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Purpose The food consumption has always received a lot of attention in the marketing literature, as it tends to reflect and determine the overall consumer behaviour, expression of the individual lifestyle. Nevertheless, less attention has been devoted to the young. This paper aims at analysing how university students, a segment of young people, perceive and evaluate the quality of food and which attributes most influence their food choice and consumption. Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire was carried out from March to December 2015 among Italian university students. A sample of 1,138 people took part in the survey. Data were elaborated through SPSS 21.0 statistical software package. Findings Findings suggest a number of interesting points. First, a high attention of university students towards price and sales promotion was observed. Nevertheless, they are well informed in food products they buy and pay high attention to ingredients, origin and healthiness of food products. Finally, performing a principal component analysis three different components on food store selection were found, namely, “Price saving”, “Convenience” and “Food assortment and quality”. Practical implications A more comprehensive understanding of the food behaviour of the young could be useful for marketing researchers and practitioners to define marketing programs aimed at satisfying the food demand of a growing segment of the market. Originality/value The food behaviour of young people as a whole has been little addressed in the marketing literature. Existing studies have explored specific topics such as the consumption of organic food, fast-food buying habits or alcohol abuse.

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