Familiar Products Research Articles

Perception of non-conventional food consumption: the case of insects

PurposeTo analyse the reasons for acceptance and rejection of insect consumption among urban Mexican consumers based on their perceptions and levels of food neophobia and neophilia.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was distributed online to 415 people. The Food Neophobia Scale was used, measured on a four-point Likert scale, and consumers were grouped according to their level of neophobia. The Free Word Association technique was used to determine participants’ perceptions of “edible insects”, and the words obtained were categorised according to synonyms. The Chi-square test per cell made it possible to determine the statistical significance of each group in relation to the categories and was confirmed by a correspondence analysis. The economic aspects of the groups were analysed using the Chi-square and the Z-test with the Bonferroni method.FindingsThree groups of consumers have been identified: neophilic, intermediate and neophobic. Participants mentioned 1,235 words, which were grouped into 16 categories. For neophilics, edible insects are a familiar product; intermediates are curious and neophobics are afraid of consumption.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the analysis of the aspects that influence the acceptance and rejection of insect consumption among urban consumers by considering the degree of food neophobia and the participants’ perceptions.

The Role of Augmented Reality Experiences in Consumers' Purchase Intention Toward New Products

ABSTRACTAugmented reality marketing (ARM) is rapidly emerging as a critical marketing channel to enhance consumer experiences. In the past, researchers have focused on ARM's varied antecedents, mechanisms, and outcomes. However, this study aims to deepen the knowledge by exploring how ARM experiences can drive unique outcomes. Based on the TEAV model of consumption experience, we followed a mixed methods approach, utilizing the data from 22 interview participants and 711 survey respondents, analyzed through PLS‐SEM. The findings indicate that ARM facilitates cognitive, affective, and co‐creation experiences, influencing the purchase intention toward new variants of familiar products. The study's insights establish the role of technology in enabling new experiences and influencing consumption behaviors. The findings expand the academic understanding of the unique outcomes of ARM experiences. Brands, retailers, and marketers can use this research to boost revenue and image by encouraging ARM‐enabled experiences and purchases.

Fate of stringy noninvertible symmetries

Noninvertible symmetries in quantum field theory (QFT) generalize the familiar product rule of groups to a more general fusion rule. In many cases, gauged versions of these symmetries can be regarded as dual descriptions of invertible gauge symmetries. One may ask: are there any other types of noninvertible gauge symmetries? In theories with gravity we find a new form of noninvertible gauge symmetry that emerges in the limit of fundamental, tensionless strings. These stringy noninvertible gauge symmetries appear in standard examples such as non-Abelian orbifolds. Moving away from the tensionless limit always breaks these symmetries. We also find that both the conventional form of noninvertible gauge symmetries and these stringy generalizations are realized in AdS/CFT. Although generically broken, approximate noninvertible symmetries have implications for swampland constraints: in certain cases they can be used to prove the existence of towers of states related to the distance conjecture, and can sometimes explain the existence of slightly subextremal states which fill in the gaps in the sublattice weak gravity conjecture. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Understanding perceptions of unfamiliar drinks using natural language in simulated drinking contexts

Understanding perceptions of unfamiliar drinks using natural language in simulated drinking contexts

Sustainable Development of an Innovative Spreadable Plant-Based Product of High Added Value through the Valorization of an Agro-Food By-Product

