IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v54y2020ics0969698918311652.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“I don't like wonky carrots†- an exploration of children's perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables

Author

Listed:
  • Makhal, Annesha
  • Thyne, Maree
  • Robertson, Kirsten
  • Mirosa, Miranda

Abstract

Children's perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables have not been studied in the suboptimal foods domain. Using two qualitative research methods, this study investigates children's (N = 97) edibility perceptions of suboptimal produce with varied appearance defects. The results show that unlike adult samples previously studied, children are more accepting of suboptimal produce. Defects in shape, size, and certain colour defects were positively perceived, reflecting retailers' opportunities to market suboptimal produce. High levels of brown discolorations and superficial blemishes were not acceptable, implying that produce with such defects could be repurposed as ingredients in foods prepared and sold in-store. These implications reflect retailers' opportunities in marketing suboptimal produce to children, who by their familial influence may also be able to get families to buy and consume suboptimal produce. The importance of familiarity in improving suboptimal food acceptance is also recognised for future research to explore.

Suggested Citation

  • Makhal, Annesha & Thyne, Maree & Robertson, Kirsten & Mirosa, Miranda, 2020. "“I don't like wonky carrots†- an exploration of children's perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:54:y:2020:i:c:s0969698918311652
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.101945
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698918311652
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.101945?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yue, Chengyan & Alfnes, Frode & Jensen, Helen H., 2009. "Discounting Spotted Apples: Investigating Consumers' Willingness to Accept Cosmetic Damage in an Organic Product," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(1), pages 29-46, April.
    2. Yue, Chengyan & Alfnes, Frode & Jensen, Helen H., 2009. "Discounting Spotted Apples: Investigating Consumersï¾’ Willingness to Accept Cosmetic Damage in an Organic Product," Staff General Research Papers Archive 12693, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    3. Louis, Didier & Lombart, Cindy, 2018. "Retailers’ communication on ugly fruits and vegetables: What are consumers’ perceptions?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 256-271.
    4. Ketron, Seth & Naletelich, Kelly, 2019. "Victim or beggar? Anthropomorphic messengers and the savior effect in consumer sustainability behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 73-84.
    5. Cicatiello, Clara & Franco, Silvio & Pancino, Barbara & Blasi, Emanuele, 2016. "The value of food waste: An exploratory study on retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 96-104.
    6. Didier Louis & Cindy Lombart, 2018. "Retailers’ communication on ugly fruits and vegetables: What are consumers’ perceptions?," Post-Print hal-01709478, HAL.
    7. Halloran, Afton & Clement, Jesper & Kornum, Niels & Bucatariu, Camelia & Magid, Jakob, 2014. "Addressing food waste reduction in Denmark," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P1), pages 294-301.
    8. Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E. M., 1990. "Conceptual model of the quality perception process," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 309-333, December.
    9. John, Deborah Roedder, 1999. "Consumer Socialization of Children: A Retrospective Look at Twenty-Five Years of Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 26(3), pages 183-213, December.
    10. Page, Bill & Sharp, Anne & Lockshin, Larry & Sorensen, Herb, 2018. "Parents and children in supermarkets: Incidence and influence," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 31-39.
    11. Jessica Aschemann-Witzel & Ilona De Hooge & Pegah Amani & Tino Bech-Larsen & Marije Oostindjer, 2015. "Consumer-Related Food Waste: Causes and Potential for Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-21, May.
    12. Loussaïef, Leïla & Cacho-Elizondo, Silvia & Pettersen, Inger Beate & Tobiassen, Anita E., 2014. "Do CSR actions in retailing really matter for young consumers? A study in France and Norway," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 9-17.
    13. Daniel, Caitlin, 2016. "Economic constraints on taste formation and the true cost of healthy eating," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 34-41.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Qi, Danyi & Penn, Jerrod & Li, Ran & Roe, Brian E., 2022. "Winning ugly: Profit maximizing marketing strategies for ugly foods," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Jacob Suher & Courtney Szocs & Koert Ittersum, 2021. "When imperfect is preferred: the differential effect of aesthetic imperfections on choice of processed and unprocessed foods," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(5), pages 903-924, September.
