Principal Investigators
Dr. Leonie A. Marks is an Assistant Research Professor, Economics and Management of Agrobiotechnology Center (EMAC), Department of Agricultural Economics, Director MU Life Sciences and Society Program, University of Missouri-Columbia, 125D Mumford Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. Tel.: (573) 882 4632; Fax: (573) 882 3958; e-mail: MarksLA@missouri.edu.
Dr. Joe Parcell is Director, Missouri Value Added Development Center, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia, State Extension Specialist, 143 Mumford Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. Tel.: (573) 882 0870; Fax: (573) 884 6573; e-mail: parcellj@missouri.edu.
Collaborators
Dr. Maury Bredhal, Chair of Agricultural Economics & Business, University of Guelph, Guelph Ontario N1G 2W1 Canada. Tel.: (519)-824 4120 ext 53532; Fax: (519) 767 1510 email: mbredahl@uoguelph.ca.
Executive Summary: US Functional Foods Study
The United States (US) component of a multi-country study investigated the market potential of biotech functional foods in the United States market. A functional food is any food or food ingredient that contains health benefits beyond its traditional nutrients. The immediate potential for marketing biotech functional foods to US consumers lies in making a direct link between health and nutrition: 80% of US consumers indicate that nutrition is important to them; while 70% of US consumers indicate that they would pay more for healthier versions of foods.
Means-end chain (MEC) theory was used to translate consumer product knowledge into self-knowledge where knowledge is presumed to be organized in a hierarchy with concrete thoughts linked to more abstract thoughts in a sequence progressing from means (attributes) to ends (motivating values). A sample of sixty households randomly drawn from the population of college town in the Midwest was used. The sample was composed of females aged 20 to 50 who have children and regularly purchase yogurt products. Eight products with various attributes (e.g., soy or milk, enhanced flavor and texture, higher protein, increased calcium absorption, lower cholesterol, reduced hot flashes) and technologies (i.e., modified microorganism, plant, animal) were ranked by the consumers prior to a hard laddering exercise.
The study found that biotech functional foods are generally acceptable to most US consumers. Functional attributes such as higher protein, increased calcium and lower cholesterol are all valued by US consumers. Soy is considered inferior on the basis of taste for some segments of consumers unfamiliar with soymilk. On the other hand, consumers already purchasing soymilk are much more willing to purchase functional soy attributes and have more complex purchasing decisions (cognitive maps). These consumers associate soy with core values of "better health," "accomplishment," and "taking care of family."
Project Highlights
Given the potential for commercialization of biotech specialty soy beans in US food markets, the question is whether soy milk and other markets can be penetrated by biotech soybeans. One important objective of the US component of the study therefore was to examine the degree to which US consumers are willing to purchase biotech soymilk products, and how such products can be effectively positioned against existing (dairy) products.
The study identified soy and milk yogurts which meet specific health needs and considered how these might be marketed to consumers on the basis of potential desirable (benefit) attributes using means-end chain (MEC) analysis. Specifically, means-end chain analysis was used to address the following research questions:
- What are the specific attributes (that is, functional) that US consumers (mothers) value?
- To what degree do US consumers trade off biotech versus non-biotech functional attributes?
- Do different segments of US consumers value different functional attributes? and
- How might soy-based products be positioned relative to alternative substitutes (i.e., milk-based yogurts)?
The study found that that mothers value increased calcium absorption and less cholesterol when considering soy yogurts and increased protein in milk yogurts. A yogurt modified to increase protein, was consistently ranked high on the basis of acceptability and willingness to buy regardless of consumer segment (e.g., soy or milk buyers). The functional attributes identified are also linked to better health, for example, for those consumers already purchasing soymilk. Health was an even more important motivating value than a sense of accomplishment that these mothers get from taking care of their family. The findings of the study are consistent with a recent survey that found 67.9% of Missouri respondents feel health as very important in evaluating food systems (Missouri Department of Agriculture, 2003).
The second research question addressed the degree to which US consumers trade off biotech versus non-biotech functional attributes. Two out of four modified yogurts were found to be acceptable to the sixty US consumers interviewed based on their functional attributes. Even among the segment of consumers that preferred organic and non-biotech products over biotech ones, these consumers were still willing to purchase modified yogurts with desirable functional attributes.
The research did identify possible market segments for functional attributes. Functional attributes were a motivator for mothers that were growing older or, conversely, mothers who had young children that they felt responsible for nurturing them into healthy individuals. The ranking of the products shows that there is a great potential for a functional yogurt that contains an increased level of protein. The increased calcium and other nutrients, as well as lowering of cholesterol were also appealing to different segments of consumers. However, if these attributes are to be introduced in soy-based products, specifically soymilk yogurts - the study found that overcoming perceptions of inferior taste will be extremely important.
List of Publications
Chema, S.K. (2004). "Marketing of Biotech Functional Food in the US." MSc Thesis, Department of Agricultural Economics, Univeristy of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
Chema, K. Marks, L.A., Parcell, J. and Bredahl, M. (in review). "Marketing Biotech Functional Foods in the US." Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics.
Chema, K., Marks, L.A., Parcell, J. and Bredahl, M. (2004). "Marketing Biotech Functional Foods in the US." Selected paper presented at the American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meetings, July 31st to August 4th, Colorado.
