Consumer demand heterogeneity and valuation of value-added pulse products: a case of precooked beans in Uganda

Paul Aseete,Michael Adrogu Ugen,Enid Katungi,Eliud Birachi,Jackline Bonabana-Wabbi

doi:10.1186/s40066-018-0203-3

Abstract

BackgroundThis study investigated consumer demand heterogeneity and valuation of a processed bean product—“precooked beans” with substantially reduced cooking time. Common bean is the most important source of protein for low- and middle-income households in Uganda. Its consumption is, however, constrained by long cooking time, high cooking energy and water requirements. As consumption dynamics change due to a rapid expansion of urban populations, rising incomes and high costs of energy, demand for fast-cooking processed foods is rising. An affordable, on-the-shelf bean product that requires less time, fuel and water to cook is thus inevitable.MethodsA choice experiment was used to elicit consumer choices and willingness to pay for precooked beans. Data used were collected from 558 households from urban, peri-urban and rural parts of central Uganda and analyzed using a latent class model which is suitable when consumer preferences for product attributes are heterogeneous.ResultsStudy results revealed three homogeneous consumer segments with one accounting for 44.3% comprising precooked bean enthusiasts. Consumers derive high utility from a processed bean product with improved nutrition quality, reduced cooking time and hence save water and fuel. The demand for the processed bean is driven by cost saving and preference for convenience, which are reflected in willingness to pay a premium to consume it. Heterogeneity in attribute demand is explained by sex and education of the respondents, volumes of beans consumed, location and sufficiency in own bean supply.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that exploring avenues for nutritionally enhancing while optimizing processing protocols to make precooked beans affordable will increase consumer demand. These results have implications for market targeting, product design and pricing of precooked beans.

Highlights

This study investigated consumer demand heterogeneity and valuation of a processed bean prod‐ uct—“precooked beans” with substantially reduced cooking time
Consumer segmentation and preference analysis Estimation of the latent class model (LCM) to determine the optimal number of segments was based on a balanced assessment of the log-likelihood function and full information maximum likelihood [42]
The Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) were minimized, and LL and ρ2 were maximized at three segments (Table 3)

Summary

Introduction

This study investigated consumer demand heterogeneity and valuation of a processed bean prod‐ uct—“precooked beans” with substantially reduced cooking time. As consumption dynamics change due to a rapid expansion of urban populations, rising incomes and high costs of energy, demand for fast-cooking processed foods is rising. The crop is an important rotation crop and intercrop and adds nitrogen to the soil [1] It is rich in cholesterol-free dietary proteins, energy, folic acid, fiber and micronutrients (iron and zinc)— a strategic remedy for hidden hunger. Bean consumption demand has been stable since the 1980s, the crop is consumed as dry grain, which takes longer to cook. Cooking time depends on the crop variety, the cooking method, quantity cooked and length of grain storage It ranges from 120 to 180 min when beans are cooked without presoaking or catalyst and Aseete et al Agric & Food Secur (2018) 7:51

Methods

Results

Conclusion