Short communication. Exploring new functional markets potential: factors affecting willingness to purchase functional wines

Abstract

Relationship between nutrition and health is gaining importance for consumers when making food purchase decisions (Chern and Rickertsen, 2003). As a response to this shift in consumer demand, and driven by technology developments, functional foods have arisen as the fastest growing food market with latest estimates forecasting an expected annual growth rate of 10% for functional foods as compared to an average 2-3% rate for food industry as a whole (Verbeke, 2005). This growth, at least in the US case, has been exponential, with functional foods evolving from a nearly nonexisting market in 1995 to a market that out-sized organic and dietary supplements in less than six years (Kinsey, 2001 AbstractConcern regarding the relationship between diet and health is growing among consumers. As an answer to this concern, the food industry has developed functional foods, a market with an increasing demand both in volume and expenditure. New functional products are being developed for which market potential must be investigated. This paper centres on one of this products, a wine with increased levels of resveratrol, a natural compound which has been found to be positively related to the reduction in the risk of inflammatory diseases. The market potential of this new product is assessed using a survey of wine consumers in the city of Granada (Spain). Consumers are asked for the probability of purchasing this new wine in order to identify «potential consumers» and factors influencing belonging to this category are identified. A significant proportion of the sample is found to belong to the «potential consumers» category with cognitive, affective and situational variables as the main factors affecting inclusion within this category.Additional key words: Andalusia, binary logistic regression, demand, functional foods, red wine, resveratrol. Resumen Comunicación corta. Nuevos mercados funcionales: factores que influyen en la probabilidad de compra de vinos funcionalesLa preocupación por la relación entre salud y dieta está creciendo entre los consumidores. Como respuesta a esta preocupación, la industria agroalimentaria ha desarrollado los denominados alimentos funcionales, un mercado que experimenta una demanda creciente tanto en volumen como en gasto. Ante el desarrollo de nuevos productos es necesario conocer su potencial de mercado. El presente trabajo se centra en uno de estos productos, un vino producido a partir de uvas con niveles incrementados de resveratrol, un compuesto que ha sido relacionado positivamente con la reducción en el riesgo de enfermedades inflamatorias. El potencial de mercado para este producto se estima a partir de una encuesta a consumidores de vino en la ciudad de Granada (España). Se pregunta a los consumidores por su probabilidad de compra de este producto para identificar a los «consumidores potenciales», así como los factores que influyen en la pertenencia a dicho grupo. Una proporción significativa de la muestra es identificada como «consu-midores potenciales», siendo factores de tipo cognitivo...

Acceptability of wine produced with an increased content of grape seeds and stems as a functional food

“…These products can include natural, as well as enriched, fortified or enhanced foods and dietary supplements that have beneficial effects on health . Although functional foods are currently sold at higher prices (the retail price being higher by 30–500%) in comparison to conventional foods , this market has become one of the fastest‐growing markets in the world . This can be explained by the fact that people are becoming more aware of the significance of taking a more proactive role in maintaining and improving their personal heath.…”