Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Value‐Added Chicken Product Attributes

Abstract

A growing demand for convenient and ready-to-eat products has increased poultry processors' interest in developing consumer-oriented value-added chicken products. In this study, a conjoint analysis survey of 276 chicken consumers in Edmonton was conducted during the summer of 2009 to assess the importance of the chicken part, production method, processing method, storage method, the presence of added flavor, and cooking method on consumer preferences for different value-added chicken product attributes. Estimates of consumer willingness to pay (WTP) premium prices for different combinations of value-added chicken attributes were also determined. Participants'"ideal" chicken product was a refrigerated product made with free-range chicken breast, produced with no additives or preservatives and no added flavor, which could be oven heated or pan heated. Half of all participants on average were willing to pay 30% more for a value-added chicken product over the price of a conventional product. Overall, young consumers, individuals who shop at Farmers' Markets and those who prefer free-range or organic products were more likely to pay a premium for value-added chicken products. As expected, consumers' WTP was affected negatively by product price. Combined knowledge of consumer product attribute preferences and consumer WTP for value-added chicken products can help the poultry industry design innovative value-added chicken products. Practical Application: An optimum combination of product attributes desired by consumers for the development of a new value-added chicken product, as well as the WTP for this product, have been identified in this study. This information is relevant to the poultry industry to enhance consumer satisfaction of future value-added chicken products and provide the tools for future profit growth.

Free Range, Organic? Polish Consumers Preferences Regarding Information on Farming System and Nutritional Enhancement of Eggs: A Discrete Choice Based Experiment

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Consumers' Opinions and Expectations of an “Ideal Chicken Farm” and Their Willingness to Purchase a Whole Chicken From This Farm

“…When thinking about the ideal chicken farm, participants in our study mentioned a good husbandry system including free-ranging as an important criterion. This is in line with what others found (Martínez Michel et al, 2011), also holding true for pigs (Weible et al, 2016;Sato et al, 2017) and dairy cows (Cardoso et al, 2016). Outdoor access is often acting as a key indicator for an animal welfare friendly system in the consumers' perception (Busch and Spiller, 2018).…”

How do processing technology and formulation influence consumers’ choice of fruit juice?

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