Serbian, Croatian and Spanish consumers' beliefs towards artisan cheese

Abstract

PurposeIn the past two decades the popularity of artisan cheese emerged. The present study aimed to investigate similarities and differences in beliefs towards artisan cheeses among participants from Serbia, Croatia and Spain and to determine consumer profiles. Better understanding of their behaviours and beliefs could serve as the basis for the development of appropriate production and marketing strategies and for further popularisation of artisan cheeses.Design/methodology/approachThe data on demographic structure, behaviours and beliefs of 947 participants in total were obtained via a questionnaire collected online. In order to identify consumer profiles and to define their specific beliefs, a cross-country cluster analysis has been conducted. Four clusters were identified: “highly educated men”, “highly educated women”, “millennials” and “educated senior women”. Mann–Whitney U test was used to identify statistically significant differences between countries and clusters.FindingsRespondents from different countries had different preferences for cheese types and different ways of consumption. All participants valued artisan cheeses more than industrial cheeses in terms of healthiness and quality, but they believe that there is still much to be done in terms of proper packaging, labelling, branding, widening of assortment and providing better availability. The results of the present study revealed that participants had no clear opinion regarding trust in artisan cheese safety.Originality/valueUp to date, no study investigated beliefs of consumers from Serbia and Croatia towards artisan cheese. Original consumer pool has unique characteristics: they are far more oriented towards open markets and purchasing cheese directly from producers; they have different preferences towards cheese types and different consuming habits. Unique consumer characteristics provided original findings considering their beliefs.

Consumer attitudes and perceptions towards chilled ready-to-eat foods: a multi-national study

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“…The clustering solution is considered poor when the silhouette measure is < 0.20, values of > 0.50 indicate a good and intermediate values an acceptable clustering solution (Mooi and Sarstedt 2011). Two-step cluster analysis is considered to be more accurate and reliable compared to other clustering methods and was extensively used in different fields (Tkaczynski 2016) and in numerous consumer studies (Geeroms et al 2008;Miloradovic et al 2021;Zakowska-Biemans 2011;Zhllima et al 2021).…”

Artisanal and sanitary inspection seals impact on acceptance and emotions of colonial cheese consumption

“…Silva et al (2021) observed that low‐risk Southern Brazil consumers associates open market dairy product consumption to know the product and believed in the seller. Croatian, Serbian and Spanish consumers have reported to value more artisan cheeses over industrial ones in terms of quality, although they believe that packaging and labeling need improvement (Miloradovic et al, 2022). Lahne and Trubek (2014) suggested that consumers combine information about producer practice, social context, and the materiality of the product through an active, learned practice of sensory perception.…”

“…to relate the sample to the other stimuli rates were close to "I moderately liked" (average rate between 7.2 and 7.3). (Miloradovic et al, 2022). Lahne and Trubek (2014) suggested that consumers combine information about producer practice, social context, and the materiality of the product through an active, learned practice of sensory perception.…”

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