A cross-cultural segmentation of western Balkan consumers: focus on preferences toward traditional fresh cow cheese.

BACKGROUND: Western Balkan countries (WBCs) have a long-standing culinary tradition. The promotion of traditional foods may be a tool for coping with modernisation trends in such transition economies. This paper explores consumer preferences toward food in this region, focusing on a traditional fresh cow cheese locally called 'Mladi Sir'. This product was quoted in all the preliminary focus groups as a common traditional product present in the six WBCs studied: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. RESULTS: After a literature review investigating the concept of traditional food in WBCs and the implementation of focus groups, a survey including a conjoint analysis on preferences for fresh cow cheese was carried out in 2011 to collect data from 1200 respondents. Four clusters of consumers were identified: one focused more on the local origin; one oriented more toward the scale of production (on-farm and small dairy); the third favouring low prices and the fourth preferring high prices and industrial products. CONCLUSION: Policy makers and the supply chain could take these differences in consumer preferences regarding traditional food products into account in order to develop specific strategies.

The motivational and informational basis of attitudes toward foods with health claims.

This research explored the effects of food choice motives, nutritional knowledge, and the use of food labels, on attitude toward food with health claims. Food with health claims was chosen as a relatively novel category of products designed to be beneficial for health. We identified eight motives served by food in general, and tested if they serve as motivations to positively evaluate functional food. Questionnaire was administered on nationally representative samples of 3085 respondents from six Western Balkan countries. We proposed two structural models relating an extensive list of eight and, alternatively, restricted list of three food-choice motives (health, mood and sensory appeal) to attitude toward functional food. We also expected the indirect association between the health motive and attitude, through nutritional knowledge and use of food labels. The results revealed highly positive, although undifferentiated attitude toward functional food, with no significant differences between the countries. The restricted model provided a better fit then the exhaustive model; the health motive was proven to have indirect influence on attitude through knowledge and label use. The implications of these findings for functional approach to attitudes, understanding the demand for functional food and overcoming barriers to dietary change are discussed.