Food is simply too good to waste
How to change consumers’ perception of imperfectly shaped fruits and
vegetables.
Introduction
• People are not aware of the tremendous amount of food that is wasted.
• Food losses happen at different stages – production, postharvest and processing.
• Food waste is based on retailers and consumers’ behavior (Parfitt et al., 2010). • Significant driver are retailers.
• Right to reject products based on visual appearance.
• Deviations in the shape of fruits and vegetables.
Introduction
• Several studies of Rozin examine the concept naturalness.
• “Natural” seems to improve the perception of any product. • Food labels.
• Naturalness is strongly influenced by a process. • Perceived naturalness.
• Growth process.
Research question
“Are consumers more willing to accept imperfectly shaped fruits and vegetables when they are aware of when the imperfections in the growth process happen and
Growth process
The occurrence of imperfections in the growth process
• Process is related to the history of an object (Rozin, 2006).
Growth process of fruits and vegetables
• Early in the growth process.
• Seed unfolds into an fruit.
• More and more shaped.
• Late in the growth process.
• Mature product.
Growth process
Status quo bias
• Sticking with the status quo.
• Tendency to prefer options that cause no change.
The occurrence of imperfections early on in the growth process
• Most of his life irregular shaped.
• Status quo.
• Positive evaluation.
The occurrence of imperfections later on in the growth process
• Alternation will cause a change.
• Status quo is changed.
Growth process
Narrative processing
• Presenting new information in a temporal sequence.
• Beginning, middle, end.
• It makes it easier to understand the information.
• Informing consumers about the occurrence of imperfections.
• Imperfections that occur early on.
• Product’s original intended shape.
Hypothesis 1
“Consumers who perceive that the imperfection occur at the beginning of the growth process (vs. late in the growth process), are more willing to buy (vs. not buy)
Naturalness
Process more important than content
• Processing is seen as physical transformations of the product (Evans, Challemaison, & Cox, 2010).
• An increase in the number of processes will lead to less naturalness.
The principle of contagion
• Reduction of naturalness.
• Contagion is biased to the negative side (Rozin &Royzman, 2001).
• Late stage imperfections can be seen as a negative contamination.
• Alters the origin of the product.
Naturalness
Authenticity of food
• The opposite of artificial or synthetic (Sagoff, 2001).
• Being pure and true essence of a product (Siipi, 2013).
• Original intended shape of a product.
• Modification of genes not part of an original product.
• Jeopardize its authenticity.
• Resistance towards change.
• Late stage imperfections might be seen as a change / alteration.
Hypothesis 2
Methodology study 1
• The purpose of study 1 is to measure consumers’ intuitive understanding about the growth process.
• impact on liking and acceptance of imperfect products.
• 84 participants filled in the online survey.
• Mage= 32.15, SDage=11.56.
• Products chosen for this study.
• Locally grown and available in all grocery stores.
•IV: asking participants when they assume the product would begin to look
imperfectly-shaped.
Results study 1
Linear regression I
• Growth period does not influence the willingness to buy imperfectly shaped products (F(1, 82) = .392, p = .533).
• The growth perception of each individual product show no impact on the willingness to buy imperfectly shaped products.
Linear regression II
• The perception of the growth period has no impact on the tastiness of imperfectly shaped products (F(1, 82) = .058, p = .811).
Methodology study 2
• Study 1 showed that people’s intuitive understanding of a growth process has no influence on the liking and acceptance of imperfectly-shaped products.
• Study 2 is designed to test in a different way the predictions of this research.
• Participants are explicitly informed when imperfections emerge in the growth period.
Methodology study 2
• 152 participants took part in the field experiment.
• Mage=32.34, SDage = 13.82
• Supermarket in Delfshaven, located in Rotterdam.
• Two baskets were presented.
• The participants were able to read the purpose of the survey.
• Win a box of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• IV: read when imperfections emerge in growth process.
Results study 2
68,9% 55,1% 31,1% 44,9% Early in growthprocess Late in growthprocess
Win imperfect products Win perfect products β Wald X2(1) p Exp(β) Condi-tion .590 3.034 .082 1.805 Logistic regression
• Condition (imperfections: early vs. late) as independent predictor.
• The model X2(1) =3.097, p = .079.
Results study 2
ANOVA
• Measure if growth process (early vs. late) have an effect on people’s
perception about:
• Naturalness
• Health
• How much they like the product
• No significant results.
Variable Condition Mean
General discussion
• Consumers’ intuitive understanding has no influence on the acceptance of imperfectly shaped products.
• Little knowledge about growth processes.
• Informing consumers has an influence on the acceptance of imperfectly shaped products.
• In line with the status quo theory of Samuelson and Zeckhauser (1988).
• Preference for options that cause no change.
• Growth process has no impact on the perceived naturalness.
• Exposed to novel products.
• Curiosity tendency towards the products.
• Aroused by unexpected features of a product (Berlyne, 1950).
Limitations
Lack of time
• Participants may have processed the purpose of the study superficially.
• Pictures showing the stages in a growth process.
• More easy to process the information.
No mediation effect
• Curiosity bias of people.
• Generate solutions to overcome the curiosity bias.
The fruits and vegetables
• Several products need to be peeled.
• People perceive it as inconvenient as it takes more time.
Implications
Informing consumers
• Inform consumers about the occurrence of imperfections in the growth process.
• Better understanding of the growth process.
• Original intended shape.
• Encourage consumers to pay more attention to information.
• Check-in at the supermarket.
Future research
Authenticity
• Related to being pure and the essence of product (Sagoff, 2001).
• Mediating role.
Personality characteristics
• Biospheric values.
• Higher likelihood to act environmental friendly.
References
Berlyne, D. E. (1950). Novelty and curiosity as determinants of exploratory behaviour. British Journal of Psychology, 41(1‐2), 68-80.
Evans, G., de Challemaison, B., & Cox, D.N. (2010). Consumers’ ratings of the natural and unnatural qualities of foods. Appetite, 54(3), 557-563.
Parfitt, J., Barthel, M. & Macnaughton, S. (2010). Food waste within food supply chains: quantification and potential for change to 2050.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 365(1554), 3065-3081.
Rozin, P. (2006). Naturalness judgements by lay Americans: process dominates content in judgements of food or water acceptability and naturalness. Judgement and Decision Making, 1(2), 91.
Rozin, P., & Royzman, E.B. (2001). Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and contagion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5(4), 296–320.
Sagoff, M. (2001). Genetic Engineering and the Concept of the Natural. Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly, 21(2/3), 2-10. Samuelson, W., & Zeckhauser, R. (1988). Status quo bias in decision making. Journal of risk and uncertainty, 1(1), 7-59. Siipi, H. (2013). Is natural food healthy?. Journal of agricultural and environmental ethics, 26(4), 797-812.
Willmot, R. (2016, February 15). Wonky veg and ugly fruit are making a comeback- here’s why. Retrieved on May 5, 2017, from