Consumer Acceptance and Willingness to Pay for Prebiotic Kuini Juice in Malaysia

Norzalila Kasron; Siti 'Aisyah Baharudin; Saiful Bahri Saari; Mohd Nur Hafiz Mat Azmin; Nor Azlina Saari

doi:10.12928/optimum.v11i2.4653

Authors

Norzalila Kasron Malaysia Agricultural Research Development Institute
Siti 'Aisyah Baharudin Universiti Sains Malaysia
Saiful Bahri Saari Malaysia Agricultural Research Development Institute
Mohd Nur Hafiz Mat Azmin Malaysia Agricultural Research Development Institute
Nor Azlina Saari Malaysia Agricultural Research Development Institute

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12928/optimum.v11i2.4653

Abstract

Changing consumers' lifestyles and food consumption patterns provide an excellent opportunity to develop the prebiotics market in Malaysia. Therefore, Malaysia is trying to improve products based on local ingredients such as kuini juice developed by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI). The high fibre content found in kuini makes it suitable to be used as one of the essential ingredients in prebiotic drinks. This research attempted to analyse consumer acceptance and willingness to pay for prebiotic kuini juice. A survey was conducted in Peninsular Malaysia, where 400 respondents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity were utilised for objective analysis 1, while the Contingent Valuation Method was utilised for objective analysis 2. The result showed that 73% of respondents had taken prebiotic juice in the past. The tendency to choose prebiotic kuini juice by MARDI was 52% compared to existing products in the market. Significant findings determined consumers' preference factors, including product marketing and promotion, which influenced the purchasing of prebiotic kuini juice. The willingness to pay by respondents was lower at RM4.10/300ml bottle than the actual price bid at RM5.70/300ml bottle. As consumer awareness of health increases, it was an opportunity for the health food industry to expand the functional food market. However, some improvements should be adjusted to ensure prebiotic kuini juice can compete with other similar products in the market. Government support is needed to encourage indigenous fruits cultivation and to produce value-added products.

Author Biography

Siti 'Aisyah Baharudin, Universiti Sains Malaysia

Dr. Siti â€˜Aisyah BaharudinÂ is a Senior Lecturer of Economics at the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia.Â Her areas of specialization are Agricultural Economics,Â Energy EconomicsÂ and System Dynamics Analysis.Â HerÂ researchÂ in agricultural economics includes food supply chain management, food production and marketing, crop energy efficiency and sustainable policy.Â She teaches Introduction of Economics Issue, Agricultural Economics, Malaysian Economics and Research Methodology at undergraduate levels.Â She is a member of the Malaysian Economic Association,Â reviewer for Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Geografia and Pertanika Journal and Editor Board for Optimum Journal

References

Ali, T., & Ali, J. (2020). Factors affecting the consumers' willingness to pay for health and wellness food products. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 2(100076). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2020.100076.

Andreessen, M. A Step-by-Step Guide to Product-Market Validation. Retrieved from https://www.singlemindconsulting.com/blog/a-step-by-step-guide-to-product-market-validation/ (accessed 1 March 2021).

Arora, S., Prabha, K., Sharanagat, V. S., & Mishra, V. (2020). Consumer awareness and willingness to purchase probiotic food and beverage products: a study of Sonipat district, Haryana. British Food Journal. Retrieved from emerald insight: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BFJ-06-2020-0469/full/html?casa_token=zS3TE56w820AAAAA:-.

BrunsÃ¸, K., Grunert, K. G., & Bredahl, L. (1996). An analysis of national and cross-national consumer segments using the food-related lifestyle instrument in Denmark, France, Germany and Great Britain. Institut for MarkedsÃ¸konomi/MAPP Centret, HandelshÃ¸jskolen i Ã…rhus.

Olsen, D. (2015). The lean product playbook: How to innovate with minimum viable products and rapid customer feedback. John Wiley & Sons.

Department of Statistics Malaysia(DOSM), 2020. Household Income & Basic Amenities Survey Report 2020. Retrieved from https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/pdfPrev&id=TU00TmRhQ1N5TUxHVWN0T2VjbXJYZz09 (accessed 30 October 2020).

Gibson, G. R., & Roberfroid, M. B. (1995). Dietary modulation of the human colonic microbiota: introducing the concept of prebiotics. The Journal of nutrition, 125(6), 1401-1412.

GlobeNewswire. (2020). Global Prebiotics Industry. Retrieved from https://www.globenewswire.com/fr/news-release/2020/10/28/2116036/0/en/Global-Prebiotics-Industry.html (accessed 28 October 2020).

Hanley, N., Barbier, E. B., & Barbier, E. (2009). Pricing nature: cost-benefit analysis and environmental policy. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Hoehn J, Randall A. (1987). A satisfactory benefit cost indicator from contingent valuation. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. 14(3):226â€“247.

Krystallis, A. and G. Chryssohoidis. (2005). Consumers' willingness to pay for organic food: Factors that affect it and variation per organic product type. British Food Journal. 107(5): 320- 343.

Lim, C. C., & Goh, Y. N. (2019). Investigating the purchase intention toward healthy drinks among Urban consumers in Malaysia. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 22(3), 286-302.

MacCallum, R. C., Widaman, K.F., Zhang, S., and Hong, S. (1999). Sample size in factor analysis. Psychological Methods. 4(1): 84-99.

Markowiak, P., and ÅšliÅ¼ewska, K. (2017). Effects of probiotics, prebiotics, and Symbiotic on human health. Nutrients. 9:1021. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9091021.

Mvududu, N. H., & Sink, C. (2013). Factor analysis in counseling research and practice. Counselling Outcome Research and Evaluation. 4(2): 75-98

Richard, A. J., & Wichern, D. W. (2007). Applied Multivariate Statistical Analysis (Sixth Edition ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education Publications.

RodrÃguez, E., Lacaze, V., & LupÃn, B. (2007). Willingness to pay for organic food in Argentina: Evidence from a consumer survey. International marketing and trade of quality food products Seminar, Italy: 187-213.

Scott, K. P., Grimaldi, R., Cunningham, M., Sarbini, S. R., Wijeyesekera, A., Tang, M. L., ... & Gibson, G. R. (2020). Developments in understanding and applying prebiotics in research and practiceâ€”an ISAPP conference paper. Journal of applied microbiology, 128(4), 934-949.

Slavin, J. (2013). Fiber and prebiotics: mechanisms and health benefits. Nutrients. 5 (4):1417-1435.

Talati, Z., Norman, R., Pettigrew, S., Neal, B., Kelly, B., Dixon, H., ... & Shilton, T. (2017). The impact of interpretive and reductive front-of-pack labels on food choice and willingness to pay. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 14(1): 1-10.

Williamson, A. R., Hunt, A. E., Pope, J. F., and Tolman, N. M. (2000). Recommendations of dietitians for overcoming barriers to dietary adherence in individuals with diabetes. The Diabetes Educator. 26: 272-278. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/014572170002600207.

Yilmaz-Ersan, L., Ozcan, T., & Akpinar-Bayizit, A. (2020). Assessment of socio-demographic factors, health status and the knowledge on probiotic dairy products. Food Science and Human Wellness, 9(3), 272-279.

Zhang, Y. J., Li, S., Gan, R. Y., Zhou, T., Xu, D. P., & Li, H. B. (2015). Impacts of gut bacteria on human health and diseases. International journal of molecular sciences, 16(4), 7493-7519.