined to use label information strategies in the absence of complete label information to base food choice on. Those with a lack of label interest made use of alternative strategies using product and personal‐related information, such as freshness and product knowledge to make decisions. The decision‐making process was more complex because of insufficient label information and product appearance, and thus previous experiences and habitual purchasing became more important to participants. Student consumers should be supported to make healthier food choices through food manufacturers supplying cafeteria products with more complete label information and by providing students with the knowledge to use label information correctly through educational programmes.     

Exploring consumers' preferences with regard to department and specialist food stores

Consumers' lifestyle changes and striving towards better time management have resulted in the greater choice they are offered with regard to store formats. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify the factors that influence consumers in their patronage of a particular store format and to categorize department and specialist food store consumers according to their preferences in store layout and product range in a South African context. A qualitative research approach was used and data were collected using semi‐structured interviews with open‐ended questions. Purposive sampling recruited participants shopping for food in a department store in Johannesburg. Forty semi‐structured interviews were conducted before data saturation was reached. Store‐related factors such as store location, appearance and hygiene, service quality, convenience of trading hours, and consistency in store layout predominantly influenced participants in their patronage of a specific store format. Furthermore, product‐related factors such as quality, price, product range and convenient packaging enhanced consumers' store preference. Department store consumers were orientated towards one‐stop shopping and time‐saving strategies, while specialist food consumers were focused on food shopping and the trading hours of the store. Although similarities in participants' preferences with regard to department and specialist food store were found, different preferences were found regarding the placement of specific items within the store. Participants had similar preferences regarding the product range of a food store. However, department store participants emphasized the provision of convenience food and non‐food items. The findings of this study are valuable in providing department and specialist food store retailers with guideline recommendations regarding store layout and product range in order to effectively respond to the needs and preferences of consumers within an emerging economy.     

The use of smart biosensors during a food safety incident: Consumers' cognitive-behavioural responses and willingness to pay

Intelligent and active packaging could allow consumers to control cognitive reactions linked to the risk of consuming food products contaminated by microbiological pathogens and thus mitigating negative consequences of food safety incidents. However, despite advances in technology, consumers' reactions and willingness to pay for active and intelligent packaging in the absence and presence of food safety incidents remain somewhat unexplored. To fill such a gap this study incorporates protection motivation theory (PMT) within a contingent valuation survey conducted in the UK to explore consumers' behavioural responses to risk communication in the absence and presence of a food safety incident. These responses were moderated by the possibility of buying hypothetical meat products marketed with biosensors informing consumers of the presence of bacteria post-purchase. A singular approach was developed to identify the following four behavioural responses of the PMT's cognitive mediating process: no response, fear, low response and danger control. Results indicate that the theoretical components of PMT play a different role in the absence and presence of food safety incidents. Respondents who receive risk information are willing to pay more than other participants to adopt precautionary behaviour and that purchasing behaviour varied across these four cognitive-behavioural responses. Governmental institutions, the food industry and retailers should consider working together to reassure consumers by investing in technology that may help consumers to mitigate fear during a food safety incident, but also to develop appropriate risk communication strategies that should focus more on the cognitive-behavioural outcomes analysed in this study.     

Do They Have Your Number? Understanding the Moderating Role of Format Effects and Consumer Numeracy for Quantitative Front‐of‐Package Nutrition Claims

Front‐of‐package (FOP) nutrient content claims are often used by food manufacturers to promote the nutrition levels of their products. In this research, two studies examine the influence of the numerical format (either percentages or absolute numbers) presented on FOP‐reduced nutrient content claims and the moderating influence of consumers' numeracy levels (i.e., consumers' ability to interpret numbers). Low numerate consumers are more strongly influenced by the label's numerical format, but results differ across nutrition attributes linked to cardiovascular disease risk. For saturated fat, low numerate consumers had more favorable evaluations of the product that had a label presented in a percent format compared to an absolute unit format. In contrast, the moderating effect of numeracy had little effect on the format of reduced sodium claims. Implications are offered for policymakers, consumer researchers, and food manufacturers .     

Consumers' perceptions of functional foods: trust and food‐neophobia in a cross‐cultural context

Consumers' perceptions of functional foods are complicated by perceived risks and complexity that appear from growing and sometimes confusing information flow. Social trust can serve as a mean for the reduction of risk and complexity. It is thus vital to understand the sources of distrust and food‐neophobia as well as coping mechanisms used by consumers to ensure food provision and safety. We discuss the results of a qualitative inquiry in the form of focus groups into consumers' perceptions of functional foods in Russia and Germany. Altogether eight focus group interviews were carried out in different parts of Russia and Germany in December–January 2012–2013. A total of 59 people participated in the discussions. Different perspectives provided by the discussions in the two countries indicate different levels of trust. Deeper culturally embedded and wider‐spread distrust in formal institutions in Russia pushes consumers towards developing informal networks to ensure food provision and safety. It leads to high levels of food‐neophobia as consumers perceive traditions as the most important guarantee for healthy food. On the other hand, German participants indicate a number of formal institutions that are trustworthy and through which information concerning novel and healthy attributes in foods can be communicated. We provide exploratory views on the importance of social trust in consumers' perceptions of functional foods and lay out mechanisms that consumers develop to deal with increasing risk and complexity in food choices.     

