못난이 푸드(Ugly Food)의 흠집이 지각된 품질, 진정성, 구매의도, 프리미엄 지불의사에 미치는 영향

Abstract

The foods that consumers do not purchase will lead to food waste and environmental problems. Due to COVID-19, consumers have become highly interested in the environment and this connects to an eco-friendly attitude. Thus, this study aimed to identify the relationship between authenticity, perceived quality, purchase intention, willingness to pay premium prices, organic labels, and environmental concerns of ugly food appearance for sustainable consumption. Apple was selected to represent the visually unappealing (ugly) food and the study was divided into normal and defective type of apples. The results showed that, when there is a defect of the food's appearance, the consumers’ buying habits demonstrated a lower belief in authenticity, perceived quality, purchase intention, and willingness to pay a premium price. However, consumers’ responses changed positively when organic labels were represented. Additionally, the authenticity and perceived quality affected purchase intention and willingness to pay a premium. Finally, environmental concerns were divided into three groups to verify the moderating effect of the relationship between food appearance and consumer response, and there was a significant interaction effect on perceived quality and purchase intention. This study expanded the scope of ugly food research on the subject of defects and confirmed that authenticity and organic labels can be used as variables to promote sustainable consumption. The study also offers valuable insights for food marketers to understand a willingness of environmentally conscious consumers to pay premium prices, thus increasing sales in the future.