Using a choice experiment with insights from laddering technique to reveal consumer preferences towards the acceptance of functional foods

This research brings together, into one powerful analytical tool, two methodologies, Laddering Technique (L.T.) and Choice Experiment (C.E.), which complement each other nicely, in an 'attempt to examine consumers buying motives in relation to bread. The incentive to explore consumers' "black box" was given by the fact that changes in relation to nutritional issues have become apparent. The case of bread, particularly, attracts the attention of research as a product widely consumed that, however, has not been given much attention by researchers. L.T. approaches the subject from the psychological point of view and explores how people relate products with their personal values. L.T. was implemented so as to gain richer understanding as to how people translate product's characteristics into indicative connotation with respect to themselves. It has also created the basis for the second part of research by informing the attributes used in the C.E. The data was generated with the use of questionnaire that was completed by a small sample of individuals. The results revealed that bread type and the perceived bread healthiness are among the most important aspects consumers consider when buying bread. C.E. was used to examine how the inclusion of a functional ingredient affects consumer attitudes towards bread. An important feature of the C;E. design was the inclusion of the Dutch Eating Behavioural Ouestionnaire (D.E.B.O.) to collect information on participants underlying eating behaviours. The survey instrument employed a single postal mail shot. The results showed - again - that bread type is a major factor in determining choice and that the inclusion of a functional ingredient returned relatively small measures of value. The estimation of a Latent Class Model (L.C.M.) revealed differences in W.T.P. between segments. Also, segment membership can be partly explained by the D.E.B.O. Finally, an important finding is that respondents hold a stronger preference for a simple health statement compared or in addition to the benefits resulting from consuming a product that includes functional ingredients.