Research report
Worlds apart. Consumer acceptance of functional foods and beverages in Germany and China
Highlights
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- Chinese are much more willing to buy functional foods compared with Germans.
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- For German consumers, many functional benefits reduced willingness to buy the product.
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- In both countries, health motivation and trust were related to willingness to buy.
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- Food neophobia was negatively related to willingness to buy in the Chinese sample.
Abstract
This
study examined consumers' willingness to buy functional foods. Data
were collected from an Internet survey in Germany (n = 502) and China
(n = 443). The results showed that consumers in China were much more
willing to buy functional foods, compared with their German
counterparts. A substantial segment of the German consumers indicated
lower willingness to buy functional foods, compared with the same foods
without additional health benefits. The findings further showed that in
both countries, the participants with higher health motivation and more
trust in the food industry reported higher willingness to buy functional
foods than the participants with lower health motivation and less trust
in the industry. Food neophobia had a negative impact on acceptance of
functional foods in the Chinese sample. No such association was observed
for the German sample. The results suggest that cultural factors play a
significant role in the acceptance of functional foods; therefore,
caution should be exercised in generalizing research findings from
Western countries to others.
Keywords
- Functional foods;
- Food neophobia;
- Trust;
- Health motivation;
- China;
- Germany
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
