Can information positively influence familiarity and acceptance of a novel ethnic food? A case study of Korean traditional foods for Malaysian consumers

Abstract

Owing to consumers' neophobic responses, successfully launching an ethnic food onto a foreign market is challenging. Information may increase the liking of an ethnic food by decreasing uncertainty about it. This study investigated whether information influences Malaysian consumers' acceptance of and familiarity with Korean ethnic food. Two traditional Korean noodle products were evaluated by 212 Malaysian consumers with different levels of prior experience with Korean food. Familiarity and overall liking were assessed in blind and informed settings. The results showed that previous experience, not information, significantly increased consumer acceptance and familiarity. Information moderated the effect of previous experience, increasing the liking of and familiarity with the ethnic food among frequent consumers of Korean food, but decreasing them among infrequent users. It seems that previous experience helps consumers to form favorable expectations and to expect product performance close to the actual performance, resulting in an assimilation effect in the presence of information. Practical applications Successful market entry of an ethnic food requires a systematic approach based on understanding of consumers in a target country. This study presents results relevant to understanding of Asian consumers' liking and perception of ethnic foods. It was identified that information influenced liking by creating expectation rather than by familiarizing consumers, and also that the effect of information was moderated by personal experiences with cuisine of the country which the ethnic food product is originated from. Results of this study suggest that different strategies for delivering information, such as label and product description, should be developed according to the target consumers' level of experiences. Findings from the present study have implications for researchers and marketers in the ethnic food market with regard to presentation of information congruent to actual sensory performances to increase acceptance of an unfamiliar ethnic food.

An intra‐cultural investigation in Brazil using Coalho cheese and preferred attribute elicitation

“…In that part of the country, Coalho cheese can be consumed in its natural form, fried or roasted, and it is used in several culinary preparations, while in the Southeast and South regions it is commonly consumed roasted (Bezerra et al, ). The highest frequency of consumption (familiarity) of the consumers from the Northeast region with the product might have contributed to the accumulation of more knowledge about the Coalho cheese through their prior experiences, which increased the vocabulary associated to the product and the expectations about the sensory aspects (Choe & Hong, ). Furthermore, it is believed that the familiarity with a product increases the ability of the consumers to conceptualize products (Hersleth et al, ).…”

“…Consumers of the Northeast region have more frequency of consumption (familiarity) with Coalho cheese samples. Generally, the higher the familiarity of the consumer with the product, the higher the ratings in the acceptance tests (Choe & Hong, ; Roh, Lee, Kim, & Kim, ). However, in a general view, frequency of consumption (familiarity) did not impact on the sensory acceptance of the Coalho cheese samples in the present study ( p > .05).…”

“…However, in a general view, frequency of consumption (familiarity) did not impact on the sensory acceptance of the Coalho cheese samples in the present study ( p > .05). Probably, as this type of cheese is consumed throughout the country, all consumers had positive emotions from their previous experiences and psychological comfort when eating the product (Choe & Hong, ), resulting in similar acceptance of the products for all regions.…”

“…Most of the studies determined cultural differences in food perception among consumers from different countries (Hersleth et al, ; Hong et al, ; Kim, Jombart, Valentin, & Kim, ; Ramaroson, Arvisenet, & Valentin, ; Torri, Jeon, Piochi, Morini, & Kim, ). However, studies that compare the consumers perception of a product within a country are scarce (Choe & Hong, ; Nacef et al, ).…”

Willingness to eat an insect based product and impact on brand equity: A global perspective

“…Familiarity and cultural aspects also plays an important role in acceptance of products (Choe & Hong, 2018;Gama, Adhikari, & Hoisington, 2018;Phan & Chambers, 2016). In addition disgust, particularly for things like insects in food can be an issue.…”