Sodium and ready meals: a survey of Irish consumer awareness

The aim of the study was to gain an understanding of Irish consumer attitudes towards ready meals and current sodium issues in Ireland. A questionnaire was distributed to 357 consumers via convenience quota sampling to a range of nationalities in both rural and urban/city areas of Ireland. The survey revealed that a high proportion of respondents (45%; n = 161) were worried about the amount of salt they consumed. Despite this, 58% (n = 207) stated they never look at the sodium/salt contents on nutritional labels with 68% (n = 244) claiming that sodium/salt contents would never affect their buying choice. The survey also uncovered that 76% (n = 270) of the Irish consumers surveyed consider ready meals to be high in sodium and 80% (n = 285) consider them to be an unhealthy option. Despite this, 50% (n = 179) of the respondents consumed a ready meal at least once a week with a further 17% (n = 59) consuming them two to three times a week. Of those who did consume ready meals, 78% (n = 191) chose them due to their convenience. A total of 75% (n = 269) of all the respondents said they would choose a chilled ready meal over its frozen counterpart. The reason for this being attributed to the fact that chilled ready meals were perceived to be healthier (44%; n = 158) and of better quality (54%; n = 194) than their frozen counterparts. Results from this study highlight the need for concerted actions involving consumers, manufacturers and retailers to reduce sodium levels in Irish ready meals, as despite being reasonably aware of the sodium issue consumers were not making informed choices to reduce sodium/salt consumption.     

The retailing environment in Ireland and its effect on the chilled ready meal market

Food retailing in the island of Ireland has experienced a number of changes with the relatively recent arrival of the UK multiples. This preliminary study examined retailing developments in Ireland focusing on the chilled ready meal sector and on an identification of the factors that influence chilled food choice. Interviews, supermarket analysis, consumer focus groups and questionnaires revealed that the chilled ready meal market was experiencing a period of growth assisted by the arrival of the UK multiples, but there was great potential to further expand the market. Convenience was cited as the primary reason for purchase of chilled ready meals but taste continued to play an important role in chilled food choice. Retailers must respond by informing and educating consumers about their product offerings. In addition, they must listen to the unique needs and wants of consumers on this island to assist in the development and provision of a range of chilled ready meals suitable for the Irish market‐place.     

The influence of socio‐economic status on salt consumption in Northern Ireland

The long‐established association between high salt consumption and hypertension has led to calls for a reduction in salt intake. There is particular concern for the health status of Northern Irish consumers, who already have among the highest rates of coronary heart disease and stroke in the United Kingdom. With these concerns in mind, it is essential to establish the sources and patterns of salt consumption from discretionary and processed food sources before a reduction can be achieved. This study investigated differences in salt consumption patterns among consumers of varying socio‐economic status. Research consisted of a consumer questionnaire (n = 360) distributed within Northern Ireland. The results of the study revealed high discretionary salt usage and frequent consumption of processed foods among consumers of lower socio‐economic status. General observations from the questionnaire would suggest a need for improved health education for consumers in this group. The objective of health promotion should be to encourage a reduction in table and cooking salt usage and, in particular, in the consumption of highly salted processed foods. Enhanced product labelling is also encouraged to increase consumer awareness of current salt levels in food and of the availability of low‐salt foods. In addition, the results of this study advocate further development activity in the production of product formulations with low‐salt status.     

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.     

Perceived preservation format and food preference

The same (chilled) food product was presented to 77 consumers with either a frozen or chilled label. As predicted, liking for the food product was found to be in line with consumer expectation of liking for the different preservation format labels. For example, consumers that expected chilled foods to taste better than frozen reported higher liking for the product with the chilled label, even though actual quality of all products tasted was the same. Contrary to our prediction that tasting similar quality products perceived to be from different preservation formats would bring expectation of liking for those formats closer together, we found consumers who expressed no preference before tasting the products had developed a preference afterwards. We discuss the implication of these results and similarities between the concepts of conditioning, attitude, expectation and preference.     

A Cross-Cultural Investigation of the Ethical Values of Consumers: The Potential Effect of War and Civil Disruption

Past research has examined the ethical judgments of consumers in the U.S., but few studies have investigated such attitudes in foreign-market settings. The current study compares ethical attitudes of consumers in two countries (Ireland and Lebanon) which share a cultural similarity of ongoing war and terrorism. The findings reveal that both cultures exhibit low sensitivity to ethical issues. Furthermore, the findings show that the Irish consumers are less sensitive to consumer ethical practices, less idealistic, more relativistic, and more Machiavellian than Lebanese consumers. The authors recommend that other researchers need to further investigate this perplexing issue because ethics is a research topic which often discourages survey respondents to be candid.     