There is an increased demand for healthy foods by the consumer nowadays, while at the same time, circular bio-economy and sustainability in food production represent top priority issues for the food industry. In this context, purslane, a highly nutritious annual plant that grows abundant during the hottest months of the year but is considered a by-product of the agricultural process, was utilized for the development of an innovative, ready-to-eat food product suitable for a vegetarian diet in the form of a bread spread. Following an initial small-scale experimentation for the stabilization of apparent quality attributes, the product’s recipe was finalized on an industrial scale, and the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) for the manufacturing process, the physicochemical (pH, water activity) and sensorial analysis of the end product, together with its nutritional value, shelf-life, and antioxidant capacity, were determined. The results suggested that the acidic (pH 4.3) product had a shelf-life of a minimum of six months to one year and, according to EU legislation, it comprised a source of (dietary) fibers and protein, while being high in poly-unsaturated (e.g., omega-3, omega-6), and mono-unsaturated (e.g., oleic acid) fatty acids. Total phenolic content (TPC) with the Folin–Ciocalteau assay and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) using the Ferric-Reducing Antioxidant Power assay of the product, presented concentrations of 0.95 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g and 0.016 mmol of Fe2+/g of dry weight of sample, respectively. However, the predicted bioavailability for TPC and TAC was 28% and 31%, respectively. The product was evaluated positively by a panel of potential consumers without significant differences compared to conventional familiar products. The potential of using agro-food chain by-products, such as purslane, for the development of novel foods representing a healthy and tasty food choice at any time of the day is a promising opportunity for the food industry to meet growing consumer demands for more sustainable, nutritious, and healthy food products with a reduced environmental footprint compared to the traditional plant-originated products of intensive agriculture.

Do people need guidance to estimate a food portion size? Evidence from an exploratory eye-tracker study

Do people need guidance to estimate a food portion size? Evidence from an exploratory eye-tracker study

텔레비전 광고에 담긴 담화·사회문화적 수행 분석 - ‘박카스’ 광고 속 부부 역할의 이데올로기 변화를 중심으로 -

This study focused on the ideological change of marital roles by analyzing the verbal and nonverbal expressions of marital role characters during television advertisements aired from the 1960s to the present of Bacchus(박카스), a nutrient tonic drink that has been loved for a long time all over the country. The purpose of this study is to interpret ideological messages implied in addition to targeted advertising language messages as cultural symbols to identify the linguistic and cultural values implied by advertising language messages. It is also meaningful to examine the function of performing advertising functional language messages and socio-cultural messages through verbal and non-verbal expressions of television advertisements. As a result of the analysis, the long-time familiar product image and the product'ssymbolic television advertising function laid the foundation for the semiotic analysis structure of meaningful advertising language that performed an integrated language message function beyond simply allowing consumers to consume products.

A New Perspective on Supporting Vulnerable Road Users' Safety, Security and Comfort through Personalized Route Planning.

Due to an increase in population, urban centers are currently seeing an increase in traffic, resulting in negative consequences such as pollution and congestion. Efforts have been made to promote a modal shift towards the use of more sustainable means of transport, such as walking and cycling, but several deterrents influence the citizens' perceptions of safety, security and comfort, discouraging their choice of active modes of transport. This study focuses on the importance of providing meaningful information to vulnerable road users (VRUs) to support their perceptions and objectives while moving within urban spaces through a novel concept of route planning. A broad survey of the needs and concerns of VRUs through interviews, focus groups and questionnaires, applied to the Portuguese population of the Metropolitan Area of Porto, led to the development of a new concept of route planners that show personalized routes according to the individual perceptions of each user. This concept is materialized in a route planner prototype that has been extensively tested by potential users. Subjective evaluation and feedback showed the usefulness of the concept and added value to a familiar product, leading to a satisfying experience for participants. This study shows that there is an opportunity to improve these tools to provide a higher degree of power and customization to users on route planning, which includes addressing mobility restrictions and personal perceptions of safety, security and comfort. The ultimate goal of this new approach is to persuade citizens to switch to more sustainable means of transport.

Utilization of Edible-Insects as Protein Substitute in Food and Effects of Processing on Their Nutrient Contents and Protein Functionalities

Population growth, poverty and climate change dictate the need for additional protein sources. Edible insects are potential protein substitutes and can provide both humans and animals with the required amount of protein, essential amino acids, and other indispensable nutrients. Incorporating edible-insects into familiar products and subjecting them to adequate processing that masks their natural appearance will improve their consumption. This article provides insights on the potentials of edible-insects as novel ingredients in food processing and its various benefits. Effects of processing on their nutritional and functional properties were also discussed. Literature was gathered through an online search on the Science Direct database and Google Scholar. Edible-insect powders, protein isolates and concentrates and oils were reported to be incorporated into bugger, chips, chocolate, bread, cookies, and other baked snacks. The addition of insect products improves protein, fat, fiber, and minerals contents. Insects also contain healthier lipids when compared with conventional proteins. Edible-insects will provide essential nutrients to the rapidly growing world population when more attention is given to their production, processing, safety, and marketing. Efforts need to be strengthened to secure global acceptance of insect protein since the conventional sources are not reliable and cannot satisfy the world population in decades to come.

