Chinese certified organic food consumers and the market for green food
Conference Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
The objectives of this paper are to examine the demographic factors that drive demand for certified organic food, examine the reasons for buying green food in urban China and see if the Chinese green food market can be meaningfully segmented on behavioural segmentation bases. An online survey was used to collect consumer behaviour information. A total of 402 responses were obtained covering 24 provinces and municipalities in China. Binary probit analysis, ANOVA analysis, and cluster analysis are used in this paper. Income, age and gender are found to have a significant and positive impact on certified organic food purchase. Being female, young, on high incomes, and living in developed cities, are positively related to certified organic food purchase. With regard to purchase motivations, the certified organic food buyers rate the "no genetically modified food ingredients" attribute and "improves the health of my family" slightly higher in importance than the non-organic food buyers. In addition, the "informed consumer" and the "uninformed consumer" are identified for market segmentation purposes. However, no link is found between knowledge and purchase of green food; nor is knowledge related to willingness to pay a price premium. The contribution of the paper includes identifying the determinants of organic food purchase, providing some insights into how the green market can be segmented along with suggestions for marketers that would entice Chinese consumers to purchase more. A key task for food marketers is to improve consumer's knowledge of the certified organic food label in China and differentiate it from green food.
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International Food Marketing Research Symposium
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978-0-9856080-3-3
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Pages Count
21
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Crete, Greece
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Institute of Food Products Marketing
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Publisher Location
Crete, Greece
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