Convenience foods enable the consumer to save time and effort in food activities, related to shopping, meal preparation and cooking, consumption and post-meal activities. The objective of this paper ...is to report on the attitudes and reported behaviour of food consumers in Great Britain based on a review of their convenience food lifestyle (CFLs). The paper also reports the development and application of a segmentation technique that can supply information on consumer attitudes towards convenience foods. The convenience food market in Great Britain is examined and the key drivers of growth in this market are highlighted. A survey was applied to a nationally representative sample of 1000 consumers (defined as the persons primarily responsible for food shopping and cooking in the household) in Great Britain in 2002. Segmentation analysis, based on the identification of 20 convenience lifestyle factors, identified four CFL segments of consumers: the ‘food connoisseurs’ (26%), the ‘home meal preparers’ (25%), the ‘kitchen evaders’ (16%) and the ‘convenience-seeking grazers’ (33%). In particular, the ‘kitchen evaders’ and the ‘convenience-seeking grazers’ are identified as convenience-seeking segments. Implications for food producers, in particular, convenience food manufacturers are discussed. The study provides an understanding of the lifestyles of food consumers in Great Britain, and provides food manufacturers with an insight into what motivates individuals to purchase convenience foods.
The theory of planned behaviour was used to examine the consumption of ready meals and purchase of takeaways by British consumers. Overall there was partial support for the theory as a predictor of ...consumption. For both food products attitudes were the best predictor of behavioural intention. Subjective norm was important for ready meals but not for takeaways while perceived control was not a predictor for either food. An additional variable, habit, was included in the study. This increased predictive power but reduced the influence of attitudes. For both food products, behavioural intentions were the best predictor of behaviour for a model including behavioural intentions, perceived behavioural control and habit. The difficulties caused with the inclusion of habit are recognised. In a separate analysis, value for money was the most important of three beliefs investigated for each product for those who intended to consume ready meals or purchase takeaways over the course of the following week (intenders) and those who had no intention of doing so (non-intenders). Beliefs differed significantly between the two groups with intenders having more positive beliefs about the convenience products. A focus on value for money marketing strategies is suggested.
This paper provides an understanding of the degree to which six food related lifestyle (FRL) segments on the British market are speciality oriented with regard to their food beliefs and behaviours. A ...reduced form of the FRL questionnaire was used in this research, enabling the allocation of consumers to the six FRL segments identified by Buckley, M., Cowan, C., McCarthy, M., & O'Sullivan, C. (2005). The convenience consumer and food-related lifestyles in Great Britain. Journal of Food Product Marketing: Quality Products: Production, Demand and Public Policy, 11(3). Additional speciality statements were created to assess the speciality orientation of the segments. Two segments, namely the adventurous and rational, together accounting for 41% of the British population, are identified as being more speciality orientated than the remaining four segments. The careless and snacking FRL segments are also interested in speciality foods but to a lesser extent than the previous two. Consumers in the two remaining segments, the conservative and uninvolved, are not identified as speciality orientated.
This paper focuses on the Irish convenience food consumer and investigates four convenience food categories: ready meals, take-away meals, restaurant meals, and pub meals. A nationally representative ...(
n=1024) survey was undertaken in Ireland amongst primary food purchasers in the household. Within each convenience food category, consumers were segmented into tertiles based on their level of consumption. The tertile with the highest consumption level of convenience foods was compared with the tertile with the lowest consumption level on their food-related lifestyles, convenience food-related lifestyles and their beliefs about convenience food. Analysis of data found that the consumption of ready meals and take-away meals was most associated with convenience related dimensions. Restaurant and pub meals seem to be less related to the convenience dimensions. The purchase of restaurant meals was strongly related to social event. Furthermore the effect of lifestyles and beliefs on the purchase of convenience food was examined. Comparison of the regression results across the four convenience food categories highlighted the importance of convenience food-related lifestyle issues in the purchase of ready meals. General food-related lifestyle issues were more important in the purchase of take-away meals. The consumption of restaurant and pub meals was least effected by convenience related dimensions and more by the importance of social events.
As the demand for convenience foods becomes greater, the quality of such products becomes more important. The food-related lifestyle (FRL) instrument, which groups consumers based on their attitudes ...toward the purchase, preparation and consumption of food products, includes a number of quality aspects, such as health, freshness and taste. The objective of this paper is to investigate the degree to which food-related lifestyle segments are convenience-oriented. A review of the convenience food market in Great Britain found increased participation by women in the workforce, an increase in the number of single and two-person households and a breakdown of traditional mealtimes amongst the main drivers of demand for convenience food. The FRL instrument was reviewed to identify supplemental areas needed to gain a more complete picture of consumers' convenience food-related lifestyles. Measures for these and the FRL instrument were applied in Great Britain in 2002. Investigation of convenience attitudes and purchase behaviour for convenience foods found that three of the six FRL segments identified were convenience-oriented. Differences between segments, relating to the quality aspects, were also found.
