PurposeAs the risks associated with sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) increase, various policies require sugar to be reduced in beverages. This paper segmented consumers according to food-related lifestyle (FRL), analyzed beverage selection attributes and preference for sugar-reduced beverages (SRBs) for each group and presented basic data for the strategies of SRBs for each consumer group.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 1,000 Korean consumer panels responded to the online survey. The questionnaire consisted of FRL, beverage selection attributes and attitude toward SRBs.FindingsConsumer groups were divided according to FRL: rational, value seeking and careless consumer. Rational consumers tended to be in their 30s or 50s and women, and they focused on product quality/hygiene when choosing beverages. Value seeking consumers were mainly in their 40s and 50s and were characterized by high education and income. They showed high scores in quality/hygiene, economy and sensory traits. Careless consumers were more likely to be in their 20s–30s, unmarried men and considered sensory traits as the most important factor.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation of this study is the lack of generalization of consumer panels to represent the entire population because they were part of an online research firm.Originality/valueThis study implies that segmenting consumers according to FRL allows detailed analysis of consumer attitudes and behaviors. Using this analysis, the complex consumer pattern can be used as basic data for promoting sugar-reduced beverages.

This study aimed to examine the emotional responses evoked by cooked colored rice and its health functionality information in both consumers who eat rice as a staple food and consumers who do not eat rice as a staple food. Specifically, Korean and American consumers were exposed to colored rice and its health functionality information and an emotion lexicon was generated and measured based on focus group interviews (FGI) and two online consumer surveys. In test 1, the emotions evoked by presentation of stimuli to Koreans (N = 10) and Americans (N = 10) were extracted through FGIs and the first online consumer survey (Koreans = 69; Americans = 68) and an emotion lexicon was generated. As a result, a total of 34 terms were confirmed. Test 2 was conducted during the second online consumer survey (capturing data from a total of 208 Koreans and 208 Americans), utilizing the terms generated in test 1. In this test, only the colors (CO) of colored rice were presented to one group, while colors and health functionality information (CO&H) were presented to the other group. The overall liking for stimuli in both countries was highly correlated with familiarity. Koreans showed significantly more familiarity and liking for CO of white and black CO rice, while Americans showed significantly more familiarity and liking for CO of white and yellow rice. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to categorize the emotion terms, and the emotion terms were sorted into the three clusters, “Positive”, “Negative”, and “New”, for both countries. Under informed conditions, the emotions became more positive, and emotions in the “New” cluster were evoked in both countries. The current study employed a cross-cultural approach to assess consumers’ emotional responses to colored rice and health functionality information. Our findings suggest that providing foods with preferred colors for each culture and providing sufficient information on the said foods will help to promote unfamiliar foods.

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