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Consumer behaviour towards
Organic Food Consumption in Hong Kong:
An Empirical Study
BY
Lau Kwan Yi
06011446
Marketing Option
An Honours Degree Project Submitted to the
School of Business in Partial Fulfillment
of the Graduation Requirement for the Degree of
Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours)
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong
April 2009
Page i
Acknowledgement
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge those who helped me in
completing my honours project.
To begin with, I would like to express my whole-hearted gratitude to my supervisor,
Dr. David Ko, for his unfailing guidance and support. He has provided me with a lot of
valuable advices and insightful feedback in the research process, so that I can complete
this study smoothly. Secondly, I would like to thanks the Hong Kong Organic Centre,
especially Miss Claudia Tsui, for their generosity and kindness in supplying me with
precious information. Thanks must also be given to my friends for their kind support and
help. Most importantly, I am indebted to my beloved family for their love and care.
Page ii
Abstract
With the recent rise of concern in food safety and environmental protection, the
organic food market in Hong Kong expands rapidly. Being free of chemical fertilizers,
patricides and preservatives, organic food represent a type of food that can free people
from the threat of food poisoning or any other harmful effects arising from excess or
illegal uses of harmful chemical in food. The organic industry is considered new to Hong
Kong, and there has not been any legal regulation on certifying standard of self-claimed
organic food. In view of the imbalance between a rising need for organic food and little
regulated organic certification system, this research attempts to investigate on the
consumption of organic food in Hong Kong.
Through examining the demographic characteristics of general public, attitude
towards organic food, health consciousness, environmental concerns and organic food
knowledge, the study aims to identify associations between all these factors and the
frequency in organic food consumption.
For research design, both exploratory and descriptive researches were conducted in
this study. Concerning methodology, the quota sampling method was adopted with the
sample size of 330. To analyze the collected data, the statistical analysis of Statistical
Package for Social Science was applied.
Findings show that gender and presence of children in household have significant
relationship with the organic food consumption. Positive relationships of attitude, health
consciousness, environmental concerns and organic food knowledge with the frequency
of organic food consumption are proved. Surprisingly, age, education and income are
found not related positively to consumption of organic food.
Recommendations are then provided based on the findings. Marketing strategies can
be formulated by targeting in groups of customers which have a higher consumption
potential. The supply and production volume can be increased, so as to lower the selling
price of organic food to a more competitive level which is not more than ¼ above
conventional food price level. Distribution channels of organic food can be increased with
supermarkets, health food stores and market as main development distribution network to
match with consumers’ shopping behaviour. Larger quantity and larger variety of organic
food can be obtained by local and over-border sourcing to broaden consumer base. A
system of organic food certification can be introduced to aid identification of real organic
products. Education should be blended well into marketing mix and be carried out in the
aspect of health, environmental and organic knowledge to boost the special
competitiveness in health maintenance, environmental protection and in rearing a more
favourable attitude towards organic food.
