Exploring consumers’ health perception across cultures in the early stages of new product development: Dried mango as a case study

Ita Sulistyawati, Siet Sijtsema, Matthijs Dekker, Ruud Verkerk, Bea Steenbekkers*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore consumers’ health perception and demonstrate its relevance in product and process design in early stages of new product development. Design/methodology/approach: A dried mango was used as a case study involving three countries: Indonesia, China and the Netherlands. Data were collected from nine focus groups (n=53 participants) and were content-analysed to acquire in-depth insights. Findings: Four themes of health perception emerged, namely, nutrition, naturalness, taste and well-being, which were all expressed on different levels of abstractness. Participants’ health perception of dried mango varied, it is related to the product category it is compared with, e.g. candy or fresh fruit, and the eating context, e.g. position in the diet either as a snack or a meal. In extension participants mentioned product and process characteristics. Application of the insights into product and process design was performed through iterative interactions between consumer scientists and food technologists. The development of two product concepts was elaborated to transform the insights into technical product and process specifications for a natural dried mango product. Originality/value: This transformation suggests that iterative interactions are necessary to achieve relevant product and process characteristics in the simultaneous design of the technical product and process specifications based on consumer perceptions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2116-2131
JournalBritish Food Journal
Volume121
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Sept 2019

Keywords

  • Consumer-oriented new product development
  • Dried fruit
  • Focus groups
  • Food perception
  • Health
  • Product and process design

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