소비자의 밀키트 이용행동에 관한 연구

Abstract

During the pandemic, a meal kit as a sub-category of home-meal replacement (HMR) has received increasing attention in the market. This study explores how consumers use meal kits and perceive the use of meal kits. Investigating the perception of the advantages and disadvantages of using a meal kit, we also examined the associations of intention to use a meal kit. Analyzing the data from purchase history and survey responses of consumer panels in the Rural Development Administration, we find that less than one-third of consumers purchased the meal kits in 2021, indicating its presence in the early market. Our results also indicate that consumers have positive perceptions of spending less efforts in using a meal kit compared to in-home cooking, and healthiness compared to other types of HMR and food-delivery services. On the other hand, consumers are concerned about using disposal items and food additives in meal kits. The result suggests that the intention to use a meal kit positively is associated with the perception of healthiness, fewer efforts to use a meal kit, and a lower cost compared to other types of HMR and food-delivery services and negatively associated with a concern about ingredient freshness. Our findings provide important implications for meal kit providers in developing and offering improved meal kit products to consumers for achieving the mainstream market.