Consumer perception and behavior toward hemp based food products

Konoplja u posljednjih dvadesetak godina doživljava preporod u svijetu. U ovom istraživanju ciljevi su utvrditi ponašanje potrošača u kupnji i konzumaciji prehrambenih proizvoda od industrijske konoplje, ispitati percipirane koristi i barijere potrošača u kupnji i konzumaciji prehrambenih proizvoda od industrijske konoplje. Online anketno ispitivanje provedeno je na prigodnom uzorku od 201 ispitanika u gradu Zagrebu i Zagrebačkoj županiji. Rezultati pokazuju da skoro polovica ispitanika i konzumira takve proizvode, a većina ih kupuje nekoliko puta godišnje. Pri kupnji preferiraju proizvode iz Republike Hrvatske i zemalja članica EU. Ispitanici mjesečno izdvajaju između 5 i 25€ za ove proizvode, a najčešća mjesta kupnje su specijalizirane trgovine zdrave hrane, internet i supermarketi. Najvažnija obilježja pri odabiru ovih proizvoda su cijena, izgled pakiranja i veličina pakiranja. Obrazovaniji ispitanici i žene pokazuju veći interes za marku proizvoda i zemlju podrijetla. Ispitanici imaju pozitivan stav prema ovim proizvodima i percipiraju ih kao zdrave i korisne za prehranu. Također, visoko ocjenjuju njihovu korist u smanjenju rizika od kroničnih srčanih oboljenja. Najveća percipirana barijera za kupnju ovih proizvoda je cijena. Rezultati mogu pomoći u izradi marketinških strategija kako bi se povećala informiranost potrošača i prodaja ovih proizvoda.In the last twenty years, hemp has experienced a renaissance in the world. In this research, the goals are to determine the behavior of consumers in the purchase and consumption of food products made from industrial hemp, to examine the perceived benefits and barriers of consumers in the purchase and consumption of food products made from industrial hemp. The online survey was conducted on a convenient sample of 201 respondents in the city of Zagreb and Zagreb County. The results show that almost half of the respondents consume such products, and most buy them several times a year. When buying, they prefer products from the Republic of Croatia and EU member states. Respondents spend between €5 and €25 per month for these products, and the most common places of purchase are specialized health food stores, the Internet and supermarkets. The most important features when choosing these products are the price, the appearance of the packaging and the size of the packaging. More educated respondents and women show more interest in product brand and country of origin. Respondents have a positive attitude towards these products and perceive them as healthy and useful for nutrition. They also rate their usefulness in reducing the risk of chronic heart diseases highly. The biggest perceived barrier to buying these products is price. The results can help in developing marketing strategies to increase consumer awareness and sales of these products