Will Consumers Purchase Stevia as a Sugar Substitute?: An Exploratory Study on Consumer Acceptance

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, commonly known as Stevia, is an ancient sweet herb native to Paraguay. The plant, especially the leaves, has a sweetening effect 300 times sweeter than saccharose. Malaysia has taken a particular interest in promotion of Stevia derivatives as a precautionary measure to combat chronic diseases. This study aims to investigate factors that influence the acceptance of Stevia-based products by consumers. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire with 900 consumers from Klang Valley areas. The results revealed that most of the respondents were willing to use Stevia-based products as a substitute for sugar. There was also a significant relationship between level of education and consumer’s willingness to change for Stevia-based products. Health benefits, promotion, availability, and price were found to be the most influential factors toward acceptance of Stevia-based products by consumers. An effective promotion is necessary to increase consumer’s awareness toward a more healthy diet.     

The impact of the meal situation on the consumption of ready meals

The context in which a meal is eaten is known to affect intake and choice of food. The purpose of this study was to investigate in what typical situations ready meals are consumed and if consumer demands vary according to different situations. With a market survey four typical ready meal eating situations were identified, and the respondent's ready meal consumption was shown to be affected by situational factors. In the different eating situations there were dissimilar reasons for consumption. Two ready meal eating situations were investigated in greater detail in order to establish what triggered the ready meal consumption in these situations. One of these meal situations proved to be convenience driven and the other time driven. A situation‐oriented approach is suggested for further ready meal product development.     

Voluntary simplicity and the ethics of consumption

The increased levels of consumption that have accompanied our consumer‐oriented culture have also given rise to some consumers questioning their individual consumption choices, with many opting for greater consumption simplicity. This link between consideration of actual consumption levels and consumer choices is evident among a group of consumers known as ethical consumers. Ethical consumers consider a range of ethical issues in their consumer behavioral choices. Particularly prevalent is voluntary simplification due to concerns for the extent and nature of consumption. Through the presentation of findings from two qualitative studies exploring known ethical consumers, the relationship of consumer attitudes to consumption levels, and how these attitudes impact approaches to consumer behavior, are discussed. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Quality-Labeled Vegetable Consumption in Malaysia: Factors Affecting Attitude and Purchase Intent

The rising rate of foodborne diseases has caused not just consumers but also food producers to become increasingly concerned about food safety. As a result, the government of Malaysia, together with relevant bodies, have introduced quality-assurance agencies to certify food products that are produced, processed, and handled with methods that are acknowledged by the certification agencies as clean and safe for consumption. This study aims to identify the factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior toward quality-labeled vegetables. A survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire and distributed randomly to consumers in public places in the Klang Valley. Four hundred and sixteen respondents were approached. The results indicate that most of the respondents are aware of food quality labels. Using factor analysis, four latent factors that influence consumer attitude toward quality-labeled vegetables were identified, and the importance of quality attributes (sensory, health, safety, and social attributes) in shaping those attitudes was also shown.     

I'll Have Fries with That: Increasing Choice Complexity Promotes Indulgent Food Choices

Three studies showed that the way that options are presented in a choice set—as combinations of intersecting attributes or in a more sequential “a la carte” choice format—affects the degree to which consumers adhere to their goals in the consumption setting. Specifically, using the context of food consumption and healthy eating, results showed that consumers were more likely to make double indulgent choices, the choice of both an indulgent entrée and an indulgent side item, when choosing from a menu consisting of predetermined “combination meals” than when selecting among the same entrée and side options in an a la carte fashion. Studies 2 and 3 implicated a goal distraction mechanism in driving the effect; the combination format, with its cross‐cutting of product choices into various combinations, reduces the salience of goal‐related constructs on implicit measures. In showing that different product presentation formats can affect the degree to which consumers make goal‐consistent choices, the current work adds to work on the effects of environmental influences on goal progress and goal achievement. Implications for encouraging goal‐consistent behavior in the context of healthy eating as well as other important consumer goal contexts are discussed.     

