Consumers’ knowledge, practices, and perceptions about conventional and sustainable food packaging

Abstract

The aim of the study is to evaluate consumers' knowledge, practices, and perceptions about conventional and sustainable food packaging. Cross-sectional, descriptive, and exploratory study conducted with consumers in Vitória city, Espírito Santo State, Brazil. A questionnaire was applied to 163 consumers. Regarding the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, most of them were women, in the age group 18-24 years, did not live with a partner and had individual income. Consumers reported quality as the most important factor taken into consideration at food purchasing time and indicated that always observe the packaging conditions at purchasing time. Most consumers reported that packaging presents a fundamental role in their purchase decision, and they have mentioned also that material’s type influences their decision to purchase a food product. In addition, consumers preferred biodegradable packaging rather than the traditional one, whereas most of them reported to be willing to pay up to 5% more for products if their packaging had lesser environmental impact. Therefore, it appears that consumers evaluate products’ packaging at purchasing time, but lack of information about the material type used for packaging and about its environmental implications is a serious issue that avoids behavior’s changes from taking place.