An exploration of the influence of food labels on South African consumers' purchasing behaviour

New labelling legislation in South Africa is expected to help consumers sustain a healthy lifestyle through the food choices they make. This study was undertaken to explore a sample of South African consumers' reasons for reading labels and the influence of food labels on their purchasing behaviour. The study was conducted using focus group discussions held with label reading consumers in Potchefstroom in the North West Province of South Africa. Findings suggested that these participants read food labels to assess the nutritional value, personal benefits, health attributes and product quality. Various purchasing influences were also identified, suggesting that consumers are in some cases motivated by food labels to purchase a product, or may be unresponsive to the label or indifferent by being aware of the information but not reluctant to buy a product that does not indicate essential information. Several indirect consideration factors such as situational factors (e.g. family), extrinsic (e.g. price) and intrinsic (e.g. taste) may contribute to the purchasing behaviour of some consumers. These findings are useful to propose a perceptual model of the way in which food labels influence purchasing behaviour of a sample of South African consumers and explain the role of food labels in the purchasing decision of label‐reading consumers. This information is especially significant for new packaging and labelling initiatives as it highlights the reasons why label‐reading South African consumers read label information.     

Factors Influencing Consumer Purchasing Decision Toward Malang Meatballs At East Java,Indonesia

The study examined factors influencing consumers' purchasing behaviour in relation to Malang meatballs as a representative ethnic food in East Java, Indonesia. Multistage area sampling was used to randomly select 400 households from the Malang area (200 urban and 200 rural) as consumer respondents. Respondents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire by the researcher and enumerators. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyse consumers' purchasing behaviour toward Malang meatballs. This study can contribute to a better understanding of consumers' preferences toward Malang meatballs, an animal protein-based food, that has a unique taste. Consumers preferred Malang meatballs compared to street foods (i.e., “soto,” “tahu campur,” and fried noodles). Younger consumers concerned about freshness and a “halal food” may select Malang meatballs. The availability of Malang meatballs can increase consumers' purchasing action toward this product. Also, surrounding cold air temperature influenced consumers in selecting this food.     

Japanese consumers' use of extrinsic and intrinsic cues to mitigate risky food choices

The stated preference data were used to simulate and examine consumers' valuation of important extrinsic and intrinsic cues that are associated with risky foods. This analysis generates information on how consumers assess trade‐offs between price and selected intrinsic and extrinsic cues to determine their choice among alternative products. From this, optimum level of product quality attributes (i.e. intrinsic cues) and optimum price level for import products can be derived. Also, most effective sources of communicating food safety and risk management can be identified. The results show that the country origin cue is a key factor in understanding consumers' choice behaviour for food product that entails potential risk, which may suggest that consumers are using this information as a risk‐reduction strategy.     

The role of brand schemas,information transparency,and source of message on apparel brands' social responsibility communication

In today's complex business environment, apparel brands are communicating about their socially responsible (SR) practices through marketing messages to create a niche for themselves and show their SR efforts. However, SR aspects of products are difficult to verify by consumers. To help brands effectively communicate their SR efforts, this study assessed how consumers process an apparel brand's SR messages based on their prior experiences with that brand (brand schemas). Information transparency on messages and source of messages were tested as external cues to influence consumers' brand schemas and SR message evaluations in a mixed method repeated measures online experiment using a national US consumer sample. Results from regression-based conditional process analyses indicated that increased congruity of consumers' schemas to the fact that brands are SR led to more favorable attitude toward brands' SR messages. Also, presence of high information transparency on SR messages influenced consumers' schemas positively, and in turn, they evaluated messages more favorably. However, consumers were not influenced by whether messages were made by brands or third-party organizations. The study results show the importance of brand schemas and information transparency on apparel brand communications, helping both apparel brands and educators create effective SR-related marketing strategies.     