    3. EiÄ aitÄ—, Ovidija & Baležentis, Tomas & RibaÅ¡auskienÄ—, Erika & MorkÅ«nas, Mangirdas & MelnikienÄ—, Rasa & Å treimikienÄ—, Dalia, 2022. "Food waste in the retail sector: A survey-based evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica & de Hooge, Ilona E. & Almli, Valérie L., 2021. "My style, my food, my waste! Consumer food waste-related lifestyle segments," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    2. Sina Nitzko & Achim Spiller, 2019. "Comparing “Leaf-to-Root”, “Nose-to-Tail” and Other Efficient Food Utilization Options from a Consumer Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-21, September.
    3. Vaneesha Dusoruth & Hikaru Hanawa Peterson, 2020. "Food waste tendencies: Behavioral response to cosmetic deterioration of food," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-22, May.
    4. de Souza, Michele & Pereira, Giancarlo Medeiros & Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & Trento, Luiz Reni & Borchardt, Miriam & Zvirtes, Leandro, 2021. "A digitally enabled circular economy for mitigating food waste: Understanding innovative marketing strategies in the context of an emerging economy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    5. Khachatryan, Hayk & Behe, Bridget K. & Campbell, Benjamin L. & Hall, Charles R. & Dennis, Jennifer H., 2013. "Does Eye Tracking Reveal More About the Effects of Buying Impulsiveness on the Green Industry Consumer Choice Behavior?," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150333, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Chengyan Yue & Ben Campbell & Charles Hall & Bridget Behe & Jennifer Dennis & Hayk Khachatryan, 2016. "Consumer Preference for Sustainable Attributes in Plants: Evidence from Experimental Auctions," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(2), pages 222-235, April.
    7. M. Lefebvre & C. Biguzzi & E. Ginon & S. Gomez-y-Paloma & S. R. H. Langrell & S. Marette & G. Mateu & A. Sutan, 2017. "Mandatory integrated pest management in the European Union: experimental insights on consumers’ reactions," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 98(1), pages 25-54, July.
    8. Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica & de Hooge, Ilona & Amani, Pegah & Bech-Larsen, Tino & Gustavsson, Jenny, 2015. "Consumers and food waste - a review of research approaches and findings on point of purchase and in-household consumer behaviour," 143rd Joint EAAE/AAEA Seminar, March 25-27, 2015, Naples, Italy 202716, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Cindy Grappe & Cindy Lombart & Didier Louis & Fabien Durif, 2022. "Clean labeling: Is it about the presence of benefits or the absence of detriments? Consumer response to personal care claims," Post-Print hal-04293232, HAL.
    10. Debucquet, Gervaise & Lombart, Cindy & Labbé-Pinlon, Blandine, 2021. "Depicting eaters and non-eaters of abnormal fruits and vegetables: Reflections of self-identity and food culture," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    11. Na Hao & Yi Zhang & Huashu Wang & H. Holly Wang, 2022. "Which Consumer Perceptions Should Be Used in Food Waste Reduction Campaigns: Food Security, Food Safety or Environmental Concerns?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-11, February.
    12. Richards, Timothy J. & Hamilton, Stephen F., 2018. "Food waste in the sharing economy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 109-123.
    13. Qi, Danyi & Penn, Jerrod & Li, Ran & Roe, Brian E., 2022. "Winning ugly: Profit maximizing marketing strategies for ugly foods," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    14. Min, Shi & Wang, Xiaobing & Yu, Xiaohua, 2021. "Does dietary knowledge affect household food waste in the developing economy of China?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    15. Joseph Seong & Simone Valle de Souza & H. Christopher Peterson, 2023. "Seeds of Industry Sustainability: Consumer Attitudes towards Indoor Agriculture Benefits versus Its Advanced Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, January.
    16. Ozge Dinc‐Cavlak & Ozlem Ozdemir, 2021. "Comparing the willingness to pay through three elicitation mechanisms: An experimental evidence for organic egg product," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(4), pages 782-803, October.
    17. Bruno Larue & Alan P. Ker, 2024. "Climate change, production and trade in apples," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 72(3), pages 325-346, September.
    18. Biguzzi, Coralie & Ginon, Emilie & Gomez-y-Paloma, Sergio & Langrell, Sergio & Lefebvre, Marianne & Marette, Stephan & Mateu, Guillermo & Sutan, Angela, 2014. "Consumers' preferences for Integrated Pest Management: Experimental insights," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 183081, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    19. Lai, Yufeng & Yue, Chengyan, 2020. "Consumer Willingness to pay for Organic and Animal Welfare Product Attributes: Do Experimental Results Align with Market Data?," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304328, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Rosa Maria Fanelli & Angela Di Nocera, 2017. "How to implement new educational campaigns against food waste: An analysis of best practices in European Countries," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 19(2), pages 223-244.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:54:y:2020:i:c:s0969698918311652. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.