Using Event-Related Potentials (ERP) to identify the purchase intention of a consumer for familiar brands

Several neurological processes are undergoing on a conscious and subconscious level every time a consumer likes or dislikes a product. There is presently significant research in Consumer Neuroscience based on consumer behaviour and understanding of these processes. In this study, we have used Electroencephalography (EEG) and Event-Related Potentials (ERP) to capture consumer responses to highly familiar product images. EEG analysed from the 27 participants was used to extract P1, N1, P300, N400 and Late Posterior components. The analysis showed that the early ERP components viz., P1, N1 and P300 can differentiate between consumer liking and disliking of products. In contrast, the late ERP components N400 and Late Posterior components could not differentiate in the highly familiar product category. The results indicate that after continuous exposure, consumer preference towards highly-familiar products occurs as a part of automatic, unconscious mental processes irrespective of the product properties. Further research in this direction can test for the transference of consumer preference: from a conscious mental process to a subconscious mental process due to excessive and continuous product exposure and marketing repetition. Our study demonstrates that consumer behaviour in response to highly-familiar products can be classified using early ERP components only.

Understanding Italian Consumers' Perception of Safety in Animal Food Products.

The concept of food safety is still underexplored among consumers, especially in relationship with the perception of food technology. Through an online survey (n = 489), this study explored: I, how perceived safety is related to products obtained with different technological treatments and described with different commercial information; II, the role of food technology neophobia (FTN) in consumers' safety perception of animal food products. The technological transformation and commercial information significantly affected the perceived safety in all product categories. Milk and eggs were associated with a high number of perceived hazards (with similar patterns), while honey to the lowest. The certification 'organic' positively affected the safety perception of eggs and honey. With the increase of the distance in product origin (local/regional vs. Extra-European) the perceived safety consistently decreased. FTN affected the perceived safety of milk and eggs, depending on the degree of familiarity with the technologies of production. Highly FT neophobic people are perceived as less safe than low FT neophobic people with few familiar products with a higher technological degree of transformation. Results expand the knowledge in people's attitude towards animal products, particularly considering the technology perception. The outputs may interest policy-makers and food companies, in rethinking the communication strategy concerning food safety.

Novel products and advertising visuals: the mediating role of perceived luxuriousness on willingness to try clean meat products

Underpinned by art infusion theory and construal level theory, this research examines the role of illustrations and photographs in advertising a novel product (i.e. clean meat) and explores the underlying psychological mechanism of luxuriousness. We conducted three experiments to examine the differential effects of illustrations and photographs on customers’ willingness to try a meat product and ascertain whether this relationship was mediated by perceived luxuriousness. Participants reported a greater willingness to try a novel product, such as clean meat, when the advertisement featured an illustration (vs. a photograph), demonstrating the art infusion effect. However, there were non-significant differences among participants in terms of their willingness to try a familiar product, such as conventional meat. The indirect effect of illustration on willingness to try clean mean via perceived luxuriousness was stronger compared to the conventional meat condition. This mediation effect of luxuriousness was also validated using the moderation-of-process approach. The findings provide meaningful guidelines to marketing practitioners and highlight the pertinence of art infusion to clean meat consumption, a relatively unexplored research area.