Accessing and affording sustainability: the experience of fashion consumption within young families

Despite the ever increasing levels of fashion consumption, neither retailers nor consumers have as yet implemented sustainability principles to a significant degree. This is despite the fact that sustainability principles are increasingly understood and will be applied by consumers, as long as affordable alternatives in mainstream fashions are available. In a highly competitive fashion retail sector, there exists an opportunity for UK high street fashion retailers to differentiate their brand image through aligning products with consumers' moral frameworks. Using phenomenological interviews, this research explores the fashion consumption experiences of professional women with young children and living in or near Edinburgh, with particular focus on their expression of their own sustainability concerns in their day‐to‐day practices. The findings reveal that in the absence of suitable products, information and labelling, consumers apply heuristics to their choices, especially price. They refer to the more familiar ethical food market which serves as a metaphor for fashion‐related practices. They talk about trustworthy retailers and about how they deal with and rationalize their own practices where they reveal an obvious attitude‐behaviour gap. The women's role of providing for the family adds further complexity in a sector which provides affordable alternative options.     

Modelling the antecedents of consumers' willingness to pay for eco-labelled food products

The purpose of this paper is to model the antecedents of consumers' willingness to pay for eco-labelled food products. This research utilizes the Theory of Planned Behaviour to model the impact of consumers' awareness of eco-labels, environmental concerns, beliefs in the environmental ability of eco-labels, and presence of children on their willingness to pay for eco-labelled food products. This study uses structural equational modelling and PROCESS macros, to test the moderated mediation model on a sample of 333 online responses. Findings suggest the impact of consumers' environmental concerns and eco-label awareness on their willingness to pay for eco-labelled food products is partially mediated by consumers' belief in the environmental ability of these eco-labels. The relationship is further moderated by the presence of children living in the household. This study establishes the value of consumers' beliefs in the environmental ability of eco-labels and implies that communication strategies need to be carefully refined to provide consumers with more information about eco-labels and to emphasize the environmental ability of eco-labels utilized within the food industry as this can have an impact on their willingness to pay for these products, especially for consumers, who have children in the same household.     

Peer presence promotes popular choices: A “Spicy” field study on social influence and brand choice

Retail research has highlighted how the presence of others can affect consumers' brand evaluations, purchase intentions, and choice behavior. This field study investigated whether the presence (vs. absence) of peers and other consumers, respectively, could influence consumers' propensity to purchase popular brands (i.e., a market leader) within a given product category. Consumers at a supermarket were observed when standing in front of a spice shelf and their choices were analyzed as a function of whether they shopped alone or in the presence of peers versus other consumers. The results revealed that peer presence, but not the mere presence of other consumers, increased consumers' inclination to make popular brand choices, and that this effect was mediated by their stated familiarity with the chosen brand. As such, peer presence seems to increase consumers’ reliance on heuristics and the accessibility of concepts linked to popularity, leading to congruent popular brand choices. Moreover, consumers shopping in the presence of others generally took a longer time before choosing a brand and touched slightly more products in the presence of other consumers. Taken together, these results contribute to theory refinement in social influence from ecologically valid conditions and offer a set of implications for companies, store managers, and people working in the food industry.     

Consumers’ perception of food packaging in Trinidad,West Indies and its related impact on food choices

The purpose of the study was to investigate consumers’ perception of food packaging and its impact on food choices. The study population comprised 82 people who were ultimately consumers of packaged food products. The sample was drawn from six major supermarkets located in different geographical areas in Trinidad, West Indies. Data collection was carried out by using a questionnaire based on five topics: visual impact or attractiveness of the packaging; type of packaging material; labelling and nutritional information; new products; and fruit preserves. The packaging feature that influenced most of the respondents’ choice of products was information on the label (41.5%); it was followed by quality and type of packaging (24.4%), brand name/popularity (22.0%) and visual impact (12.2%). When asked if they would purchase a product that was most attractively packaged, 85.4% responded in the affirmative. Most respondents (92.7%) believed that packaging material could adversely affect the quality of performance of a food product. Also, 92.7% of respondents agreed that nutrition information should be shown on all food products, although 36.6% admitted that they do not read the label because of its complexity. Influence of gender was not significant (P < 0.05) on consumer perception of food packaging and on food choices. Although the sample was small, the data highlighted the need to educate consumers of packaged foods, so that informed decisions could be taken in respect to food quality, safety and nutrition.     

The long‐term effects of sales promotions on brand attitude across monetary and non‐monetary promotions

This study compares the influence of sales promotions on brand attitude across promotion types over time. An experiment is conducted with 154 subjects, who are exposed to test materials for 12 weeks. Evidence shows that the long‐term effects of sales promotions on brand attitude vary across deal types. Non‐monetary promotions seem to work better in eliciting consumers' favorable brand attitude than monetary promotions over time. However, such effects are moderated by consumers' deal proneness. Although monetary promotions may induce more negative effects than non‐monetary promotions, these effects are weaker for high deal‐prone consumers than for low deal‐prone consumers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Organic food consumers' trade‐offs between local or imported,conventional or organic products: a qualitative study in Shanghai