The Interest of Consumers in Ecological Product Information Is Growing – Evidence From Two German Surveys

In a German survey from 1989, consumers showed less interest in information about ecologically relevant product attributes than could be expected after several years of vivacious discussion in the mass media about ecological problems associated with consumer products and consumer behaviour. However, a replication of the study in 1998 showed a considerable increase of consumer interest in such information. In particular, there is evidence that in comparison to common product quality information, on average consumers rate the relative importance of ecological product information higher, that consumers want product testing agencies to take into account more aspects of products that are related to ecology, that more consumers would prefer reliable standardized ecological information obtainable at the point of purchase, e.g., in the form of eco-labels, and that consumers view an increasing number of products as potentially affected by ecological risks. Finally, the results show that at least for some products, the scope of perceived ecological risks seems to have increased and that consumers generally are becoming concerned with harmful effects of the production and distribution of a product in addition to the effects caused by usage.     

Green intentions under the blue flag: Exploring differences in EU consumers’ willingness to pay more for environmentally‐friendly products

Recent research on consumer social responsibility highlights the need to examine psychological drivers of environmentally‐friendly consumption choices in a global context. This article investigates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) more for environmentally‐friendly products across 28 European Union (EU) countries, using a sample of 21,514 consumers. A multigroup structural equation modeling analysis reveals significantly different patterns and relationships, in how (a) subjective knowledge about the product's environmental impact, (b) environmental product attitudes, and (c) the perceived importance of the products’ environmental impact influence consumers’ WTP more for environmentally‐friendly products across countries. The hypothesized model predicts WTP for 20 out of 28 countries and the findings show that a “one‐size‐fits‐all” approach is inadequate in capturing the heterogeneity of EU consumers. Hosfstede's cultural dimensions of uncertainty tolerance and individualism explain differences in WTP for environmentally‐friendly products across EU countries. Business, marketing communications, and policy making implications are discussed.     

闻“香”而悦便会因“情”而买?——消费者涉入的调节作用

嗅觉器官是人类接收外界信息的重要器官,已有大量研究证明在顾客的消费过程中利用环境气味刺激个体的嗅觉能够积极影响消费者对于产品的购买意愿或所在环境的评价。文章基于精细加工可能性模型,通过实验研究方法引入消费者涉入作为调节变量,验证环境气味对消费者情绪的影响以及探讨情绪机制的边界条件。实验结果显示:环境气味能够提升消费者购买意愿,情绪在环境气味和购买意愿之间起中介作用;情绪的中介效应被消费者涉入调节,对同一产品而言,涉入度低时,消费者购买意愿显著增强,涉入度高时,消费者购买意愿差异不显著。本研究对于拓展感官营销的适用边界具有一定的理论意义,也对企业有效采取气味营销、提升感官营销效果具有重要的实践意义。     

Exploring private consumers’ willingness to adopt Smart Grid technology

The goal of radically increasing the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources puts the current electrical grid under pressure and one of the solutions is to turn the grid into a ‘Smart Grid’. One of the key elements of the Smart Grid is that electricity consumers make some of their consumption available as flexible capacity to balance the grid. Consumers’ flexible capacity is only available to the grid if the consumers adopt Smart Grid technology (SGT) that establishes the link between the electric system and the consumer. This technology is new to private consumers and using it involves behavioural changes. There is a need to get more insight into who are willing to adopt SGT and why. This study draws on innovation adoption theory as a framework for understanding consumer adoption of this new technology. We explore whether consumers who have already adopted other types of new energy technology, such as a geothermal heat pump, are more favourably disposed towards SGT than other consumers. Also, we explore how consumers who have signed up to let their heat pump be used as flexible capacity in a test trial differ from other heat pump owners, if at all. We used semi‐structured interviews with household members as well as a questionnaire to explore differences between three groups: households with (1) a heat pump with SGT (n = 11), (2) a heat pump‐only (n = 7), or (3) an oil‐fired boiler (n = 6). We find that the families in the three groups perceive the technology characteristics differently and those who have trial experience with SGT are most in favour of the technology.     

