Consumer Attitudes and Behaviour

Food-Related Lifestyle (FRL) Consumer Segments in Great Britain as a Market for Irish Speciality Foods.

The Food-Related Lifestyle (FRL) model categorises consumers on the basis of their preferences in the purchase, preparation and consumption of foods. It examines the general, non-product specific traits of peoples’ purchasing motives, quality aspects, purchasing motives, cooking methods and consumption situations. Segmenting consumers on the dimensions of food-related lifestyle can aid food companies in product development and marketing. Market research indicates that there is an increasing demand by consumers for speciality and convenience foods. Nowadays, for many smaller food companies this demand for speciality is very important while for companies of all sizes the demand for convenience is a central element in the production and marketing of food products. Current research deals with speciality foods while previous studies dealt with convenience. FRL research is undertaken in association with the Department of Food Business, UCC and Bord Bia.

The objectives of the current research are:

• To identify the FRL segments with a speciality orientation and to profile FRL segments on their attitudes towards speciality foods in Great Britain;
• To extend and develop an instrument for speciality foods to identify new speciality food lifestyle segments (SFL) and then profile these consumers in terms of their attitudes towards speciality foods.

Initial results were presented at the Bord Bia International Speciality Food forum and complete results will be presented later in 2006 at. The project is supported under the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programme and Bord Bia.

Adapting the Danish Food-Related Lifestyle (FRL) Consumer Model to Markets for Irish Convenience Foods

Earlier studies in both Ireland and Great Britain had similar objectives to those for speciality foods. In the GB case, these studies also sought:

• To analyse the predictive abilities of the model, by linking purchase behaviour of convenience foods (reported) and consumption data (food diary) with lifestyle data;
• To assess the cross-cultural validity of the FRL model across consumer samples from Ireland and the UK.

The research in relation to the Irish convenience food market was completed in 2001 whilst the research in relation to the British market was completed in 2003.

An Econometric Analysis of Irish Household’s Expenditure On Food Away From Home (FAFH)

The primary objective of the project is to identify the economic and socioeconomic factors influencing Irish household’s expenditure on Food-Away-From-Home (FAFH), which has shown a dramatic increase in recent times. In 1987 the percentage of total food expenditure spent on FAFH was 14% which rose to 23% in 1999/2000 and is now estimated at over 27%. In keeping with most other studies in this area this research classifies foods “at home” and “away from home” based on where the food was prepared or obtained, not where it was consumed. Meals eaten in restaurants fall under this definition of FAFH but so too do takeaway meals eaten at home. In this analysis the definition of FAFH is further restricted to meals obtained at commercial facilities solely. This is in keeping with much previous literature that recognised that differences in results in previous studies can be largely explained by different definitions of FAFH, primarily including non-commercial facilities together with commercial.

In Europe generally research on FAFH expenditure has been quite negligible until relatively recently. Much research has been of a qualitative nature discussing the growth of FAFH and its importance in the food expenditure of households without examining the effect different factors have on FAFH expenditure. The adoption of a disaggregated approach to analyse quick-service (fast food and takeaway) and full-service (hotel and restaurant meals) separately is in keeping with recent US studies. This study uses the most recently available Household Budget Survey Data (HBS) from 1999/2000, together with the 1994/5 dataset, (collated by the Irish CSO). This study properly identifies the household manager, the person who prepares the meals. There has been a comparison of estimation methods using Limited Dependent Variable (LDV) and semiparametric estimators to determine the appropriate route under which to analyse FAFH expenditure. The semiparametric results did not provide the expected efficiency gains and the LDV approach was continued.

Most of the results observed to date are validated in household production theory. The main determinant of demand for quick-service expenditure appears to be the demand for convenience. The results indicate that the core market for quick-service products in Ireland is predominantly younger, working, urbanised households with low levels of income, education and health awareness. On the other hand full-service dining appears to be viewed as a social, pleasurable event. Households with higher levels of income, social class and education indicate a preference for full-service meals. The results also indicate that while those households with high levels of health awareness are less likely to consume quick-service products there is no corresponding effect on full-service expenditure. Larger households appear to benefit from economies of scale in household production and are less likely to consume FAFH at either outlet, however, with declining household size in the country this is not likely to negatively impact on growth in FAFH expenditure. The results imply that the most time pressed household managers are likely to favour quick-service over full-service which is a rational finding as full-service dining may be as time consuming as home meal preparation.

