Information Effects on Consumers' Preferences and Willingness to Pay for a Functional Food Product: The Case of Red Ginseng Concentrate*

Abstract

This paper elicits consumers' preferences associated with attributes of a very popular food product in Asia: red ginseng concentrate. The results of a choice experiment suggest that an asymmetric information problem can cause consumers' preferences and valuation for red ginseng concentrate to be significantly influenced by objective information about the product's attributes. The results imply that while objective information can result in differential changes in valuation for different product attributes, it can increase consumers' willingness to pay for red ginseng concentrate. The paper also discuss important policy and marketing implications from the results of the study.