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Consumers perception of a product is the primary driving force behind the purchase decision.
Meat and meat products are also subject to this behaviour. This is why researchers from the IRTA Maria Font i Furnols and Luis Guerrero have studied the most important factors affecting consumer behaviour in a study published in Meat Science. The aim of the study is to understand how consumption expectations are generated and what factors the industry must consider in order to meet them.
The first of these variables is subject to psychological factors, determined by the knowledge and attitudes consumers create from their own experiences and the culture they are immersed in.
A second approach to meat products has to do with the sensory factor, and how the product specific properties adapt to market expectations. Visual features such as colour or the amount of intramuscular fat, texture or taste are qualities that are accepted in a different way depending on the consumption habits of each area or culture.
Finally, the study by the IRTA researchers analyses the importance of marketing in product choice.
One of the most important strategies is the price and what consumers are willing to pay for what is offered.
Labels and certificates are also important information elements that consumers take into account when choosing a product. A seal that ensures the local origin of the meat is usually associated with a fresher, and therefore better quality, product.
Thus, the meat buying decision process goes beyond product quality. The industry needs to know the factors influencing the decision in order to create strategies that foster positive attitudes from consumers and, at the same time, add interest to the product from perspectives as diverse as nutritional value, health or the environment.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 / IRTA / Spain.
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