Food consumption,lifestyle patterns,and body mass index of a group of white South African students

There is worldwide concern that higher education students are increasingly engaging in unhealthy eating and lifestyle practices. A total of 488 white students participated in a study aimed at investigating the current food consumption and related lifestyle patterns of students at a South African residential university. The respondents’ self‐reported weight and height was used to calculate their body mass index (BMI). Closed and open‐ended questions measured aspects of the respondents’ usual eating patterns and lifestyles. The meal patterns and composition confirmed Western‐orientated food practices, as the majority consumed three meals a day, with in‐between meal snacking, and a different meal pattern over weekends. Respondents’ food intake was further characterized by a low intake of fruit, vegetables, and dairy products and frequent consumption of foods high in fat, sugar, and sodium. Although the majority (66.8%) of the study group were classified as normal weight according to their BMI, when comparing males and females, more males than females were overweight and obese. Only 54% of the males had a normal weight compared to 82% of the females. There was, however, no statistically significant difference (p = 0.149) between how males and females in the different BMI groups felt about their weight. The study also explored the relationships between the respondents’ BMI, gender, food consumption patterns, and type of residence. The features of the food consumption patterns were depicted according to whether breakfast was eaten or not; snacking activity between meals; the consumption of ready‐prepared convenience meals, fast foods; home‐cooked meals; and eating out. There were no statistical significant differences between the BMI categories of males and females regarding their habit to eat breakfast or not; and to snack between meals either during the morning, in the afternoon or after supper. Similarly, no statistical significant differences were noted when relating the BMI categories of the gender groups to the frequency of consumption of ready‐prepared, convenience type meals, fast foods, and home‐cooked meals. However, a statistical significant difference (p‐value 0.006) was found between BMI categories per gender and general frequency of eating out. No statistical differences was noted between BMI categories, gender and place of residence irrespective of the type, whether the student lived with parents, independently in a flat or apartment, or a house with friends or a room, or in a university residence.     

Cross‐cultural evaluation of factors driving intention to purchase new food products – Beijing,China and south‐east England

It has been reported that consumers in different countries have distinctive perceptions of, and attitudes to, products. This study investigated consumers’ thoughts on new food products in south‐east England (n = 222) and Beijing, China (n = 139), using a questionnaire‐based largely on the Theory of Reasoned Action. Results indicated that consumers in both countries believe it is necessary for the food industry in their respective countries to introduce new food products and they would like to try new products. There appears to be great interest in new products among the Beijing Chinese, with most interest in new healthy food products. The influences on choices suggest that a marketing focus on quality, utility and health benefits would be most fruitful, as personal beliefs were more important in intention to purchase than the influence of other people. Results point away from the expected result that the Chinese, as a collectivist culture, would place more emphasis on others’ opinions than their own beliefs. This may be linked to food not being an item of conspicuous consumption, or to a cultural shift among urban Chinese.     

The Role of Plant-Based Foods in Canadian Diets: A Survey Examining Food Choices,Motivations and Dietary Identity

Used as a replacement for animal-based protein sources, the market for foods containing plant-based proteins (PBPs) continues to grow across North America. As of now, however, few studies of consumer behaviour focus specifically on the dynamics of this development in Canada and so this study looks at how PBPs fit in the current dietary choices of Canadians. Using data collected through a geographically representative nation-wide survey, the analysis shows that past and current consumption of these products are good indicators of future consumption of PBPs. Relatedly, negative stigma attached to earlier versions of PBPs, sometimes referred to as ‘fake meat’, continues to be an issue with current Canadian consumers. The analysis also demonstrates that personal health and animal/environmental ethics play a significant role in individual decisions to eat PBPs instead of meat. Additionally, issues of availability, affordability and concern over the sensory qualities continue to present barriers to future use.     

Consumer acceptance of low-fat and fat-substituted dairy products

The continued expansion of the low-fat market, coupled with extensive dietary guidelines given to consumers, has not yet appeared to have had the desired effect. Evidence suggests that the majority of U.K. consumers are still not prepared to sacrifice the taste and quality of a food for any perceived health benefits. This is particularly evident in the low-fat hard cheese market, which has not reached the same level of consumption as other diary based products. The key would appear to be in gaining an optimum balance between health and taste, yet the latter is often compromised by manufacturers who are under constant pressure to further reduce the fat levels of their products. A potential solution may be the development and inclusion of fat substitutes, as investigated in this study. Research consisted of two main elements. Firstly, lower fat cheese incorporating a fat substitute was developed and compared with other products currently on the market using sensory analysis. A questionnaire was then utilized to further assess the degree of consumer acceptance of this trend. Substitute use would appear to have potential in permitting a further reduction in fat levels, while retaining a measure of quality — an essential element if longer term dietary guidelines are to be achieved.