The Importance of Food Attributes and Motivational Factors for Purchasing Local Food Products: Segmentation of Young Local Food Consumers in Hungary

The influence of gastronomic identity factors on food tourism development in the Republic of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Background and aims

The gastronomic identity of an area is the key factor in tourism development, attracting numerous tourists and generating significant income. Numerous economic actors participate in its use and proper placement, and their perception of the gastronomic potential significantly affects its distribution and use in tourism. The main aim of this study is to investigate the factors of gastronomic identity that influence the development of tourism, observed at two tourist destinations in Southeast Europe [the Republic of Serbia (RS) the city of Novi Sad with Fruška Gora Mountain, n = 305 and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) the city of Sarajevo with Jahorina Mountain, n = 301].

Methods

In order to define the factors that are relevant to food tourism development, a custom-made GastroIdentity scale was created. A survey was conducted among employees in the hospitality and tourism industry as well as employees in educational institutions in the field of hospitality and tourism.

Results

The research results show that employees from the RS area acknowledge the importance of organizing gastronomic events where local products are presented and that they understand that dishes and beverages with unique and recognizable tastes can characterize their area. Employees from the BIH area pointed out that the nutritional quality of their local agricultural and gastronomic products represents an advantage when compared to mass-produced ones and that the local gastronomic culture and tradition are authentic representatives of the culture of the region.

Conclusion

The GastroIdentity scale proved to be dependable, highlighting gastronomic culture and tradition as extremely crucial factors in tourism, using the input provided by the employees from the investigated areas. Noteworthy results were also recorded regarding the need for incentives for food tourism development in the investigated regions.

The Gap in Sustainable Food Services in Public Institutions: The Perceptions of Young Consumers from Public Universities in the Madrid Region (Spain)

The agri-food system needs to transition into a more balanced system that takes into account economic, social, and environmental factors. Young people are a key demographic group to consider as they are open to new trends of consumption, including sustainable buying practices. Public universities can play a significant role in promoting sustainable and healthy eating habits among students. In this paper, we focus on the perceptions of young people regarding sustainable food in the Madrid Region. We conducted a survey using a questionnaire-based approach among 1940 students in 2022. The results highlight that young consumers are highly concerned about food sustainability. They perceive sustainability as local and non-processed foods. However, this perception varies among young consumers, and we identified five different consumer profiles. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis provide insights into potential actions that universities can take to promote sustainable and healthy eating habits among students.

Effect of perception of sustainability in local food experiences on healthy eating tendency: mediator and moderator effects

Tourists who favor local food typically care about healthy food choices. Their view of locally produced food as healthy is related to perceptions of sustainability. This relationship can be explained by tourists' personality traits and tendency to eat local food. This study aimed to establish the effect of tourists' perceptions of sustainability in the context of local food experiences on healthy eating tendencies. In addition, we aimed to determine the role of tourists' personality traits and local eating tendencies and elucidate the moderating role of searching online for information on food choices. An online questionnaire (via e-mail and WhatsApp) was used to obtain data from 379 research participants, recruited using a non-probabilistic sampling technique. A research model and hypotheses were formed based on Hayes PROCESS Macro models 90 and 6, and moderator and mediator effects were analyzed using these models. Healthy eating was well-explained by the model, and the perception of social and environmental sustainability in local food experiences (LFE-SES) positively affected food-related personality traits (FRPT), local food eating tendencies (LFET), and healthy eating (HE). While food-related personality traits did not mediate the relationship between the perception of sustainability and healthy eating, local food eating tended to mediate this relationship. In addition, when food-related personality traits and local food eating tendencies were evaluated together, they had a mediating role between the perception of sustainability and healthy eating. Searching online for information had an insignificant moderating effect. These findings help promote an understanding of healthy eating tendencies. Within the context of local food, they suggest critical theoretical and practical implications for the relationship between the perception of sustainability, food-related personality traits, local food eating tendencies, and healthy eating.

Factors Generating the Willingness of Romanian Consumers to Buy Raw Milk from Vending Machines

The use of automatic raw milk dispensers for products obtained from Romanian farms can represent an effective method of encouraging the development of short supply chains and promoting sustainable production and consumption systems. There are very few studies in the literature, especially in emerging economies, that analyze consumer perception regarding the use of raw milk dispensers; most of the research is focused on technical aspects regarding how such machines function and food safety, and less on consumers' perceptions towards them or consumer satisfaction, loyalty, or intention to use them. Therefore, the objective of this research was to investigate the willingness of Romanian consumers to buy raw milk from vending machines. In this regard, the authors drew a conceptual model to assess the factors that trigger willingness to buy raw milk from vending machines and then implemented a quantitative-based survey among Romanian consumers who buy raw milk from vending machines. The data were analyzed by modeling structural equations with SmartPLS. The results reveal that the generation of consumer willingness to buy raw milk from vending machines depends on how consumers perceive raw milk but also on the product safety, reusability of the milk bottle, and the provenance of the raw milk, as well as the nutritional qualities of the unprocessed raw milk. The paper extends previous studies based on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) and deepens the understanding of consumers' perception towards raw milk dispensers. Furthermore, the results also highlight possible managerial strategies that aim to improve the understanding of consumers.

The perception of Hungarian food by consumer segments according to food purchasing preferences based on primary research results

In addition to the intrinsic value of the product, social, cultural and psychological factors also have a major influence on the consumer’s purchasing decision. They are also influenced by trends and tendencies such as globalisation, digitalisation and various economic and social crises. In our study, we focused on the analysis of food purchasing preferences; including the reasons for the rise of ethnocentrism in the purchase of domestic products and the potential of this phenomenon in light of relevant secondary data and quantitative primary results. The main objective of the study’s primary research is to demonstrate that consumer groups, distinguishable by food consumption preferences, have differentiated perceptions of domestic food (price, quality, reliability). This provides evidence that food consumer preferences are reflected in decisions about domestic food. Due to the Hungarian relevance of the topic, the presentation of related international research and literature was given a prominent role. The focus of our research was to investigate the food purchasing preferences of Hungarian food consumers. Based on the results, we were able to characterise distinct consumer segments based on food purchasing preferences, and we were able to identify potential target groups of domestic food based on food consumer preferences: the ‘conscious food buyers’, the ‘impulse buyers’ and the ‘no preference’. In our view, members belonging to the first two segments can be successfully persuaded to buy Hungarian food through an educational campaign based on sufficiently fashionable and trendy motifs with the help of the right reference person.

Who Prefers Regional Products? A Systematic Literature Review of Consumer Characteristics and Attitudes in Short Food Supply Chains

The present work is a selection of empirical studies focusing on the characteristics and attitudes of Short Food Supply Chain (SFSC) consumers. Using a systematic literature review approach (PRISMA), we identified five different aspects of the SFSC within the publications: producer participation, swot, state intervention, attitude and “other”. Based on the findings of studies from the academic literature, the results are quite mixed. Though the number of SFSC-related empirical studies has risen in recent years, there is a lack of SFSC-related data, even in the European Union (EU), where a sustainable agriculture and food system must play a crucial role in the implementation of the Green Deal. Overall, it is hard to name those features that, without any doubt, affect the willingness of consumers to purchase from an SFSC. The studies mostly remarked on age and education; however, even these findings cannot be generalized. Therefore, some consumers of non-global food supply chains could be characterized very well, but these observations could differ in diverse cases because of local factors.