Consumer purchasing preferences for cured meat products

U današnje vrijeme nije bitno proizvesti samo što veće količine proizvoda nego i poznavati specifične prehrambene i kupovne potrebe potrošača kako bi se proizvodi mogli pravilno pozicionirati na tržištu. U cilju utvrđivanja čimbenika koje potrošači uzimaju u obzir prilikom kupovine suhomesnatih proizvoda te identificiranja mogućih razlika u njihovim preferencijama s obzirom na različite sociodemografske varijable, provedeno je online anketno istraživanje na uzorku od 889 ispitanika s područja Osječko-baranjske županije. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da su ispitanicima prilikom kupnje suhomesnatih proizvoda najvažniji okus (x̄ = 4,67), miris (x̄ = 4,50), boja (x̄ = 4,12) i način proizvodnje suhomesnatih proizvoda (x̄ = 4,10). Na temelju rezultata Mann-Whitney i Kruskal-Wallis testa utvrđene su različitosti u stavovima ispitanika o važnosti pojedinih činitelja prilikom kupnje suhomesnatih proizvoda prema spolu, obrazovanju i ekonomskom statusu obitelji. Primjenom klaster analize ispitanici su podijeljeni u tri klastera. Ispitanicima su se u sva tri klastera okus i miris suhomesnatih proizvoda pokazali važnima. Međutim, ispitanici u prvome klasteru više obraćaju pažnju na cijenu suhomesnatih proizvoda za razliku od ispitanika u drugome klasteru koji više vrednuju boju i način proizvodnje suhomesnatih proizvoda, dok je ispitanicima u trećemu klasteru najvažnije porijeklo i da su suhomesnati proizvodi proizvedeni s domaćom crvenom paprikom i češnjakom.Nowadays, it is important not only to produce as many products as possible but also to know the specific nutritional and purchasing preferences of consumers so that products can be properly positioned on the market. In order to determine the factors that consumers take into account when buying cured meat products and identify possible differences in their preferences concerning different socio-demographic variables, an online survey was conducted on a sample of 889 respondents from the Osijek-Baranja County.The results showed that taste (x̄ = 4.67), smell (x̄ = 4.50), color (x̄ = 4.12), and production method of cured meat products (x̄ = 4.10) are the most important. Based on the results of the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, differences were found in the respondent’s attitudes about the importance of certain factors when buying cured meat products according to gender, education and economic status of the family. Using cluster analysis, the respondents were divided into three clusters. The taste and aroma of cured meat products in all three clusters proved important. However, respondents in the first cluster pay more attention to the price of cured meat products than respondents in the second cluster, who value the colour and method of production of cured meat products. In contrast, the most important to the respondents in the third cluster is the origin and that the cured meat products are produced with domestic red pepper and garlic