Extrinsic attributes that drive consumer purchase of block mozzarella
ABSTRACT: Consumer demand for cheese continues to increase with mozzarella being one of the primary cheeses in the United States. The objective of this study was to understand the effect of extrinsic attributes on consumer desires for block mozzarella cheese. An online survey was conducted with mozz...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Dairy Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030224012979 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832591044394352640 |
|---|---|
| author | K. Homwongpanich M.E. Watson D. Rovai H. Eshpari M.A. Drake |
| author_facet | K. Homwongpanich M.E. Watson D. Rovai H. Eshpari M.A. Drake |
| author_sort | K. Homwongpanich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT: Consumer demand for cheese continues to increase with mozzarella being one of the primary cheeses in the United States. The objective of this study was to understand the effect of extrinsic attributes on consumer desires for block mozzarella cheese. An online survey was conducted with mozzarella consumers (n = 437). Adaptive choice-based conjoint and Kano modeling were used to determine the importance of attributes applicable to block mozzarella. Maximum difference scaling was applied to further quantify the appeal of 23 label claims or messages. Subsequently, 2.5-h immersive qualitative focus groups were conducted (n = 28 consumers) that included mozzarella usage occasion discussion, naming identification, block mozzarella sorting, label discussion, and group tasting. Survey data were evaluated by univariate and multivariate statistics. The ideal block mozzarella for consumers was made from whole milk, had a firm texture or shreds well, block or bar shape, with a resealable package and farmer-owned labeling. Milkfat amount and label claims were the most important attributes (P < 0.05) across all consumers from conjoint analysis. Consumers found “produced without added hormones,” “made with milk from our pasture-raised cows,” and “made locally” to be the most appealing label claims. Consumer segmentation identified a natural cluster (n = 243) which assigned high utility to claims such as “all natural” and “organic” while the flavor cluster (n = 194) assigned high utility to “established business for more than 75 years” and “#1 in Italy.” Melt was a must-have attribute for mozzarella consumers while easy to shred and slice was a performance attribute. Block mozzarella is generally a price-driven product, except for special occasions where consumers seek out block mozzarella that they perceive to be of higher quality. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-91843bf48a504d1587a900ad0bc410ae |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0022-0302 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Dairy Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-91843bf48a504d1587a900ad0bc410ae2025-01-23T05:25:17ZengElsevierJournal of Dairy Science0022-03022025-02-01108213801391Extrinsic attributes that drive consumer purchase of block mozzarellaK. Homwongpanich0M.E. Watson1D. Rovai2H. Eshpari3M.A. Drake4Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606Tillamook County Creamery Association, Tillamook, OR 97941Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606; Corresponding authorABSTRACT: Consumer demand for cheese continues to increase with mozzarella being one of the primary cheeses in the United States. The objective of this study was to understand the effect of extrinsic attributes on consumer desires for block mozzarella cheese. An online survey was conducted with mozzarella consumers (n = 437). Adaptive choice-based conjoint and Kano modeling were used to determine the importance of attributes applicable to block mozzarella. Maximum difference scaling was applied to further quantify the appeal of 23 label claims or messages. Subsequently, 2.5-h immersive qualitative focus groups were conducted (n = 28 consumers) that included mozzarella usage occasion discussion, naming identification, block mozzarella sorting, label discussion, and group tasting. Survey data were evaluated by univariate and multivariate statistics. The ideal block mozzarella for consumers was made from whole milk, had a firm texture or shreds well, block or bar shape, with a resealable package and farmer-owned labeling. Milkfat amount and label claims were the most important attributes (P < 0.05) across all consumers from conjoint analysis. Consumers found “produced without added hormones,” “made with milk from our pasture-raised cows,” and “made locally” to be the most appealing label claims. Consumer segmentation identified a natural cluster (n = 243) which assigned high utility to claims such as “all natural” and “organic” while the flavor cluster (n = 194) assigned high utility to “established business for more than 75 years” and “#1 in Italy.” Melt was a must-have attribute for mozzarella consumers while easy to shred and slice was a performance attribute. Block mozzarella is generally a price-driven product, except for special occasions where consumers seek out block mozzarella that they perceive to be of higher quality.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030224012979mozzarellaconsumer preference |
| spellingShingle | K. Homwongpanich M.E. Watson D. Rovai H. Eshpari M.A. Drake Extrinsic attributes that drive consumer purchase of block mozzarella Journal of Dairy Science mozzarella consumer preference |
| title | Extrinsic attributes that drive consumer purchase of block mozzarella |
| title_full | Extrinsic attributes that drive consumer purchase of block mozzarella |
| title_fullStr | Extrinsic attributes that drive consumer purchase of block mozzarella |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extrinsic attributes that drive consumer purchase of block mozzarella |
| title_short | Extrinsic attributes that drive consumer purchase of block mozzarella |
| title_sort | extrinsic attributes that drive consumer purchase of block mozzarella |
| topic | mozzarella consumer preference |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030224012979 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT khomwongpanich extrinsicattributesthatdriveconsumerpurchaseofblockmozzarella AT mewatson extrinsicattributesthatdriveconsumerpurchaseofblockmozzarella AT drovai extrinsicattributesthatdriveconsumerpurchaseofblockmozzarella AT heshpari extrinsicattributesthatdriveconsumerpurchaseofblockmozzarella AT madrake extrinsicattributesthatdriveconsumerpurchaseofblockmozzarella |