A study on the relationship between purchases of meal kits and home meal replacements.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Meal kits and home meal replacements (HMRs) are rapidly growing segments in the convenience food industry. Consequently, numerous studies have examined consumer perceptions of HMR and meal kits, respectively. HMR is an established segment, while meal kits are a recent category. Both segments offer convenience compared to home-cooked meals. However, meal kits offer a wider variety of recipes with fresh ingredients, requiring simple cooking steps to prepare the meal rather than merely heating the food. Despite the commonalities and differences, previous studies have only examined the purchasing behavior and influencing factors of either the meal kits or HMR. However, changes in the purchasing patterns of both segments may be correlated. This study investigates the relationship between consumer purchasing trends of meal kits and HMR and presents practical recommendations regarding the need of consumers for convenience foods. MATERIALS/METHODS: We conducted a panel regression analysis of consumer purchase data obtained from shopping receipts, spanning the 2019, 2020, and 2021 waves of the Korean Rural Development Administration. RESULTS: The results show that the purchases of meal kits and HMR increased during the period, suggesting a complementary relationship between the 2. We also found significant increases in purchases within 2 sub-categories of HMR, namely, ready-to-prepare and ready-to-cook, alongside meal kits. These findings were further supported by the results of the sub-regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The simultaneous growth of meal kits and HMR indicates that convenience foods continue to play a crucial role in meeting consumer needs in the food industry. In addition, considering the significant growth of the HMR sub-categories with fresh ingredients and cooking, we suggest that companies should aim to satisfy the desire of consumers for both convenience as well as freshness and culinary aspects.

Korean consumers' use and concerns about food delivery service.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Despite the rapid growth of the online food delivery service market since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019, little research has focused on how consumers are using food delivery service and what they are concerned about when using food delivery service. Moreover, previous studies have not paid adequate attention to how these concerns are related to consumers' intention to use food delivery service. Therefore, our study examines behaviors and concerns regarding food delivery service and identifies the key factors in consumers' intention to use food delivery service. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Using data collected from 549 Korean consumers, we conducted descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple regressions. RESULTS: We found that using food delivery service is not only for main meals at home or the office but also to meet a variety of dietary needs and occasions. The findings indicated that Korean consumers are most concerned about the sustainability of food delivery service, followed by health, hygiene, hedonic, and usability aspects of the service. Hygiene concerns and a hedonic aspect of the service were negatively associated with consumers' intention to use food delivery service among users, while health concerns decreased the intention of non-users. CONCLUSION: The findings have implications for practitioners and policy makers in food delivery service. To further propel market growth, they should help reduce health concerns of non-users, as well as hygiene and hedonic concerns of existing users.

What drives the use of wearable healthcare devices? A cross-country comparison between the US and Korea.

Objective: Given the rapid growth of the wearable healthcare device market, we examined the associations among health-related and technology-related characteristics of using wearable healthcare devices and demonstrated how the associations differ between the US and Korean users. Methods: Online self-administered surveys were conducted with 4098 participants (3035 in the US and 1063 in Korea) who were recruited through two online survey service providers based on quota sampling. The primary outcome was the use of wearable healthcare devices. Seven health-related, two technology-related, and five socio-demographic factors were included as explanatory variables. Binary logistic regression analyses and a Chow test were conducted. Results: The health-related characteristics that were significantly associated with using wearable healthcare devices included disease-related worries (ß = 0.11**), health information seeking (ß = 0.26***), physical activity (ß = 0.62***), and health-related expenditures ($50-$199, ß = 0.38***; $200 or more, ß = 0.56***). Hedonic (ß = 0.33***), social (ß = 0.31***), and cognitive innovativeness (ß = 0.14*) also exhibited positive relationships. Younger, higher earner, and individuals with a child were more likely to use wearable healthcare devices. However, for Korean users, several associations disappeared including health information seeking, hedonic and social innovativeness, age, and household income. Conclusions: Key drivers of using wearable healthcare devices include greater concern about a specific illness, active engagement in health-promoting behaviors, and hedonic and social motivation to adopt new technologies. However, more country-specific considerations are needed in future studies to identify the main benefits for target markets.

COVID-19 and changes in Korean consumers' dietary attitudes and behaviors.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has dramatically changed nearly every aspect of our lives. Although Dietary lifestyle includes attitudes and behaviors to meet their most basic needs, but few studies have examined the pattern of changes in dietary lifestyle driven by COVID-19. This study explores changes in dietary attitudes and behaviors among Korean consumers after COVID-19. SUBJECTS/METHODS: An online survey was conducted with 549 Korean adults aged 20 and older to identify general demographics and changes in dietary attitudes and behaviors. Data were collected from Oct 12 to Oct 18, 2020. Frequency, percentage, and mean values were calculated and a K-means cluster analysis was performed to categorize consumers based on the 5S of dietary attitudes (i.e., savor-oriented, safety-oriented, sustainability-oriented, saving-oriented, and socializing-oriented). RESULTS: Findings indicate consumers considered safety, health, and freshness to be most important when choosing groceries and prepared meal such as home meal replacement and delivery food. Among the types of services, a large proportion of consumers increased their delivery and take-out services. Regarding retail channels, the increase in the use of online retailers was remarkable compared to offline retailers. Finally, consumers were classified into four segments based on changes in dietary attitudes: "most influenced," "seeking safety and sustainability," "abstaining from savor and socializing," and "least influenced." Each type of consumer exhibited statistically significant differences by sex, age, household composition, presence of disease, and perceived risk of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: This exploratory study provides initial insights for future research by identifying various aspects of dietary attitudes and behaviors among Korean consumers after COVID-19.