Milk Purchase Research Articles

Patterns and trends of beverage consumption among children and adults in Great Britain, 1986–2009

Many dietary recommendations include reduction of excessive intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and other energy-rich beverages such as juices and alcohol. The present study examines surveys of both individual dietary intake data and household food expenditure surveys to provide a picture of patterns and trends in beverage intake and purchases in Great Britain from 1986 to 2009, and estimates the potential for pricing policy to promote more healthful beverage purchase patterns. In 2008-9, beverages accounted for 21, 14 and 18% of daily energy intake for children aged 1·5-18 and 4-18 years, and adults (19-64 years), respectively. Since the 1990s, the most important shifts have been a reduction in consumption of high-fat dairy products and an increased consumption of fruit juices and reduced-fat milk among preschoolers, children and adolescents. Among adults, consumption of high-fat milk beverages, sweetened tea and coffee and other energy-containing drinks fell, but reduced-fat milk, alcohol (particularly beer) and fruit juice rose. In testing taxation as an option for shifting beverage purchase patterns, we calculate that a 10% increase in the price of SSB could potentially result in a decrease of 7·5ml/capita per d. A similar 10% tax on high-fat milk is associated with a reduction of high-fat milk purchases by 5ml/capita per d and increased reduced-fat milk purchase by 7ml/capita per d. This analysis implies that taxation or other methods of shifting relative costs of these beverages could be a way to improve beverage choices in Great Britain.

Organic and conventional milk purchase behaviors in Central Ohio

The authors use weekly milk scanner data from six stores of a national supermarket chain to investigate empirically the purchasing patterns of suburban and inner-city residents for conventional and organic milk. They disaggregate conventional milk products into four categories based on fat content (whole, 2%, 1%, and skim); organic milk is disaggregated into these same categories, but for empirical estimation, some categories are combined. Their descriptive statistics show that suburban consumers, relative to inner-city consumers, purchase more organic and lower-fat conventional milk. These same consumers pay higher prices for conventional and organic milk, save for conventional 1% and skim milk. Our econometric results indicate that suburban consumers are price insensitive toward the purchase of all conventional and organic classes; inner-city consumers are price-sensitive toward conventional whole and 2% milk—products that constitute 89% of their milk expenditure; these same consumers are price insensitive toward all other classes of conventional and organic milk. [JEL codes: Q110, Q130, Q180]. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Household demand analysis of organic and conventional fluid milk in the United States based on the 2004 Nielsen Homescan panel

AbstractUsing the 2004 AC Nielsen panel consisting of over 38,000 households, the authors ascertain the influence of selected demographic variables associated with the purchase of organic fluid milk through the estimation of a probit model. From the use of the Heckman two‐step procedure, they also calculate own‐price, cross‐price, and income elasticities by estimating demand relationships for both organic and conventional milk. They find that demographic factors play a crucial role in the household choice of purchasing organic milk. Furthermore, households are more sensitive to own‐price changes in the case of organic milk versus conventional milk. Evidence from estimated cross‐price elasticities indicates that organic and conventional milk are substitutes. However, quantities purchased of organic milk are more sensitive to changes in prices of conventional milk than vice versa. Consequently, an asymmetric pattern exists with regard to the substitution patterns of the respective milk types. Moreover, evidence indicates that organic milk is responsive to income changes, but conventional milk is not responsive to income changes. Finally, a 1% increase in the price of organic milk reduces total milk sales by 0.20%, but a 1% increase in the price of conventional milk raises total milk sales by 0.31%. [EconLit citations: C25, D12]. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

How do consumers determine the safety of milk in Beijing, China?

In asymmetric information markets, consumers often rely on certain extrinsic indictors to assess the safety of food products. This study analyzes how consumers in Beijing determined milk safety when they purchased liquid milk using survey data conducted just before the melamine-contaminated infant formula event was disclosed. The key finding indicates that milk brand and purchase venue, on average, were ranked as the first two important safety indicators in fluid milk purchases, suggesting that China's milk safety regulators should put more monitoring resources toward supervising the safety of milk produced from branded firms and milk sold in ostensibly trustable stores and not allow exemptions to inspections. Meanwhile, the findings of this study indicate that the existing milk safety certification system in China might be significantly inefficient, suggesting potential waste of regulatory resources.

