Applying best-worst scaling methodology to elicit food values for baby food and adult food

Abstract

Previous research by Lusk and Briggeman (2009) claims that the concept of food values should have a significant explanatory power on explaining choices between a wide range of food products. However, as observed when inspecting preferences for organic food in the Norwegian Market in different food categories, it seems that the same consumer could have different preferences for product attributes within different food categories. This study investigated food values both for adult and for baby food and made comparisons to see whether there is a reason to believe that there exists a common set of food values that guide the purchase of both. To determine relative importance consumers place on the different food values the best-worst scaling or maximum-difference method was used. The following food values were included in the food value set: naturalness, taste, price, safety, convenience, nutrition, tradition, country of origin, fairness, appearance, environmental impact and product packaging. This research used data collected in an online survey, carried out in Spring, 2018 to investigate the food-specific values among Norwegian parents with babies in the age of 0-24 months. Results revealed clear differences in preference rankings for food values between baby and adult food categories.