United Kingdom lamb consumer consumption behaviours and product preferences: A Latent Class Analysis of New Zealand lamb

Abstract

This study is part of a research programme entitled Unlocking Export Prosperity from the Agri-food Values of Aotearoa New Zealand. It is funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Endeavour Fund for science research programmes. Information on this research programme including reports of other surveys is available from the AERU website https://www.aeru.co.nz/projects/uep. The research aims to provide new knowledge on how local enterprises can achieve higher returns by ensuring global consumers understand the distinctive qualities of the physical, credence, and cultural attributes of agri-food products that are “Made in New Zealand”. Agricultural exports are an important contributor to the New Zealand (NZ) economy and the United Kingdom (UK) is established as an important lamb product destination. It is critically important for NZ exporters to understand export markets and the different cultures and preferences of those consumers to safeguard market access, and for realising potential premiums. This report describes the application of a survey of UK lamb leg consumers that is designed to examine consumption behaviour and consumer Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) for credence attributes. While search attributes such as price or colour can be observed directly, experience attributes such as flavour or texture can be assessed when consumed, credence attributes such as environmental sustainability cannot be immediately seen or experienced at the point of sale. For products promoting credence attributes, the role of verification, including labelling, is of significant importance. Our approach is to apply a Discrete Choice Experiment economic valuation method, analysed using a statistical approach called Latent Class Modelling that describes profiles for different consumer segments identified in the data and provides estimates of attribute WTP across these segments.