Consumer Attitudes Towards Innovative Food Products Including Functional Products — Implications for Marketing in Terms of Nutrition and Health Claims

Abstract

In order to identify the attitudes of consumers towards innovative food products, including functional foods, qualitative research was carried out in 2019 to find out what are the components of these attitudes in relation to innovative food, on the example of functional food, in the conditions of the growing global tendency to care for health and convenience. As a result of the research carried out using the focus group interview (FGI) methodology, it was found that innovative food is associated with a new taste or packaging, increased nutritional value, as well as health related attributes. Often, in studies, consumers also referred to the reduction or complete elimination of allergenic ingredients and other chemical ingredients, e.g. preservatives, flavor enhancers. Consumers accept these innovations in different ways, generally showing skepticism about “improving” food by enriching it with various ingredients, while positively referring to changes related to the reduction in the content of nutrients considered harmful to health, e.g. fat, sugar or salt. It was also noted that innovativeness treated as a personality trait is accompanied by such features as: openness, tolerance, optimism, life satisfaction, while people lacking tendency to accept innovation are usually pessimistic about the world, attached to tradition or thrifty. It was also noted that consumers similarly perceive innovative and functional food, indicating that functional products are food with a specific health purpose, with a modified composition. The interviewees also indicated that it is possible to increase the interest of consumers in purchasing new food products or functional food through, inter alia, well targeted marketing messages, and it is necessary to take into account the legal regulations regarding their wording when formulating them. This applies in particular to the possibility of using nutrition and health claims in the case of products enriched with ingredients with a declared health-related effect.