Meat consumption behavior based on the experience of a food diary

Abstract

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER

Meat is an important source of nutrient for Hungarian since considering food consumption meat is the fourth most important one. The aim of this study is to explore of eating habits and the role of meat in everyday life and to segment consumers based on meat consumption and snacking and to profile them based on socio-demographics.

METHODOLOGY

Ton answer the research questions the method of diary was used. Participant had to note their eating habits, what they ate, when and where and whether they snacked between meal times or not. The empirical research was conducted in April 2017 in the most developed regions of Hungary (Western Transdanubia: 66.7%, Central Transdanubia and Central Hungary: 33.3%). Altogether the data of 171 (66.7% females and 35.1% males) consumers were collected. To interpret the results uni- and multivariate statistical analysis was used. The connection between consumption and socio-demographics was analysed with the method of ANOVA. To segment consumers the methods of hierarchical (Ward’s method) and non-hierarchical cluster analyses (K-mean) were used. To profile each segment the multinominal logistic regression was conducted.

MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS

Lunch and dinner are the most important eating occasions among participants. Only a few people follow a healthy diet and eat five times a day. Meat is an important nutrition in every-day eating however females eat less than males. Snacking is also typical for Hungarian especially for those who have lower level of education. Cluster analysis was conducted based on the frequency of eating, meat consumption and snacking. Four consumer groups were identified: restrained meat eaters, conscious eaters, snack lovers and meat lovers. Restrained meat eaters are mainly females. Conscious eaters live in villages or towns like snack lovers who typically have lower level of education.

RECOMMENDATIONS

These results are useful for food especially meat industry to define their marketing program and product policy targeted at special audience.

Acknowledgement: This work was supported by Széchenyi István University and the Hungarian Government and the European Union within the European Structural and Investment Funds. This study was written as a part of a project entitled EFOP-3.6.1-16-2016-00017, “Internationalization, initiatives to establish a new source of researchers and graduates, and development of knowledge and technological transfer as instruments of intelligent specializations at Szechenyi University”.