A Category-Level Model of Asymmetric Complements

Asymmetric complements refer to goods where one is more dependent on the other, yet consumers receive enhanced benefit from consuming both. Examples include garden hoses and sprinklers, chips and dip, and routine versus personalized services where the former has a broader base for utility generation and the latter is more dependent on the other's presence. Measuring the presence of asymmetries is difficult because it requires longitudinal variation of utility where the degree of inter-dependency changes. We introduce a utility structure with multiplicative demand shocks capable of identifying the origin of demand variation, and investigate the presence of asymmetric complementarity using scanner panel data of cereal and milk purchases. Implications are explored through counterfactual analyses involving cross price elasticities, and spillover effects.

The importance of personal norms for purchasing organic milk

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to apply a structured approach to understand the importance of personal ecological norms in purchasing organic food. The norm‐activation‐model by Schwartz is used to predict self‐reported and observed purchase behaviour of organic milk.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reports the results of a field study with 63 customers of a German supermarket. A combination of covert observation and in‐store interviews was applied to obtain reliable data on actual shopping behaviour and its predictors.FindingsThe results show that the self‐reported and the observed purchase of organic milk is predicted by personal ecological norms, social norms, and perceived behavioural control. Personal norms are activated by awareness of need, awareness of consequences, perceived behavioural control, and social norms. People with strong personal norms use “organic production”, the “EU‐BIO‐Label” and “ingredients” as additional criteria during their decision process. For people with strong ecological norms the price difference between organic and conventional milk, the lack of knowledge about organic milk, and convenience are less important constraints. Finally, people with strong personal norms react more sensitively to proposed norm‐centred interventions.Practical implicationsThe study offers insight into the processes of motivating behaviour and can therefore be used to design intervention strategies. Suggestions are developed in the closing part of the paper.Originality/valueThe study applies for the first time the norm‐activation‐model to the domain of purchasing organic milk and underlines the importance of normative influences for this decision.

The Removal of Flavored Milk in Schools Results in a Reduction in Total Milk Purchases in All Grades, K-12

The Removal of Flavored Milk in Schools Results in a Reduction in Total Milk Purchases in All Grades, K-12

Importance of Standardizing Raw Milk Quality for the Enhancement of Croatian Market Competitiveness

In the European Union member states (EU), it is necessary to evaluate hygienic condition of milk in order to determine milk price. Similar requirement was set by the Republic of Croatia in 2000. The Rulebook defines minimal quality criteria that fresh raw milk must have in order to be purchased. Upon completion of analysis, milk is classified into quality classes, each having a defined price. Increased value of somatic cell count (higher than 400,000/ml) and micro ogranism (MO; higher than 100,000/ml) directly decreases the raw milk price, whereas higher content of fat and protein causes its increase. Since the system of market milk price formation was established, producers have been stimulated to produce milk of higher quality: in a total of milk being purchased, the highest quality milk share increased from 23.3% to 34.2%. Referring to a trend of milk purchase price reduction in the EU, and considering the current high milk purchase price in Croatia, Croatian producers have an opportunity to improve conditions in milk industry before the country joins the EU. Current milk production needs to be increased and milk quality also needs to be improved in order to make Croatian milk production more competitive on the European and world market.

Global influences on milk purchasing in New Zealand--implications for health and inequalities.

