Food consumption style determines food product innovations' acceptance

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a survey tool for consumer segmentation with respect to their food consumption style and to identify interesting consumer clusters for innovative food products development. Design/methodology/approach: The data for this research were collected in a non-stratified oral survey amongst 327 customers of food retail shops in southern Germany. Findings: Cluster analysis of the data resulted in ten different consumption style segments. Additionally, consumers' evaluation of the food product features were examined with conjoint analysis and interpreted both on a traditional preference level and on a newly elaborated acceptance level. Differences in preferences and acceptance can be observed for diverse food consumption style clusters and are the basis for target group specific food product design. Research limitations/implications: The sample was limited in size but meaningful results could be obtained within the survey. Additional improvements can be realised in the developed survey instrument with respect to, for example, the used food consumption style descriptors, character of product innovations or the structure of the sample. Practical implications: The developed approach can be used by food small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to integrate consumers and consumer-related aspects in their product development and innovation activities. Originality/value: A new approach for consumer segmentation is developed within the paper and tested in a field study in Germany. A new acceptance simulator tool uses conjoint data innovatively to gather deeper consumer feedback.