This paper presents a qualitative study of the trade‐offs made by organic food product consumers in the Chinese Metropolis of Shanghai. More precisely, this article deals with trade‐offs that consumers make between three types of products: (1) locally produced organic food products, (2) products that are locally and conventionally produced and (3) imported organic food products. We used a qualitative methodology using open questions and projective techniques and based on 23 individual interviews. Local organic products are the products best perceived by the Chinese interviewees, who think that organic food is beneficial to health and makes agriculture more environmentally friendly. The fact that food is produced locally is another positive argument for many interviewees who do not perceive any important differences between local and imported, more expensive, organic food products. Local and conventionally produced food products give rise to worries related to health and consumers buy them only because they are much cheaper than organic products. The reasons for choosing organic products are mostly related to health issues. Altruistic motives such as environmental concerns, food miles concerns or support for small producers are only emerging. This study mostly highlighted consumers' trade‐offs between different individual benefits, mainly health vs. economic benefits. However, some trade‐offs between altruistic (environmental concerns) and individual (economic) benefits are apparent, confirming emerging altruistic motives behind organic food consumption.     

Using food pictorial metaphor in the advertising of non-food brands: An exploratory investigation of consumer interpretation and affective response

Using visual metaphors in ads is one of the communication techniques that brands have adopted to grab consumers' attention. The phenomenon of using food pictorial metaphors in non-food brand ads has spread in recent years, and given food's sensory nature, using this cue for a non-food brand can affect the way in which consumers interpret such ads. This research seeks to understand whether and how consumers perceive and process such a rhetorical figure. An exploratory qualitative approach is taken in two studies by using semi-structured interviews to explore consumers' reactions to different types of ads with food visual metaphors. The results reveal the predominance of congruency as a key processing mechanism of the ad at three levels: (a) between the food pictorial metaphor and the brand product category, (b) between the food visual metaphor and the brand itself, and (c) between the visual metaphor and the headline. Moreover, the food appetizing dimension, ad creativity, aesthetic appreciation of the ad, and consumers' aesthetic sensitivity are all revealed to play major roles in attitudes toward the ad.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Consumers' Response to Health Information Complexity

This study develops and empirically tests a model for understanding food consumers' health information seeking behaviour. Data were collected from 504 food consumers using a nationally representative consumer panel. The obtained Lisrel results suggest that consumers' product-specific health information seeking is positively affected by general food involvement and by usability of product-specific health information. Moreover, product-specific health information seeking and product-specific health information complexity are both positively related to post-purchase health-related dissonance. This link between information complexity and post-purchase dissonance has implications for marketers of food products since our results suggest that consumers might avoid purchasing the same food item again if post-purchase dissonance is experienced.     

What drives brand love and purchase intentions toward the local food distribution system? A study of social media-based REKO (fair consumption) groups

Local food is gaining increasing popularity among consumers due to its association with sustainable consumption. However, for a product to be commercially successful, such growing popularity should translate into high purchase intentions and positive associations with the product post-consumption. Although this success has not yet been reflected for local food consumption, research in this area has remained limited. The present study addresses this gap by examining the antecedents of brand love for both the local food distribution system and the local food it distributes. The study thus employs the stimuli-organism-response (SOR) theory, which indicates that certain environmental stimuli influence the consumers' internal state or organism and shapes their behavior, in turn. Specifically, this study uses altruism as the stimulus, supporting local producers, transparency, satisfaction with labeling, and desire for labeling as the consumers’ internal state (organism), and purchase intentions and brand love as the response. Cross-sectional data were collected from 2045 local food consumers associated with Facebook-based REKO (fair consumption) groups in Finland. Findings indicate that altruism is associated with internal state, i.e., desire for labeling, supporting local producers, and satisfaction with labeling. These variables, in turn, are associated with brand love for the local food distribution system. Furthermore, purchase intentions positively mediate the association of the four internal states with brand love.     

Consumers' perceptions of individual and combined sustainable food labels: a UK pilot investigation

Consumers are faced with an increasing number of sustainable food labels. These different labels may be complementary or add to the increasing competition of product information in consumers' minds. We investigate: (1) the perceptions that consumers in the UK have about sustainable labels vs. other labels, such as origin or nutrition labels; and (2) consumers' reactions to combinations of different sustainable labels. Overall, the findings from two focus groups conducted in the UK indicate that consumers have positive perceptions of organic and fair trade labels but tend to be sceptical about unfamiliar labels and general claims such as ‘climate friendly’. The results also indicate the importance of familiarity, trust and fit between combinations of labels as well as between associating a label with a brand. While the combination of certain labels can enhance the value of a food product, this study also indicates that other label combinations (e.g. private and sustainable label) can detract from a label's value. Implications and recommendations are suggested for managers to counter the image of greenwashing, and for policy makers to facilitate sustainable food choices.