Effect of Pulp Pigmentation Intensity on Consumer Acceptance of New Blood Mandarins: A Cross-Cultural Study in Spain and Italy

Abstract

One of the current objectives of different citrus breeding programmes is obtaining new pigmented mandarins. This study investigates to what extent consumer preferences, expectations and purchase intention are affected by the appearance of new mandarins, specifically pulp pigmentation intensity. Four hundred consumers from both Italy and Spain (800 in all) participated in the study. In each country, half were informed about the healthy properties of the anthocyanins responsible for red pulp colouration, while the other half were not. Italians more readily accepted new mandarin varieties than Spaniards, which was linked to them being more familiar with blood oranges. In Italy, both slight- and medium-pigmented mandarins were well-accepted. Spanish consumers preferred the slight-pigmented variety. The most intense pigmented varieties were not well-accepted in either country. Health-related information positively affected Spaniards’ consumer response but did not modify that of Italians. A halo effect was detected in Spain, where health-related information positively affected mandarin appearance liking and its expected taste liking. Consumer perception that new varieties were unnatural was identified as a consumption barrier, mainly in Spain. Blood orange familiarity and health claims are revealed as conditioning factors for consumer response to pigmented mandarins. Interventions should be made to inform consumers that these varieties are obtained by conventional breeding and not by transgenic technology. Future studies should evaluate consumer response to other sensory characteristics, such as odour, taste and texture.

Influence of Pomegranate Appearance Attributes on Consumer Choice, and Identification of Barriers and Drivers for Consumption

“…As the specific literature on this matter for pomegranates is lacking, all three lists of options (barriers, drivers, and contexts) were designed based on the previously existing literature for other specific fruits or for fruit as a generic group [23][24][25][26][27], as well as on previous author experiences. Then a group of eight consumers participated in a session to generate the final list of terms to be included in the questionnaire.…”

Effects of Agronomical Practices on Crop Quality and Sensory Profile

“…Three manuscripts that were published in this Special Issue were related to citrus fruits such as mandarin, pigmented mandarins, and lemon [6][7][8]. The communication related to mandarins was focused on late-season cultivars ('Afourer', 'Tango', and 'Orri') of mandarins grown in Spain, because they represent an important economic value due to their high production out of season.…”

“…The 'Orri' cultivar was found to be 18% higher in sugar concentration, while 'Tango' mandarins cultivated on two different rootstocks presented 28% more phenols than mandarins from an FA rootstock did. The other study, which is about the acceptance of new blood mandarins, used 800 consumers from Spain and Italy, with and without information about the health properties of the anthocyanins that are responsible for red pulp coloration [7]. Giménez-Sanchis et al [7] reported relevant results on consumer behavior in different countries regarding pigmented mandarins.…”

“…The other study, which is about the acceptance of new blood mandarins, used 800 consumers from Spain and Italy, with and without information about the health properties of the anthocyanins that are responsible for red pulp coloration [7]. Giménez-Sanchis et al [7] reported relevant results on consumer behavior in different countries regarding pigmented mandarins. For instance, the authors reported that Italians were more willing to accept new mandarin cultivars than Spaniards, because they are more familiar with blood oranges.…”