Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine children’s visual preferences for two food products; yoghurts and smoothies, by using a conjoint layout. In total, 274 children performed an incomplete ranking of 8 pictures formed by three factors each with two levels (23 design). The three food appearance factors were ‘colour’, ‘visible fruit’ and ‘portion size’. The children were segmented into one of eight groups given by 2 (grade) × 2 (urban/rural affiliation) × 2 (time of visit), and they completed questionnaires regarding background information. Finally, an actual product choice was performed for the eight smoothies.
The children visually preferred the two products without visible fruit and colour had a large influence on visual preferences too. As regards the yoghurts, the children accepted a less simple variant whereas the most preferred smoothie was very simple. Significant synergetic effects between food appearance factors and segmentation factors were found. Additionally gender and ethnicity were found to be influential drivers for food choice.
The children visually preferred the two products without visible fruit and colour had a large influence on visual preferences too. As regards the yoghurts, the children accepted a less simple variant whereas the most preferred smoothie was very simple. Significant synergetic effects between food appearance factors and segmentation factors were found. Additionally gender and ethnicity were found to be influential drivers for food choice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Food Quality and Preference |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| Pages (from-to) | 763-771 |
| ISSN | 0950-3293 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |