Consumers of organic foods - value segments and liking of bread

Five, quite different white pan breads were chosen from twelve samples using Principal Component Analysis. Milling, baking, sensory assessment and sample preparation are described in [Kihlberg, L, Ostrom, (A) over circle., Johansson, L., & Risvik, E. (2006). Sensory qualities of plain white pan bread - influence of farming system, year of harvest and baking technique. Journal of Cereal Science, 43(1), 15-30]. A consumer acceptance test was conducted on 184 consumers of organic products in two age groups, <= 30 and > 30 years. The selected breads were tasted and scored for liking. Subsequent to the tasting, the consumers responded to a questionnaire including a complete set of the 56 Schwartz values and 10 statements related to issues of specific interest. Results confirmed the main groups of the near universal structure of values suggested by Schwartz and revealed different segments among organic consumers. Consumption frequency was also related to the values. Consumer groups differed significantly in values and in liking of breads. Among the most liked breads were both organic and conventional breads. The majority of consumers considered that organic food tastes better than conventional and that consumption of organic bread should increase. Moreover, about 50%, declared that they would not buy an organic food product that was appreciably higher in price than a corresponding conventional food product. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.