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Are Consumers Willing to Pay a Premium for Pure Rice Noodles? A Study of Discrete Choice Experiments in Taiwan

Author

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  • Yu-Hui Chen

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan)

  • Kai-Han Qiu

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan)

  • Kang Ernest Liu

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan)

  • Chun-Yuan Chiang

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan)

Abstract

Most consumers in Taiwan have never eaten pure rice noodles (PRNs) and some may mistakenly treat corn starch-based rice noodles as PRNs. This study examines consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for PRNs using discrete choice (DC) experiments with a blind tasting test to understand consumers’ ability to identify PRNs with varying rice content on the basis of their appearance and taste. Collecting data from the Taipei metropolitan area, our DC experimental results of both pre- and post-experiment conditions show that Taiwanese consumers do prefer PRNs and their WTP for PRNs was strengthened. A latent class model highlights that attribute preferences tend to differ by group and thus rice content ratios should be properly labeled so that consumers can make a better choice according to their preferences. Our WTP estimates also imply that offering tasting trials to consumers is an effective marketing strategy to encourage potential purchases of PRNs for the rice noodle industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu-Hui Chen & Kai-Han Qiu & Kang Ernest Liu & Chun-Yuan Chiang, 2020. "Are Consumers Willing to Pay a Premium for Pure Rice Noodles? A Study of Discrete Choice Experiments in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-18, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:15:p:6144-:d:392310
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