<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>In order to identify the attitudes of consumers towards innovative food products, including functional foods, qualitative research was carried out in 2019 to find out what are the components of these attitudes in relation to innovative food, on the example of functional food, in the conditions of the growing global tendency to care for health and convenience. As a result of the research carried out using the focus group interview (FGI) methodology, it was found that innovative food is associated with a new taste or packaging, increased nutritional value, as well as health related attributes. Often, in studies, consumers also referred to the reduction or complete elimination of allergenic ingredients and other chemical ingredients, e.g. preservatives, flavor enhancers. Consumers accept these innovations in different ways, generally showing skepticism about “improving” food by enriching it with various ingredients, while positively referring to changes related to the reduction in the content of nutrients considered harmful to health, e.g. fat, sugar or salt. It was also noted that innovativeness treated as a personality trait is accompanied by such features as: openness, tolerance, optimism, life satisfaction, while people lacking tendency to accept innovation are usually pessimistic about the world, attached to tradition or thrifty. It was also noted that consumers similarly perceive innovative and functional food, indicating that functional products are food with a specific health purpose, with a modified composition. The interviewees also indicated that it is possible to increase the interest of consumers in purchasing new food products or functional food through, inter alia, well targeted marketing messages, and it is necessary to take into account the legal regulations regarding their wording when formulating them. This applies in particular to the possibility of using nutrition and health claims in the case of products enriched with ingredients with a declared health-related effect.</p></abstract>

In order to identify the attitudes of consumers towards innovative food products, including functional foods, qualitative research was carried out in 2019 to find out what are the components of these attitudes in relation to innovative food, on the example of functional food, in the conditions of the growing global tendency to care for health and convenience. As a result of the research carried out using the focus group interview (FGI) methodology, it was found that innovative food is associated with a new taste or packaging, increased nutritional value, as well as health related attributes. Often, in studies, consumers also referred to the reduction or complete elimination of allergenic ingredients and other chemical ingredients, e.g. preservatives, flavor enhancers. Consumers accept these innovations in different ways, generally showing skepticism about “improving” food by enriching it with various ingredients, while positively referring to changes related to the reduction in the content of nutrients considered harmful to health, e.g. fat, sugar or salt. It was also noted that innovativeness treated as a personality trait is accompanied by such features as: openness, tolerance, optimism, life satisfaction, while people lacking tendency to accept innovation are usually pessimistic about the world, attached to tradition or thrifty. It was also noted that consumers similarly perceive innovative and functional food, indicating that functional products are food with a specific health purpose, with a modified composition. The interviewees also indicated that it is possible to increase the interest of consumers in purchasing new food products or functional food through, inter alia, well targeted marketing messages, and it is necessary to take into account the legal regulations regarding their wording when formulating them. This applies in particular to the possibility of using nutrition and health claims in the case of products enriched with ingredients with a declared health-related effect.

Consumer Attitudes Towards Innovative Food Products Including Functional Products — Implications for Marketing in Terms of Nutrition and Health Claims

Professor, PhD, DSc Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS)

Department of Food Market and Consumer Research, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences

PhD, Eng.Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS)

Marketing of Scientific and Research Organizations

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

In order to identify the attitudes of consumers towards innovative food products, including functional foods, qualitative research was carried out in 2019 to...

Consumer Attitudes Towards Innovative Food Products Including Functional Products — Implications for Marketing in Terms of Nutrition and Health Claims

Published Online: Dec 31, 2020

Page range: 107 - 128

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/minib-2020-0029

Keywords
consumer innovativeness, functional food, innovative food, marketing communication, nutrition and health claims

© 2020 Krystyna Gutkowska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Consumer Attitudes Towards Innovative Food Products Including Functional Products — Implications for Marketing in Terms of Nutrition and Health Claims

Published Online: Dec 31, 2020

Page range: 107 - 128

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/minib-2020-0029

Keywordsconsumer innovativeness, functional food, innovative food, marketing communication, nutrition and health claims

© 2020 Krystyna Gutkowska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
consumer innovativeness, functional food, innovative food, marketing communication, nutrition and health claims