The market for health-enhancing foods

Abstract

The Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU) at Lincoln University is undertaking research that examines consumer preferences for health enhancing attributes (among others) in food and beverages in overseas markets. This study is part of a wider research programme Maximising Export Returns (MER) which aims to explore how export firms can capture price premiums by including and communicating credence attributes in products for overseas markets such as China, India, Indonesia, Japan and the United Kingdom (UK). Credence attributes are qualities believed by a consumer to be present in a product even though they cannot be identified, experienced and inspected by consumers whether before or after purchase. These include health enhancing benefits. In this study, the targeted consumer groups are the middle and upper class consumers in each country who are expected to be more likely to be willing to pay a premium for these attributes in food and beverages, hence informing the New Zealand industries of possible opportunities for maximising their export returns, and building on previous work of the AERU .