Page iii
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement .........................................................................................................i
Abstract.........................................................................................................................ii
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................1
1.1 Background ....................................................................................................1
1.2 Definition of Organic Food ...........................................................................1
1.3 Purpose of Research ......................................................................................2
1.4 Organic Food Consumption in Hong Kong.................................................3
1.5 Research Objectives .......................................................................................4
2. Literature Review ....................................................................................................4
2.1 Variables Influencing Consumption of Organic Food ................................4
2.1.1 Demographic Factors..........................................................................5
2.1.2 Attitude.................................................................................................6
2.1.3 Health Consciousness..........................................................................7
2.1.4 Environmental Concerns....................................................................7
2.1.5 Organic Food Knowledge...................................................................8
2.2 Proposed Framework and Hypotheses ........................................................8
3. Methodology ...........................................................................................................10
3.1 Research Design ...........................................................................................10
3.2 Sampling Plan and Sample Size .................................................................11
3.3 Questionnaire Design...................................................................................12
3.4 Data Analysis ................................................................................................13
4. Analysis and Findings ............................................................................................14
4.1 Demographics ...............................................................................................14
4.2 Nutrient Content Usage Pattern .................................................................16
4.3 Attitudes towards Organic Food.................................................................17
4.3.1 General Attitudes towards Organic Food.......................................17
4.3.2 Relationship between Attitudes and Age Group ............................18
4.3.3 Relationship between Attitudes and Gender ..................................20
4.3.4 Relationship between Attitudes and Education Level ...................20
4.3.5 Relationship between Attitudes of Income .....................................21
4.3.6 Relationship between Attitudes of Presence of Children in
household ....................................................................................................24
4.4 Health Consciousness...................................................................................24
4.5 Environmental Concerns.............................................................................25
4.6 Organic Food Knowledge............................................................................26
4.7 Variables Affecting Frequency of Organic Food Consumption...............27
Page iv
4.7.1 Relationship between Frequency and Age ......................................27
4.7.2 Relationship between Frequency and Gender ...............................28
4.7.3 Relationship between Frequency and Education Level ................29
4.7.4 Relationship between Frequency and Income................................30
4.7.5 Relationship between Frequency and Presence of Children in
Household ...................................................................................................33
4.7.6 Relationship between Frequency and Attitude ..............................34
4.7.7 Relationship between Frequency and Health Consciousness .......34
4.7.8 Relationship between Frequency and Environmental Concerns .35
4.7.9 Relationship between Frequency and Organic Food Knowledge.35
5. Discussion................................................................................................................36
6. Recommendations ..................................................................................................39
6.1 Strategies based on Demographics .............................................................39
6.2 Strategies based on Consumption Pattern.................................................39
6.3 Strategies based on Attitude towards Organic Food ................................40
6.3.1 Coping with limited availability, variety and selling locations .....40
6.3.2 Coping with difficulty in identifying real organic food and
confusing labels ..........................................................................................41
6.4 Strategies based on Health Consciousness.................................................41
6.5 Strategies based on Environmental Concerns ...........................................42
6.6 Strategies based on Organic Knowledge....................................................42
7. Limitations and Further Research .......................................................................43
8. Conclusion ..........................................................................................................44
References ...................................................................................................................45
Appendices.................................................................................................................A1
Page 1
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Food consumption patterns are rapidly changing nowadays as a result of
environmental issues, concern about the nutritional value of food and health issues. Issues
such as quality and safety in food attract consumer interest in organic food that is free
from pesticides and chemical residues (Childs and Polyzees, 1997; Zotos et al., 1999;
Baltas, 2001; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).
Although the concept of "organic food" seems to be well known to many consumers
(Roddy et al., 1996; Von Alvensleben, 1998), the proportion of consumers who purchase
organic foods on a regular basis is low (Grunert, 1993; Wandel and Bugge, 1997; Roddy
et al., 1996; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).
To better protect consumers from harmful and fake organic food, knowing the
factors affecting consumers’ consumption of organic products is therefore important.
Through investigation, the profile of buyers and non-buyers of organic products can be
figured out. This can be very critical for designing organic food labeling certification,
improving public health and enhancing the profitability of the food industry (Drichoutis et
al., 2005).
1.2 Definition of Organic Food
There is no common definition of “organic” due to the fact that different countries
have different standard for products to be certified “organic”. In simplest words, organic
Page 2
foods are minimally processed to maintain the integrity of the food without artificial
ingredients, preservatives or irradiation. Organic products are obtained by processes
friendly to the environment, by cultivation techniques that consider both the attributes of
the final product and the production methods (Chinnici et al., 2002).
Generally speaking, Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from
animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced
without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or
sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation (United States Department of
Agriculture National Organic Program, 2000).
More than that, "organic" is not only a set of harmless agricultural production
technique, its ultimate meaning behind is to respect the nature and life, pay attention to
the conservation of the ecology to enhance environmental quality for future generations.
1.3 Purpose of Research
With rising concern of health issues and food safety, many consumers have turned
their site to organic products (Laroche et al., 2001). The increased consumers' interest in
organic food has been attributed among others to the growing demand for food free from
pesticides and chemical residues (Childs and Polyzees, 1997; Zotos et al., 1999; Baltas,
2001; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).