BackgroundEconomic changes and policy reforms, consistent with economic globalization, in New Zealand in the mid-1980s, combined with the recent global demand for dairy products, particularly from countries undergoing a 'nutrition transition', have created an environment where a proportion of the New Zealand population is now experiencing financial difficulty purchasing milk. This situation has the potential to adversely affect health.DiscussionSimilar to other developed nations, widening income disparities and health inequalities have resulted from economic globalization in New Zealand; with regard to nutrition, a proportion of the population now faces food poverty. Further, rates of overweight/obesity and chronic diseases have increased in recent decades, primarily affecting indigenous people and lower socio-economic groups. Economic globalization in New Zealand has changed the domestic milk supply with regard to the consumer and may shed light on the link between globalization, nutrition and health outcomes. This paper describes the economic changes in New Zealand, specifically in the dairy market and discusses how these changes have the potential to create inequalities and adverse health outcomes. The implications for the success of current policy addressing chronic health outcomes is discussed, alternative policy options such as subsidies, price controls or alteration of taxation of recommended foods relative to 'unhealthy' foods are presented and the need for further research is considered.SummaryChanges in economic ideology in New Zealand have altered the focus of policy development, from social to commercial. To achieve equity in health and improve access to social determinants of health, such as healthy nutrition, policy-makers must give consideration to health outcomes when developing and implementing economic policy, both national and global.

Acceptance of Transgenic Milk in La Araucania Region,Chile

A B S T R A C T Considering the high level of concern caused by genetically modified foods (GMF) in developed countries, the relevance of this variable in decision-making about the purchase of fluid milk among consumers in Temuco (La Araucania Region, Chile) was determined. By means of a personal survey of 400 people and using conjoint analysis, it was determined that the presence of genetic modifications in food was more important (44.7%) than brand (29.5%) and price (25.5%) in the decision-making process. By cluster analysis three segments were identified; the largest group (46.5%) gave similar relevance to food production and brand, preferring genetically modified milk. For the second group (41.5%), the presence or absence of genetic modification was the most important variable in the purchase, with a strong rejection of milk produced by genetic manipulation and preference for non-transgenic milk. The minority segment (12.0%) placed a higher value on price. These three segments prefer national brand milk, reject the product with private brands and react positively to lower prices. The most sensitive segment to genetic food manipulation had a higher proportion of people under 35 years of age and with no children. It is concluded that the absence of genetic manipulation in food is a desirable condition, mainly for young consumers of La Araucania Region.

Valuing the influence of underlying attitudes and the demand for organic milk in Japan

AbstractSubjective perceptions about a product affect consumer choice. Accordingly, acquiring the underlying demand characteristics that consumers find desirable is vital for firms planning future marketing strategies. However, the extent to which product‐specific perceptions affect consumer choice is poorly understood. New agricultural standards for organic livestock were introduced in Japan in November 2005 and are expected to influence the market significantly. Choice modeling (CM) is used to explore how consumers evaluate the latent demands and conventional attributes (or tangible values) of organic milk. The results suggest that latent demands, along with socioeconomic characteristics and conventional attributes, provide strong incentives for consumers to move from the purchase of conventional milk to organic milk. The analysis indicates that latent demands reflecting the safeness of organic milk, the better taste of organic milk, the image of environmental friendliness in the production process, and the image of the health and comfort of the cows are important factors that influence consumers' purchasing decisions. However, each specific factor has a corresponding conventional tangible attribute that needs to be targeted in marketing strategy.

Aceptación diferenciada de alimentos transgénicos de origen vegetal y animal en la Región de La Araucanía, Chile

B. Schnettler, O. Sepulveda, and D. Ruiz. 2008. Differentiated acceptance of transgenic foods of animal and vegetable origin in the Region of La Araucania, Chile. Cien. Inv. Agr. 35(2):133-144. Genetically modifi ed transgenic foods (TF) have generated considerable debate in developed countries. Therefore, a survey of 400 people was conducted to assess the importance of this variable in consumer decisions regarding the purchase of liquid milk and tomato sauce in Temuco (IX th Region, Chile). This survey also evaluated the existence of different market segments. Using a conjoint analysis, we established that the presence of genetic modifi cation (GM) in food was a more important factor than either the brand or the price in both types of food. Using a cluster analysis, fi ve consumer groups were distinguished, with two large groups representing 46.8% and 18.8% of the total number of people surveyed. These two groups felt the existence of GMs to be important, but only the largest group preferred the alternatives with no GMs. For the third group (16.8%), brand was the most important attribute, but a preference for non-TF was also shown. The fourth group (10.5%) placed great importance on price and preferred non-TF. The smallest group (7.3%) placed a slightly higher value on the price of milk and on the brand of tomato sauce, showing a preference for TF. The fi ve groups all rejected the store-brand product and most consumers reacted positively to lower prices. Therefore, with the results of this investigation, it can be concluded that the absence of GMs in milk and tomato sauce is a desirable condition for a large proportion of consumers in Temuco (74%), but there are groups of consumers (26%) that accept genetic manipulation of these foods.

