Evaluation of consumers’ perception regarding frankfurter sausages with different healthiness attributes

Abstract

AbstractThe objective of this study was to evaluate consumers’ perception regarding frankfurter sausages with different healthiness attributes. Descriptions of different frankfurter sausages were used (traditional, with natural antioxidants, with sodium reduction, with fat reduction, source of dietary fiber, and with omega 3) as stimuli. All consumers evaluated the six stimuli and performed a test of word association before evaluating the acceptance of each concept, along with the familiarity level, consumers’ emotional responses, and their perceptions of food with healthiness attributes. The category “healthiness” presented the highest frequency mentions for the stimuli with healthier attributes. The negative associations related to the traditional frankfurter sausages were unhealthy, fat/cal, and high blood pressure. Regarding the emotional evaluations, significant differences were found between different types of sausage. It is possible to conclude that different types of frankfurter sausage promoted distinctive associations and emotions when recurring categories were considered, suggesting that the development and promotion of these kinds of products must consider all the particularities obtained through these results.Practical applicationsThere is a potential market for the development of healthier meat products, due to the exposure of traditional meat products in the media regarding possible adverse health effects. The information and peculiarities obtained in this study on the perception of consumers in relation to sausage with different attributes of healthiness can direct the industry in the development and promotion of these products. Besides that, these results indicate the importance of carrying out research with product concepts to evaluate consumer perception in order to develop and launch those products in the consumer market.