Consumer Choice for Milk and Dairy in Romania: Does Income Really Have an Influence?

A 30-year trend of dairy consumption and its determinants among income groups in Iranian households

Introduction

Milk and dairy products provide essential nutrients and have the potential to prevent chronic diseases, thus reducing healthcare costs. However, there is a lack of consistent and updated data on dairy consumption trends in Iran. This study aims to analyze the trends in dairy consumption among Iranian households from 1991 to 2021, focusing on household-level determinants across different expense groups.

Methods

The study uses data from the Iranian Household Expenditure and Income Survey conducted annually from 1991 to 2021 to analyze households' dairy consumption. The data includes values and expenses of food and non-food items purchased in the previous month, as well as demographic characteristics of household members. The households were categorized into 10 deciles based on their gross expense. The econometric model used weighted mean per capita milk, yogurt, cheese, and total dairy consumption based on milk equivalent for each decile. The model takes into account changes in income, prices, household composition, education level, occupation, and residency area using panel data. Data preparation and model estimation were performed using RStudio and STATA17 software.

Results

Based on the findings, in 1991, per capita milk, yogurt, and cheese consumption were 26.77 kg, 16.63 kg, and 2.42 kg, respectively. By 2021, these figures changed to 22.68 kg, 11.06 kg, and 3.79 kg, reflecting a decrease in milk and yogurt consumption but an increase in cheese consumption. Family size was positively correlated with yogurt consumption and head of the household spouse's job score were positively correlated with milk, yogurt and cheese consumption. Also, the presence of under five-year-old children and older adults members (over the age of 60) in the household was inversely related with yogurt and cheese consumption. Female-headed households tended to purchase more cheese, while their milk purchase level was significantly lower. Residing in urban areas was negatively related to milk, while cheese and total dairy consumption was higher in urban areas.

Discussion

The findings highlight the importance of targeted dairy subsidy interventions and educational programs to improve dairy consumption in Iranian households, especially among vulnerable groups. This will require urging policymakers and food system stakeholders for effective strategies that address macro-level factors to promote dairy consumption.

The Effectiveness of Product Sustainability Claims to Mitigate Negative Electronic Word of Mouth (N-eWOM)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of negative electronic word-of-mouth (N-eWOM) messages on attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavior control (PBC), and the intention to purchase sustainable dairy products. This study also investigates the moderating role of product sustainability claims to reduce the effect of N-eWOM on customers. It comprises two experiments on college students (n = 120; 90) who have at least two accounts on different social media platforms. We use both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The model was developed and tested on data collected from questionnaires. The results of Study 1 suggest that N-eWOM reduces purchase intentions, attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC. High N-eWOM reduces purchase intention more than the low N-eWOM. Study 2 found that with high N-eWOM, product sustainability claims (congruent or incongruent) moderate the effect of N-eWOM on attitudes, subjective norms, PBC, and purchase intention. Purchase intention is higher when a product sustainability claim is congruent. These novel findings contribute to our understanding of ways to mitigate the impact of N-eWOM by taking preventive actions, such as making product sustainability claims.