Studying household purchasing and nonpurchasing behaviour for a frequently consumed commodity: two models†

A panel data double-hurdle model is developed to analyse household purchasing behaviour. The model, a time-series extension of Cragg's conventional double-hurdle model of censored consumption, is able to account not only for the censored nature of commodity purchases, but also for the temporal linkage of the purchase process. The panel data double-hurdle model is compared with the marked renewal model that has also been used for studying household purchasing behaviour. The empirical results of the double-hurdle model show that for household milk purchases hurdle due to noneconomic reasons exists. The results of the marked purchase renewal model showed that the duration dependence is positive. Both models fit the data well. † The views presented in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of USDA-ERS.

Survey of Retail Milk Composition as Affected by Label Claims Regarding Farm-Management Practices

A trend in food labeling is to make claims related to agricultural management, and this is occurring with dairy labels. A survey study was conducted to compare retail milk for quality (antibiotics and bacterial counts), nutritional value (fat, protein, and solids-not-fat), and hormonal composition (somatotropin, insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1], estradiol, and progesterone) as affected by three label claims related to dairy-cow management: conventional, recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST)−free (processor-certified not from cows supplemented with rbST), or organic (follows US Department of Agriculture organic practices). Retail milk samples (n=334) from 48 states were collected. Based on a statistical analysis that reflected the sampling schema and distributions appropriate to the various response variables, minor differences were observed for conventional, rbST-free, and organic milk labels. Conventionally labeled milk had the lowest ( P<0.05) bacterial counts compared to either milk labeled rbST-free or organic; however, these differences were not biologically meaningful. In addition, conventionally labeled milk had significantly less ( P<0.05) estradiol and progesterone than organic milk (4.97 vs 6.40 pg/mL and 12.0 vs 13.9 ng/mL, respectively). Milk labeled rbST-free had similar concentrations of progesterone vs conventional milk and similar concentrations of estradiol vs organic milk. Concentrations of IGF-1 in milk were similar between conventional milk and milk labeled rbST-free. Organic milk had less ( P<0.05) IGF-1 than either conventional or rbST-free milk (2.73 ng/mL vs 3.12 and 3.04 ng/mL, respectively). The macronutrient profiles of the different milks were similar, except for a slight increase in protein in organic milk (about 0.1% greater for organic compared to other milks). Label claims were not related to any meaningful differences in the milk compositional variables measured. It is important for food and nutrition professionals to know that conventional, rbST-free, and organic milk are compositionally similar so they can serve as a key resource to consumers who are making milk purchase (and consumption) decisions in a marketplace where there are misleading milk label claims.

Modelling milk purchasing behaviour with a panel data double-hurdle model

In this study, the double-hurdle model typically used in cross-sectional data is extended to panel data structures. The new double-hurdle model can account not only for the censored nature of commodity purchases, but also for the dynamics of the purchase process. In this model, a flexible error structure is assumed to account for state dependence and household-specific heterogeneity. In the empirical application for milk purchases, it is found that generic advertising increases the probability of market participation as well as the purchase quantity and incidence. Temporal dependence is also found in both purchase and participation equations.

