Utilizing Sensory and Visual Data in the Value Estimation of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Food evaluation is a topic central to consumer research and food marketing. However, there is little consensus regarding how consumers combine sensory stimuli, product information, and visual impressions to shape their evaluation. Moreover, the bulk of research relies on studies based on questionnai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Foods 2024-09, Vol.13 (18), p.2904
Main Authors: Suurmets, Seidi, Clement, Jesper, Piras, Simone, Barlagne, Carla, Tura, Matilde, Mokhtari, Noureddine, Thabet, Chokri
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural sciences
Agriculture, economy and politics
Biometrics
Cognitive dissonance
consumer value
Consumers
Food
Food analysis
Food packaging
Food products
Graphic design
Information processing
Life Sciences
Marketing
Marketing research
Morocco
Nutrition
Olive oil
package design
Packaging design
Product development
Product information
Sensory evaluation
Sensory stimuli
Visual aspects
Visual effects
Visual perception
Visual stimuli
Willingness to pay
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Food evaluation is a topic central to consumer research and food marketing. However, there is little consensus regarding how consumers combine sensory stimuli, product information, and visual impressions to shape their evaluation. Moreover, the bulk of research relies on studies based on questionnaires and declarative responses, raising questions about subliminal processes and their hierarchy in an evaluation process. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted a study with more than 400 participants in Morocco and Tunisia and investigated how factors such as flavor/taste, product information, and packaging design in a variety of olive oils influence visual attention and are reflected in willingness to pay (WTP). We implemented incentivization through an auction to reduce the hypothetical bias in stated WTP values. The results revealed that, compared to tasting the oils, the provision of cognitive information led to an increase in consumers' WTP. However, a drastic increase in WTP occurred when the consumers were exposed to package designs, overshadowing the formerly dominant effects of product attributes. These findings support theories suggesting a visual perceptual processing advantage due to the picture superiority effect-a picture says a thousand words. Further, it underlines the importance of graphic design in food marketing. The findings have ramifications for food marketing, product development, and pricing strategies.
ISSN:2304-8158
2304-8158
DOI:10.3390/foods13182904