Consumer’s preferences and willingness to pay for biofortified juice in Rwanda: Does the nutritional information matter?

Identifying consumer preferences and willingness to pay for Orange Fleshed Sweet potato (OFSP) juice were the objectives of the study. This study is based on a structured survey and taste tests administered to 980 randomly approached and verbally agreed participants (384 female and 562 male) selected from seven different markets representing different income groups in Rwanda. Four juices types were tested: two popular brands of 100% pineapple juice, one 100%-OFSP juice, and one 80% OFSP-20% pineapple juice blend. During the taste testing, there was no information provided as to what the type or brand of the juice was. The consumers ranked different juice attributes such as aroma, taste, color, “right” amount of sugar, and aftertaste by rating using a Likert scale (1 to 5, with five being the most preferred). Heckman two-stage probit model is used to analyze willingness-to-pay and a multinomial logit model to analyze the determinants of juice choice. It is indicated that both consumer characteristics and juice attributes influence willingness-to-pay and preference: sex of the consumer, juice buying frequency, aroma, right amount of sugar, taste of the juice, and vitamin A knowledge were positively associated with willingness-to-pay and juice choice. Without nutritional information on OFSP juice, the willingness-to-pay for the standard juices compared to OFSP-based juices were statistically higher; but with nutritional information the willingness-to-pay and juice choice for OFSP juice was significantly improved. It is concluded that nutritional information, particularly about the role that vitamin A plays in health is important in determining the juice preferences and willingness to pay.