Elaborating on the potential for mushroom-based product market expansion: Consumers' attitudes and purchasing intentions

Abstract

Since ancient times, mushrooms have been used as a remedy for long life and health promotion in Asian countries. Several studies have been conducted in order to investigate the possibility of using different forms of mushrooms in food and pharmaceutical production, especially as pharmaceuticals and/or nutraceuticals. Because of their huge potential, an increasing number of these products have been included in the assortment of small craft shops, as well as large multinational companies worldwide. The most notable medicinal fungus used in food and pharmaceutical production is Ganoderma lucidum. As a consequence of greater production and consumption of natural products worldwide, the market for mushroom-based products has been growing as well during recent years and is now expanding throughout many countries. As the application of mushroom in food and pharmaceutical industry is increasing, it is necessary to investigate the determinants of consumption of mushroom-based products in order to stimulate greater adoption of such products at the global level. Consumers' adoption is significantly affected by their attitudes towards consumption of mushroom-based products. Attitudes are formed under the influence of certain internal (such as sociodemographic, psychographic, and behavioral profiles of consumers) and external factors (such as market availability, prices, products' origin, and availability of product information). By identification of the most important drivers of consumption, the predictability of behavior of consumers in different markets can be increased, which raises the potential for greater market expansion of mushroom-based products.