Marketing “Frankenfood”

ABSTRACT

Most visual package research in marketing to date tests only the main effects of certain visual package elements in artificially isolated experimental contexts, though, in the store, these elements are presented to the shopper in active visual circumstances. Most food packages are highly cluttered with a number of visual and text elements all competing for the shopper's limited attention; this calls into question the external validity, and therefore the usability for practitioner purposes, of these results. Given that marketers often rely on a single visual element as the sole carrier of some particular promotional message, it is critical to ascertain whether single visual elements can break through such visual clutter to effectively deliver their promotional messages to the shopper. In this study, we manipulate the level of background activity of packages while testing the ability of one visual package element—its overall shape—to affect one particular piece of package information of concern to food shoppers— appearance of size or volume. Surprisingly, our results show that the main effect of package shape type on volume perception not only remains robust under visually cluttered conditions, but that the effect is actually heightened for certain, more geometrically complex package shape types. Managerial implications are discussed.     

Organic and local food consumer behaviour: Alphabet Theory

Semi‐structured interviews are conducted to understand why consumers buy organic and/or local foods. The interview findings are consistent with existing theoretical frameworks for explaining environmentally significant behaviour: Value‐Belief‐Norm (VBN) theory and Attitude‐Behaviour‐Context (ABC) theory. Findings show that organic food shoppers in particular are motivated by values, beliefs and the creation of norms. However, the interviews indicate that knowledge (K), information seeking (IS) and habit (H) are also important in understanding why consumers choose organic and local foods. Incorporating demographics (D) as well, the resulting VBN‐ABC‐D‐K‐IS‐H or ‘Alphabet Theory’ is presented as a new framework to explain organic and local food purchase behaviour.     

Why Do Some Consumers Prefer Organic Food? A Discourse Analytical Perspective

In an attempt to better understand the main motives behind organic food consumption, this study explores the consumer discourses of organic food. In all, 35 in-depth interviews were conducted, from which three major discourses were identified. These discourses were named primitivist, retro, and racialist. The data suggest that these Romantic discourses play on images of a supposedly glorious and innocent past. Consequently, consumers using these three discourses were more likely to prefer organic food, as they had a tendency to construct this type of food as more natural, authentic, and real. In this sense, Romantic discourses seem to offer more resonant themes for consumers than contemporary modern science can ever provide.     

The Changes in Demographics and Lifestyles and Their Effects on the Coffee Industry

This paper isolates certain key variables to assess their impact on the coffee industry, and to what extent these variables have been addressed. Although approached in a theoretical framework, this paper delineates the environmental forces that are faced by the coffee industry, and how the negative impact of these forces fo unnoticed or are ignored. The coffee industry has a history of little action taken when highly publicized health studies were published. When the demographics and lifestyles of consumers changed, the industry has been slow to respond. Recently these constricting forces have been addressed, thus providing an area for future research. The study of successes and failures of the beverage industry can help many industries in understanding their marketing approaches.     

Individual choice or collective action? Exploring consumer motives for participating in alternative food networks

Alternative food networks (AFNs) are growing in number and relevance in Germany. Those networks include new models of production and distribution, such as food cooperatives (FoodCoops), self‐harvest gardens or community‐supported agriculture (CSA) schemes. AFNs, as an alternative to conventional food supply systems, are characterized by a close producer‐consumer interaction. They are typically located within urban or peri‐urban areas. The study aims to identify the rationale and motivation of urban residents in participating in AFNs and developing a consumer typology. We also assess whether AFNs potentially lead to collective action with societal impact. Therefore, we conducted a qualitative content analysis based on 18 interviews with members of existing AFN projects in three German metropolitan regions. Our results revealed that the willingness of urban consumers to participate in AFNs is driven by a broad range of motives. They include personal desire for high‐quality food (in terms of taste or freshness) and health reasons, but also political or environmental motives (opposition to conventional agriculture or short transport distances). Furthermore, consumers often want to support a certain farmer and his/her philosophy or they appreciate the community‐building aspect. Three different consumer types were derived from the motive combinations. Many consumers communicated a sense of belonging to a societal movement, however, our study revealed a lack of organization and collective action. Although AFNs can influence the consumption patterns of individuals, their potential to induce social change and to challenge traditional models of consumption in the near future does not appear to be high.     

Which little piggy goes to market? Characteristics of US farmers' market shoppers

The growth in farmers' markets in the US has raised questions about whether they are a niche market or appeal to a broader population. Using a simple, random sample of US food shoppers, this study uses a test of means to examine whether there are differences in characteristics between those who shop at farmers' markets and those who do not. A key finding was that there was no significant difference in the level of food expenditures between shoppers and non‐shoppers. In addition, a probit model was used to examine the marginal effects of attitudinal, behavioural and demographic variables on the probability of shopping at a farmers' market. The probability was significantly increased by the following: enjoyment and frequency of cooking, being female and the presence of another adult in the household. Income did not significantly influence the probability of shopping at a farmers' market. However, the probability of shopping at a farmers' market was significantly reduced if respondents perceived that cost was the most important characteristic of food. These characteristics imply limited appeal of farmers' markets currently to convenience‐oriented, single‐person, and single‐parent households.     

论包装的视觉营销功能与个性化

包装作为产品整体概念的一个组成部分,是品牌理念、产品特性、消费心理的综合反映,它直接影响到消费者的购买欲,是建立产品与消费者亲和力的有力手段。包装作为视觉营销策略的重要组成部分,具有视觉传达功能、市场定位功能、传递文化功能。包装的设计应具有个性化,符合、满足消费者的心理,有利于促进商品的销售。     

包装粮氮气气调储藏初探

东莞市东站粮食储备库采用的“双低”储藏能够在投药量在3g/m^3左右的情况下,1a熏蒸2次就可确保粮食全年无虫,本试验是在“双低”的基础上,通过对薄膜6面密封的包装粮粮堆充入氮气,以进一步降低薄膜内氧气含量,抑制害虫呼吸,从而杀死害虫或抑制害虫生长繁殖,达到减少熏蒸杀虫用药量和熏蒸次数甚至无须熏蒸从而达到绿色保粮的目的。