Page 3
Organic food promotes a balance of human, other living organisms and the nature. It
also promotes no artificial preservatives and best maintain the originality of food. This
prevents excess use harmful ingredients and thereby ensures health.
The aim of the study is to gain knowledge about Hong Kong consumers' demographic
characteristics, attitudes, health consciousness, environmental concerns, organic food
knowledge and behaviour towards organic foods. From the research, the attitudes and
purchase behaviour of organic food will be assessed. It will give organic food marketers a
direction to improve the marketing strategies of their products. If organic food is
consumed by more consumers, society can greatly benefit from a public and global health
perspective (Wang et al., 1995). This results in a favourable situation benefiting the
consumers, manufacturers as well as the whole society.
1.4 Organic Food Consumption in Hong Kong
Following the worldwide trend, Hong Kong residents are becoming increasingly
health conscious and tend to consume healthier and more nutritious. In a public opinion
survey on customer behaviour (Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre, 2008), 90% of
respondents have consumed organic products, showing a 30% increase while compared to
a similar research done by the same organization in 2005. Demand for organic products
for Hong Kong consumers is rising speedily.
There are many researchers investigated the consumers’ attitudes towards organic
Page 4
food but most of the empirical works on organic food are related to western regions like
Canada (Barbara, 2008), America and Europe Makatouni, 2002; Verdurme et al., 2002,
Baker et al., 2004; Zanoli and Naspetti, 2002). However, there is an inadequate study that
focuses on the consumer behaviour in Hong Kong. To redress the imbalance, this study
attempts to investigate consumer behaviour of organic food in Hong Kong.
1.5 Research Objectives
The research objectives are summarized as follows:
i. To figure out the consumption pattern of Hong Kong people for organic food.
ii. To find out the attitudes towards organic food of the general public.
iii. To find out the demographic characteristics, attitude, health consciousness,
environmental concerns and organic knowledge level in relation to the frequency
of organic food consumption.
iv. To provide recommendations for marketers on how to improve the organic claims
and formulate relevant strategies to attract potential consumers.
In this paper, the term “buyers” will be used to refer for those who always, often or
sometimes buy organic products, while “non-buyers” refer for those who never buy
organic products.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Variables Influencing Consumption of Organic Food
Page 5
A review of the literature on organic food consumption shows that several attempts
have been made to examine consumers' perception of organic food, factors that have
facilitated or prevented the organic food choice, consumers' attitudes, as well as reasons
for purchase or non-purchase in many foreign countries.
2.1.1 Demographic Factors
In particular, organic food buyers tend to be younger than non-buyers (Jolly, 1991).
Age seems also to affect consumer attitudes towards organic food. Young people are
more environmentally conscious but less willing to pay more due to their lower
purchasing power, whereas older people are more health conscious and more willing to
pay an extra price for organic food (Wandel and Bugge, 1997; Thompson and Kidwell,
1998; Von Alvensleben, 1998; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).
Women seem to be more interested in organics than men, and they are more frequent
buyers than men (Davis et al., 1995; Wandel and Bugge, 1997). Overall, more positive
attitudes towards organic food have been detected in women as opposed to men (Lea and
Worsley, 2005).
Education has also been reported as a significant factor affecting consumer attitudes
towards organic food products. People with higher education are more likely to express
positive attitudes towards organic products, require more information about the
production and process methods of organics (Magnusson et al., 2001; Hill and
Page 6
Lynchehaum, 2002; Wier et al., 2003), have the confidence to negotiate conflicting
claims in relation to organic food (Padel and Foster, 2005), and are more willing to pay a
premium for organic food (Jolly, 1991; Wandel and Bugge, 1997).
Moreover, demand for organic food seems to be positively correlated to income
(Von Alvensleben, 1998). Higher income households are more likely to form positive
attitudes and to purchase more organic food (Grunert and Kristensen, 1991; Magnusson et
al., 2001). However, income appears to affect mainly the quantity of organic products
bought and not the general willingness to buy. Higher income households do not
necessarily indicate higher likelihood of organic purchases. Some lower income segments
seem to be more entrenched buyers (Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).
