Functional Ingredients and Food Choice: Results from a Choice Experiment

In this paper we present the results of a Choice Experiment (CE) conducted to examine how the inclusion of an attribute for a functional ingredient affects consumer food choice. Specifically, we examine consumer attitudes towards bread and the inclusion of a functional ingredient (eg, inulin), which can be added to bread to increase the quantity and the effectiveness of fibre in the final product A novel feature of the design of this CE was the use of Means-End-Chain analysis via semi-structured interviews to reveal key attributes to be included in the CE. In addition, the CE included the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) so as to collect information on all participants underlying eating behaviours. Preliminary analysis of the data reveals that bread type determines choice, and that the inclusion of a functional ingredient yielded relatively small measures of value. Also, the use of a Latent Class Model reveals that there are differences in willingness-to-pay (WTP) between groups of respondents and that group membership can be partly explained by the DEBQ information. The public health implications of these findings are discussed.