The food-related lifestyle instrument (FRL) is tested for cross-cultural validity. Representative consumer samples from the UK 1998 (
N=1000) and Ireland 2001 (
N=1024) are compared using multisample ...confirmatory factor analysis with structured means. The results suggest that, in all five FRL domains, the measurement characteristics of the survey instrument were completely invariant across the two cultures. No indication was found of any bias. Regarding future applications of the FRL, it can be concluded that the instrument has identical measurement characteristics when applied to consumer populations from Ireland and the UK. Direct comparisons of raw scores and sample statistics between the two populations are valid without further correction.
This paper examines Irish consumer acceptance of second-generation GM products, defined here as those which are expected to exhibit a specific consumer-oriented benefit. Conjoint analysis was used to ...determine Irish consumer preferences (
n
=
297) for attributes of a hypothetical GM yogurt. Cluster analysis on the basis of the GM attribute revealed four segments of consumers. An “anti-GM” segment (24.4% of sample) were outright rejecters of all GM foods, while a second cluster (33.4%) specifically rejected second-generation GM products. A further 20.5% of the sample were receptive to the notion of second-generation GM products. However, this group had a number of complex reservations, which would need to be resolved before they would truly accept such products. GM foods offering specific consumer benefits were found to be acceptable to 21.2% of the sample, implying that these foods could represent a segment within the overall food market in the future.
Purpose - Consumers have an important role to play in preventing food-borne disease. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that consumers could be segmented successfully based on their food ...safety knowledge and practice. Design/methodology/approach - Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were applied to data on food safety knowledge and practice, collected by individual face-to-face questionnaires with domestic food preparers (n=1,020) and refrigerator swabs (n=726). Findings - From the food safety questionnaires four factors were identified as important for inclusion in the HCA. This analysis identified three groups of consumers based on the knowledge factors; they were "Conscientious" (21 per cent), "Cavalier" (25.4 per cent) and "Careful" (53.3 per cent) food handlers. In terms of food safety knowledge, the higher risk consumers were found to be in the Cavalier food handler group. This group of food handlers also engaged in less hygienic food handling practices. This group were more likely than the other groups to be less than 45 years of age, male, living in urban environments and those with higher levels of formal education. Originality/value - The identification of consumer groups with respect to food safety is important as it can inform more effective tailoring and targeting of food consumer safety education programmes to reach higher risk groups and individuals. This is the first study to not only identify the demographic characteristics of higher risk groups, but also to relate the levels of food safety knowledge/practice to levels of contamination in the fridges of such at risk groups using HCA and PCA.
ABSTRACT
Results from two consumer surveys are presented. In the first, a EU FAIR (European Union Food, Agriculture and Industrial Research Programme), supported project, three‐thousand consumers ...(500 in each of six countries, Germany, Italy, Britain, Spain, Sweden and Ireland) were surveyed in March 1997 on their attitudes to the quality and safety of three meats, beef, pork and chicken. This paper deals with the safety aspects of the survey. Many consumers in all six countries said they were eating less beef and more chicken. Overall, the Spanish and Irish appeared to be the most concerned about the safety of meat, the British were somewhat less concerned. While many were confident that the food in shops is safe, there was a sizeable minority who believed the contrary. When looking for information on the safety of meat, butchers, whether independent or in supermarkets, are the group most trusted by consumers. In terms of consumer concerns, about 60 percent of beef consumers were very concerned about hormones, BSE (Bovine Spongiform encephalopathy), antibiotics and bacteria. Pork consumers had similar levels of concern as beef consumers about bacteria, antibiotics and hormones. For chicken there was a higher level of concern about bacteria (Salmonella) (68% were very concerned) and similar levels of concern to pork and beef for the other issues. Generally, fat was the issue of least concern for all three meats. Freshness was considered to be relatively the most helpful of 7 factors used for assessing safety of meat. The country of origin and what the animal was fed were also considered to be relatively helpful. Factors considered to be relatively less helpful were price and the name of the producer. In the second study, over 1200 pre‐leaving certificate Irish school children participated in autumn 1996 in a national survey assessing young people's attitudes to meat. Half of the respondents agreed with the view that eating beef means increasing the risk of getting CJD (Creutzfeldt‐Jakob Disease). Those who agreed were more likely to be less frequent eaters of beef and to have reduced their meat consumption in the post‐BSE period. It was found also that females were more likely to eat less meat than males and to have reduced beef consumption. The implications of some of the findings of these two surveys are discussed.
Illnesses from foodborne pathogens are one of the most widespread public health concerns worldwide. Because of the more frequent contamination of foods of animal origin with these pathogens, these ...foods have an inherent food safety risk and require caution when handling. Minced beef, with its large surface area and its moist and nutritive flesh, is particularly susceptible to contamination. This study was designed to investigate consumer food-handling practices in regard to minced beef. A sample of 485 minced beef consumers, who were also the main shoppers and food handlers in their homes, were interviewed. It was found out that many failed to store minced beef on the correct shelf of the fridge and to use the correct procedures for defrosting meat. These should be the focus of future food safety campaigns, especially targeting those with lower education levels and from lower socio-economic groups.
