EU consumers' perception of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables attributes: a choice experiment model

Abstract: This thesis aims to study consumers’ perception in relation to fresh-cut fruit and vegetables consumption. In the first part of the work, the main features of the European freshcut fruit and vegetables market are discussed, paying more focus on the Italian demand of fruit and vegetables. The middle part is mainly represented by a systematic review of the literature investigating factors affecting the food choice decisions of adults in relation to fruit and vegetable consumption, with more emphasis to fresh-cut produces. Finally, there is the experimental part, in which European consumers’ preferences of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables are investigated through an econometric analysis. The fresh-cut sector is constantly evolving and innovating in order to enhance quality and safety of products, which attributes are generally valued by consumers. Quality and safety are multifaceted attributes because they arise from a wide set of methods/technologies, therefore the knowledge about consumers’ preferences for food technologies is still matter of debate. The main objective of this thesis it to test whether new fresh-cut fruit and vegetables attributes influence consumers’ choices and preferences. At the same time, we are able to verify the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on consumers’ preferences. A Latent Class Multinomial Logit Model has been fitted for almost 1.500 consumers of four different European countries: Greece, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom, in order to divide the consumers in different latent classes based on their choice and their characteristics. Fresh-cut F&V consumers for the four European countries, have a similar behavior in terms of preferences. We can divide the consumers in two different latent classes: the first made by consumers that do not appreciate any fresh-cut F&V attributes, and the second that include consumers that appreciate the several fresh-cut F&V attributes. Even if the cross-country comparison of consumers’ preferences has not produced substantial differences across the different countries, socio-demographic characteristics influence the perception of consumers about the consumption of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables.