We live in an era when all circumstances on the market are changing rapidly, which leads consumers (even, if they are not aware of it) to certain behaviour that affects their daily activities. Lifestyle can be described as someone's way of living or the things that a person or a particular group of people usually do. It is included among the modern elements of consumer behaviour and also affects an individual´s decision-making process. The concerns over obesity and dangerous food ingredients have prompted a “healthy lifestyle” to become the latest trend in marketing. Therefore, the regular exercising, the reduction of stress, drinking enough water, and eating nutritious food takes on its importance. The main objective of the paper is to assess the consumer behaviour on the market of a selected food commodity. For this purpose, protein bars, which are part of diet not only of athletes but also of ordinary consumers, have been chosen. To achieve this main goal, a questionnaire was designed and data were collected from the respondents of the different age groups in the Slovak Republic. Based on the primary results, the authors of the paper can claim that more than 60% of the respondents try intentionally to choose better options of food as they want to live healthy. For a deeper analysis, the assumptions were formulated and subsequently verified by the Pearson Chi-square test of independence and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The paper provides useful information on consumer behaviour that can help not only producers and retailers but also to consumers themselves.

Seniors are usually perceived as an unattractive segment, mostly due to their limited spending power. In Slovakia, the number of seniors has continuously been increasing. The population has been growing older. In Europe, more than a quarter of the population is expected to be aged 65 years or older by 2050. That is the main reason why we have to understand the consumer behaviour and decision-making processes of senior consumers. The presented paper deals with the consumer behaviour of seniors on the Slovak market of cow’s milk since it is the most commonly consumed type of milk in Slovakia. Opinions of nutrition specialists differ on whether it is beneficial or not for humans to consume milk. However, in general, milk is considered to be an essential component of the diet not only for children but also for adults and especially for seniors because of its high nutrition value. Milk and dairy products should be a daily part of the seniors’ diet. Since older people no longer have the necessary enzyme (lactase) to break down milk sugar (lactose), it is recommended to consume milk products that no longer contain milk sugar, but that lactic acid is produced by fermentation. Sour milk products such as curd, yoghurt or kefir have a beneficial effect on stomach, intestines and also the immune system. Long-term insufficiency of calcium intake causes osteoporosis – a disease that manifests itself in bone loss and structural disorders. It leads to increased fracturing of the bones and thus an increased risk of health complications resulting from there. This study explores senior consumers’ preferences for milk and their decision-making strategies on the market of cow’s milk. The study is oriented primarily on visual cues catching the attention of consumers. Anonymous survey was conducted on a sample of 470 senior respondents (210 males and 260 females) aged 61 – 84. Using selected psychological tools and a short questionnaire it was found out that Slovak seniors prefer traditional motives and bright colours on the milk packaging, they highly prioritise price over quality of milk products and in comparison with young adults, they are loyal to chosen products or brands. Seniors who score higher on the scale of neuroticism personality trait state that the packaging of milk products is significant for their decisions. Seniors with higher emotional stability tend to experiment more on the market of milk. Keywords cow’s milk, seniors, consumer behaviour, packaging, persuading techniques.

Today the issue of healthy nutrition is very popular among consumers. The main task of nutrition is to ensure sufficient intake of substances that are necessary for the proper functioning of the human organism. These substances are divided into two types: sugars, fats and proteins, which are the source of energy and minerals, vitamins and water, which are substances necessary for metabolic processes. We distinguish five main food categories, from which people can obtain these necessary substances: cereals, fruits, vegetables, proteins and last but not least milk. Milk is a white liquid secreted by female mammals for feeding, and which is used (mainly from cows) as human food. Milk is sometimes even called a "super-food", as it contains all the necessary ingredients mentioned above. Its most important component is calcium, which is a key building block of bones and teeth. Milk sugar called lactose, in turn, is involved in the construction of brain cells. Among other things, the milk also contains 87% of water, making it suitable for maintaining a daily drinking regime, unfortunately its consumption is in Slovak Republic insufficient, so the main objective of this paper was to evaluate consumer preferences on the milk market to understand our consumers better. Based on the results od marketing and neuromarketing research we can state that 76.98% of respondents puchase milk, milk expenses range from 11 to 20 € (42.06%), it is purchased mainly in hypermarkets and supermarkets (36.71%), admissible price per liter is on average 0.89 € and decide according to milk quality taste and durability.

Since the 1990s of the 20th century, the Slovak dairy industry has undergone many significant changes which have been related to the reduction of the herds of cattle and milk cows, the decrease of quantity of milked milk, low purchase prices of milk, the decline of a great number of milk producers and processors. The consumption of cow´s milk and dairy products in Slovakia is very low in comparison with the countries of the European Union (about 320 kg), Europe (293 kg), the Czech Republic (280 kg), and the rest of the world. It varies around 170 kg per capita per year, which is also considerably lower consumption than the dose of 220 – 240 kg per capita per year recommended by doctors. Since 1990 the production and consumption of dairy products and cheeses have decreased significantly. In Slovakia, the consumption is twice even three times less than in the developed countries of Europe. The reason for this situation is the behavior of a consumer and the factors having an impact on the consumption of cow`s milk and dairy products. The objective of the paper is to indicate the impact of the personal consumers` characteristics on the purchasing decisions on the market of the products of cow`s milk origin, based on the processed answers of the respondents participating in the questionnaire survey. The primary data were obtained via the questionnaire survey, which was conducted with 786 respondents. The questionnaire consisted of four parts – Eysenck`s personality test, the questions targeted at the detection of factors influencing the consumers` purchasing behavior and decision making, the questions related to expressing opinions about cow`s milk and dairy products, and the classification questions providing the information about the respondents. The data were processed by the methods of quantitative and qualitative statistics – Chi-square statistic χ2 test of square contingency, Chi-square χ2 goodness of fit test, two proportion test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the test of hypotheses of relative proportion.

The research has shown that in the last 5,000 years the human evolution has made the greatest leap in the human history. As a result of these changes, thanks to relatively recent discovery of a specific gene, even adult Europeans can digest milk. In their nutritional guidelines based on the scientific evidence, the official health organizations and institutions recommend drinking milk and eating low-fat dairy products such as yoghurts or cheese. The human body absorbs the necessary amount of calcium in the easiest form from cow's milk. Calcium is the essential element not only for healthy bones and teeth but it is also the important factor for the transmission of nerve impulses, it supports heart activity, helps reduce high blood pressure and "bad" LDL cholesterol levels and alleviate allergic reactions. It has impact on proper blood clotting, affects sperm mobility, helps prevent arthritis or can also contribute to better sleep. Milk is a valuable food not only for calcium content but also for selenium which slows down the aging process and contributes to the protection of the immune system. Acid dairy products prevent the digestive disorders, protect against gastrointestinal infections and improve skin condition. Despite all these positive aspects the consumption of milk, as well as dairy products, has the downward trend in Slovakia. In the last decade, the consumption was at a historical minimum and below the recommended annual dose, which is 91 liters of milk per person. Therefore, the main objective of this research paper was to examine the quality of milk produced by two selected competing companies and identify the various factors affecting consumers´ decision-making process when purchasing milk and dairy products. The attention was concentrated on the sensory attributes (colour, appearance, smell, taste and quality) and marketing tools (brand, packaging, label and price). The primary data were obtained by the questionnaire survey, which was conducted in the Slovak Republic with 284 respondents. For a deeper analysis, the data were evaluated by the statistical methods. Based on the results of the blind testing it was determined that even though the quality of monitored milk is the same, the respondents prefer the sensory attributes of Rajo semi-skimmed milk. When it comes to brand, packaging, label and price Tami semi-skimmed milk also lagged behind.