Value-based nudging of ethnic garments: a conjoint study to differentiate the value perception of ethnic products across Indian Markets

PurposeHandloom products often fail to infiltrate the global or mainland market, resulting in small localized markets, limited demand and profitability. Recent times have also witnessed a decline in the weaving population of India. Assam, accounting for a third of all households engaged in the handloom industry in India, has been widely hit by unemployment, migration and demotivation among weavers due to lack of profitability in the sector. This research aims to study the case of Assam as an exemplar to identify the barriers and cognitive biases impacting the sales of such ethnic apparel and propose nudges as interventions to address such concerns.Design/methodology/approachA conjoint-based experimental study was used to understand and compare the cognitive biases of two study groups: an ethnic group from Assam and a non-ethnic group from various Tier I and Tier II cities of India. The groups were exposed to a variety of ethnic Assamese and ethnic non-Assamese products to understand their value perception using conjoint analysis.FindingsResults indicate a potential lack of cognitive fluency when dealing with Assamese ethnic garments, triggering System II thinking among the non-ethnic (national buyer) group. The underlying cause may be the inability to attribute substitution of the given product for a more familiar product. The results suggest that exposure may lead to priming, which in turn can increase cognitive fluency.Originality/valueWithin the limits of the literature reviewed, designing a conjoint-based experiment and proposing the use of nudge to popularize certain ethnic garments are novel contributions of this study.

Individual pupil size changes as a robust indicator of cognitive familiarity differences.

Cognitive psychology has a long history of using physiological measures, such as pupillometry. However, their susceptibility to confounds introduced by stimulus properties, such as color and luminance, has limited their application. Pupil size measurements, in particular, require sophisticated experimental designs to dissociate relatively small changes in pupil diameter due to cognitive responses from larger ones elicited by changes in stimulus properties or the experimental environment. Here, building on previous research, we present a pupillometry paradigm that adapts the pupil to stimulus properties during the baseline period without revealing stimulus meaning or context by using a pixel-scrambled image mask around an intact image. We demonstrate its robustness in the context of pupillary responses to branded product familiarity. Results show larger average and peak pupil dilation for passively viewed familiar product images and an extended later temporal component representing differences in familiarity across participants (starting around 1400 ms post-stimulus onset). These amplitude differences are present for almost all participants at the single-participant level, and vary somewhat by product category. However, amplitude differences were absent during the baseline period. These findings demonstrate that involuntary pupil size measurements combined with the presented paradigm are successful in dissociating cognitive effects of familiarity from physical stimulus confounds.

Gender behavior and influence in acceptability of beers produced with Rubim and Mastruz

AbstractThe consumption of craft and specialized beer across the world has changed, since it passed from something little known to a familiar product among consumers, which has led to brewers incorporating new flavors and ingredients in beer. Regarding this subject, this study aimed to determine physical–chemical properties, acceptability, and gender behavior on beers with Rubim and Mastruz as hops bitterness substitution, following the proportion: 25, 50, 75, and 100%. A consumer trial (n = 84) was conducted to determine acceptability of nine beers. The participants were asked to rate their opinion about the color, aroma, flavor, overall acceptance, and bitterness intensity. Consumers assessed purchase intention. The hops bitterness substitution affected physical–chemical and sensory properties of beers. International bitterness units (IBU) decreased with increased levels of hops substitution, and the sensorially bitterness was felt by men and women. All beers presented purchase intention for men and women. Gender influenced choices and purchase intention of beers, since women usually look for new flavors, as men are mostly influenced by previous experiences and friendship recommendation.Practical applicationsThis study brings significant information about the factors considered by consumers when they purchase and consume craft beer, aiming the influence by gender. The results were obtained by simple sensory methodologies, such as hedonic scales values, which took into consideration the consumers' appraisal and evaluated it by multivariate approaches, as Principal component analysis (PCA). With the emergence of craft beers, the results of this study emphasize consumer characteristics that can describe the relationship between perceived sensory complexity and appraisal, as well as evaluate how beer knowledge and familiarity with beer impact their decisions, which will help craft brewers market their beers effectively.