Ocena konkurencyjności spółdzielni mleczarskich

The study presents the comparative analysis of competitiveness' level of dairy cooperatives, which exports their products to the UE market and cooperatives from Świętokrzyskie province, which are not entitled to the export to the UE market. Cooperatives exporting their products to the UE market (group A) in the years 1998-2001 showed the increase of milk processing while in cooperatives from Świętokrzyskie province the decrease ensued. The cooperatives from group A were also characterized by three times higher level of average delivery of milk as well as the share in the purchase of extra class milk. In 2001 cooperatives Świętokrzyskie province incurred loss while group A cooperatives achieved increasing significant profit. The competitive strength of milk · deliverers is larger in a group of cooperatives in Świętokrzyskie province because those cooperatives do not achieve the cost advantage for the sake of the low concentration of the production. The biggest threat to dairy cooperatives is in the buyers' strong influence on the volume of sale and in buyers' possibility to change a cooperative delivering them dairy products. The level of competition's intensity in the scope of products offered by cooperatives was similar, highest in the case of milk, cheese, sour and sour cream and lowest in case of powder milk and butter. The necessity of covering large capital needs as well as difficulties in access to distribution channels were described as largest barriers to entry and considerable small barrier is the competitive activity of already existing enterprises. In the opinion of cooperatives' managers the possibility of appearing new substitutes of dairy products, except for butter, is low.

Factors affecting fluid milk purchasing sources in Turkey

This study investigated main factors affecting fluid milk purchasing sources of households in Turkey. From the collected household survey data, a multinomial logit model was estimated to analyze households’ choices among unpacked, processed and processed-unpacked fluid milk alternatives within the utility maximization framework. The results indicated that number of children, household size, educational level and income were among the important household characteristics that influence fluid milk purchasing behaviors. In particular, processed fluid milk purchases were made by households with high-income levels, higher educated and small households in comparison to unpacked fluid milk purchases. On the other hand, results revealed that response of households to price difference and other usages of fluid milk significantly stimulate households to choose unpacked and processed-unpacked alternatives over the processed fluid milk choice. The implications of these results for government agencies and fluid milk processing firms in developing countries are discussed.

Students Consuming Sack Lunches Devote More Time to Eating Than Those Consuming School Lunches

Concern has been raised about the amount of time provided for students to consume school lunch. This study analyzed the amount of time used by elementary students to consume school lunch vs sack lunch. Data collectors used stop watches to collect wait time, opportunity time to eat and consumption time for elementary students consuming school lunch, sack lunch, and sack lunch with a separate milk purchase. Students consuming school lunch had a significantly longer wait time than those consuming sack lunch or sack lunch with milk (P<.0001). In contrast, students consuming sack lunch and sack lunch with milk had significantly longer opportunity times to eat (P<.0001) and consumption times (P<.001). There was also a significant decrease in opportunity time to eat and consumption time as grade level increased, particularly in boys (P<.05). Older boys appeared more anxious to finish eating so they could go out to recess. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002; 102: 1283-1286.

Viabilidade financeira da pasteurização lenta de leite na fazenda: estudo de caso

O estudo descreve a viabilidade financeira da pasteurização lenta de leite, a partir da análise da rentabilidade frente a diferentes variações, em uma propriedade rural localizada na região metropolitana de Belo Horizonte, MG, no ano contábil de 1998. Foram utilizadas anotações das despesas e receitas complementadas por entrevistas semi-estruturadas. A produção e compra de leite foram os principais componentes dos custos operacionais totais. A pasteurização representou 12% do custo operacional e a rentabilidade sobre o capital total 10,5%. A rentabilidade variou mais frente aos preços de venda do leite e aos custos operacionais totais de produção do que aos investimentos e diferença de inventário animal. A pasteurização de leite na fazenda mostrou-se uma alternativa viável de acordo com a situação estudada.

Factors Affecting Consumers' Fluid Milk Purchasing Patterns in Taiwan

This study evaluates product attributes, advertising, and demographic factors that influence purchasing patterns of fresh milk, flavored milk, and yogurt drinks in Taiwan. Results indicate that freshness is the most important product attribute when consumers purchase fluid milk products. Product prices and brands affect purchasing quantities of flavored milk products but have no effects on fresh milk or yogurt drinks. Advertising has positive effects on the purchases of flavored milk and yogurt drinks. Household shoppers with higher educational levels tend to purchase less flavored milk products. Larger households purchase more fluid milk products, especially flavored milk. Marketing strategies of fluid milk products are suggested based on the results of this study.