Women, men and certified food: opting out of the conventional Chinese food market

Conference Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
McCarthy, Breda;Liu, Hong-Bo;Chen, Tingzhen
Abstract

Understanding the purchase motivations and demographics of Chinese consumers is important for countries like Australia that depend heavily on food exports. This study suggests that affluent, middle class Chinese citizens are opting out of the conventional food market, with men showing a preference for green food and females showing a preference for certified organic food, along with a desire to avoid genetically modified (GM) food ingredients. Certified food purchase is associated with demographic variables, such as income, education, age, gender, presence of young children, household size, living in developed cities and overseas experience. The study found that almost half of the sample is unaware that the concept of green food is different to that of organic food. The priority for the certified organic industry is to address this lack of knowledge and clearly explain what certified organic food is and how it differs from green food. Stressing its GM-free status is likely to enhance sales since there appears to be a segment of consumers that distrusts GM food.

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ANZMAC 2015: Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference

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1441-3582

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8

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Sydney, NSW, Australia

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Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy

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Sydney, NSW, Australia

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