This project is supported under the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programme.

Palatability Assurance Critical Control Point (PACCP)

Palatability of beef constitutes three main characteristics; flavour, juiciness and most important of all, tenderness. It represents important criteria that influence the decision by the consumer to purchase beef. The palatability of beef is dependent on production, processing, and cooking methods used to prepare the beef for consumption. In the USA, recent surveys have identified that consumers have difficulty in selecting beef because they are unsure of its quality particularly its tenderness.

In order to overcome this problem the Australian beef industry has pioneered a key initiative called Meat Standards Australia (MSA). This programme developed consumer taste panels as a measure to evaluate the effectiveness of a grading system and as a tool to develop a detailed understanding of factors which interact to determine the eating quality of individual beef cuts. In the UK, the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) has produced publications on best practice. In the Republic, Bord Bia have a beef quality mark in place and there has been a lot of progress with this system within the Irish beef industry.

This research involves quantification of variation in beef at processor, retailer, consumer level and within certain beef markets to achieve a full palatability assured critical control points (PACCP) system.

The objective of this project is to develop a Palatability Assurance Critical Control Point (PACCP) plan for the Irish beef industry taking on board what is already known, testing some emerging issues and embracing new technologies which may contribute to the development of an Irish PACCP system. Overall a set of guidelines will be established for the processing industry to ensure that beef products will be highly palatable. This will be achieved by the establishment of a grading system similar to the PACCP system in Australia.

The Australian model was developed using a multiple regression approach whereby input variables from the production, processing and value adding sectors were included in a model to predict palatability of individual muscles for a range of cooking techniques. This approach allowed changes in palatability to reflect the estimated effects of the input variables rather than using the approach of non-negotiable cut-offs (fixed range of values for measured parameters). However ultimate pH, fat depth and ossification (age of animal) all have cut-offs.

The current model was developed using production, processing and sensory data for 12,700 samples contained in the MSA database. The database now contains 400,000 samples and 60,000 consumers have contributed to its building through assessment of these samples. The Food Marketing Research Unit will lead the setting up of the Better Beef consumer taste panels at AFRC’s new state of the art training and conference centre. It is envisaged that over 3,000 consumers will participate in the Better Beef taste panels over the next three years.

The Australian model is now available through agreement with the MSA and will be applied within the Irish context. Its ability to predict beef palatability under Irish conditions will be evaluated. Parameters of importance within the Irish beef production and processing industries will be inputted. Sensory trials of a large number of consumers will be used to test the model. The experimental design will be similar to the MSA protocols. The initial work will create a baseline of the palatability of Irish beef under normal processing conditions. Further CCPs will be introduced as the project proceeds. Parallel to this, research at pilot scale level, will investigate different aspects of technology, which may be included in the final PACCP plan. Consumer science and statistical experts will compliment the experienced team of meat researchers and their Australian consultants (i.e. the MSA staff). This project is being undertaken in conjunction with the Meat Technology Department and is supported by FIRM.

Second Generation GM Foods: Perspectives on Likely Future Acceptance by Irish Consumers

Two hypothetical second-generation genetically-modified (GM) products, a yogurt and a dairy spread, were evaluated by consumers. Second-generation GM food products offer specific consumer benefits - in the case of this study, health benefits.

The purpose of this research was threefold. Firstly, to determine the level of acceptance of second-generation GM products by Irish consumers. Secondly, it sought to establish whether different segments of consumers existed on the basis of acceptance. Thirdly, it set out to profile any segments identified on the basis of various demographic, behaviour and food choice attitude variables (See more..)

This project was supported under the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship programme and completed in 2004.