Continuous marketing in the social business platform based on identifying consumer boring products

In the social business platform, continuous marketing to consumers can fully explore the consumer purchasing potential. However, since consumers can be influenced by their social friends, their tastes often change, which resulting in the cold start problem of familiar users (CSPFU), and the traditional product recommendation methods are difficult to achieve satisfactory results because they focus on identifying the preferable new products instead of boring familiar products. Therefore, a consumer multi-stage compensation product evaluation model (CMCPEM) based on the multidimensional correlation of products and customers to identify the products that consumers may feel tired is proposed. Specifically, the multidimensional correlation indexes are firstly proposed to depict the preferences of the consumer for the target product to be identified, other consumers who have social contagion and structural equivalence relationships with the consumer and other consumers of homogeneous products. After the direct linear, non-linear and indirect fusion of these multidimensional correlation indexes, the compensation indexes (CIs) are proposed to comprehensively describe the first stage of product evaluation process of consumers. Then, J test in the non-nested model is used to screen out the non-nested CIs that consumers focus on. Finally, in the third stage, the final decision result is given by comprehensively considering CIs that consumers focus on and the indexes that represent consumers’ favorite. Experiment results on YELP data confirm the effectiveness of CMCPEM in successfully launching the continuous marketing campaign.

Impact of music on the dynamic perception of coffee and evoked emotions evaluated by temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) and emotions (TDE)

The aim of the present work was to study the temporal effect of music on sensory perception and on the emotional changes while drinking coffee. Two different commercial filter coffees were evaluated by a group of 48 consumers using the Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) method. The description was performed in silence and also while listening to two different musical fragments: one with a "sweet" connotation and the other with a "bitter" one. Under the same conditions (drinking coffee with and without musical stimuli), a different group of 72 consumers evaluated their perceived emotions (joy, fear, neutral, rejection, disgust, surprise, sadness and anger) by Temporal Dominance of Emotions (TDE). Data was analyzed by dominance curves and by ANOVA and MANOVA of the durations of dominance (for emotions and sensations). Coffee perception, in both cases, was modified by the musical stimuli. The duration of dominance of bitter was increased in the presence of "bitter" music, while it decreased with the "sweet" music. Moreover, the sweet attribute was practically not chosen for describing the coffee on its own, but its choice and duration as dominant increased while listening to the "sweet" musical fragment. Music had a larger impact on the perceived emotions. The "sweet" music was related to the emotion of joy, which was accompanied by surprise and also some sadness when drinking coffee (regardless of the type of coffee being drunk). The "bitter" music was linked to the emotions anger and fear. The effect of "sonic seasoning" and translation of emotions with a familiar product was observed.

Usability evaluation of mobile devices user interface

Designs of mobile human-computer interaction (HCI) target to create interactive and familiar products that are simple and interested to use. The mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets are becoming more and more popular and may to some extent replace the desktop computer and laptop as the most prominent hardware for HCI. This article presents a technical background for this area, the survey of selected user interface (UI) usability principles of today’s mobile devices design and user’s interaction for evaluation purposes. The experiment conducted through a questionnaire having four elements related to usability, i.e. usefulness, ease of use, ease of learning, and satisfaction. Furthermore, the evaluation process performed using quantitative analysis to understand and investigate the participants’ responses based on the Likert scale. The results suggested that most of the participants show a high level of satisfaction towards mobile devices and its interface. The attained level of satisfaction for each element was recorded as 63% for usefulness, 71% for ease of learning, 78% for ease of use and 70% for satisfaction. The collected results can guide the developers and mobile companies to understand the satisfaction level of mobile users. It will also help them to enhance the design and user interface of mobile applications based on usability and flexibility.

Creating delicious plant‐based products

Creating delicious plant‐based products

Novelty as Opportunity and Risk: A Situated Cognition Analysis of Psychological Control and Novelty Seeking

Novel products present unknown opportunities as well as unknown risks. Past research suggested that low psychological control highlights risks and reduces the adoption of novel products. Consistent with a situated cognition perspective, we show that this depends on the specifics of low control. Across five studies, novelty seeking was lower after consumers thought about instances of low (vs. high) personal influence, but higher after consumers thought about instances of low (vs. high) predictability of the world. Thinking about a lack of personal influence increased the perceived importance of personal capability and in turn impaired the exploration of novel options, whereas thinking about an unpredictable world increased the perceived importance of preparedness for an unknown future and in turn the exploration of novel options. Throughout, perceiving low personal influence benefited familiar products, whereas seeing the world as unpredictable benefited novel products. This highlights that understanding consumers' responses to a lack of control requires joint consideration of the specifics of threat and task, consistent with situated cognition principles.