The presence of children in the household has also been regarded as a significant
factor, which positively influences consumers' organic food attitudes as well as buying
behaviour (Davis et al., 1995; Thompson and Kidwell, 1998; Fotopoulos and Krystallis,
2002). However, children's age can be considered as a key factor, meaning that the higher
the age of children in the household, the lower the propensity to buy organic food (Wier
et al., 2003).
2.1.2 Attitude
The socio-demographic profile seems to affect consumer attitudes and buying
behaviour towards organic food. Organic food attitudes are mainly influenced by gender,
Page 7
age, income, level of education and the presence of children in the household (Davis et al.,
1995; Wandel and Bugge, 1997; Thompson and Kidwell, 1998; Magnusson et al., 2001;
Wier et al., 2003).
2.1.3 Health Consciousness
Health consciousness refers to the degree to which health concerns are integrated
into a person’s daily activities (Jayanti and Burns, 1998). Health consciousness is
considered as a subjective intention or motivation to improve an individual’s health. Past
studies have shown that the most important reason for purchasing and consuming organic
food appears to be health consciousness (Tregear et al., 1994; Huang, 1996;
Schlegelmilch et al., 1996; Hutchins and Greenhalgh, 1997; Wandel and Bugge, 1997;
Von Alvensleben, 1998; Magnusson et al., 2001; Squires et al., 2001, Padel and Foster,
2005).
2.1.4 Environmental Concerns
The consumers' level of ecological concern is related to their willingness to purchase
green products (Amyx et al., 1994). Although it is not a priority issue, it also has
significant effect in affecting consumption of organic products (Kristensen and Grunert,
1991; Tregear et al., 1994; Von Alvensleben, 1998; Schifferstein and Oude Ophuis, 1998).
Organic products use environmental friendly ways to produce and process, people who
Page 8
are more concern for the environment is proposed to have a positive effect on the
purchase of organic products.
2.1.5 Organic Food Knowledge
Organic knowledge refers to the extent to which consumers have enduring
organic-related cognitive structures (Grunert and Grunert, 1995). Knowledge is proposed
to have a positive effect on a person’s perceived diet effectiveness and his or her
consumption of organic products (Peter et al, 1999). In addition, knowledge is expected to
have a negative effect on a person’s skepticism level (Szykman et al., 1997).
2.2 Proposed Framework and Hypotheses
With reference to the foregoing literature review and the extension of the work of
Boutsouki et al. (2008) conceptual framework, a framework is proposed in Figure 1 to
explain the consumption of organic products of Hong Kong consumers. The framework
shows the hypothesized relationships among consumers’ demographic factors, attitude,
health consciousness, environmental concerns, organic knowledge and consumption of
organic products.
Page 9
H2
H1
Figure 1: The Proposed Framework
The research hypotheses are as follows:
H1: There is association between demographic factors and attitude.
H1a: There is a negative relationship between age and attitude.
H1b: There is a positive relationship between women and attitude.
H1c: There is a positive relationship between education level and attitude.
H1d: There is a positive relationship between income and attitude.
H1e: There is a positive relationship between presence of children in household and
attitude.
H2: There is association between demographics factors and the frequency of
organic food consumption.
H2a: There is a negative relationship between age and the frequency of organic food
H5
Demographic Factors
a. Age
b. Gender
c. Education Level
d. Income
e. Presence of
Children in household
Health
Consciousness
Organic Food
Knowledge
Attitude H3
H6
H4
Consumption
of organic
products
Environmental
Concerns
Page 10
consumption.
H2b: There is a positive relationship between women and the frequency of organic
food consumption.
H2c: There is a positive relationship between education level and the frequency of
organic food consumption.
H2d: There is a positive relationship between income and the frequency of organic
food consumption.
H2e: There is a positive relationship between presence of children in household and
the frequency of organic food consumption.
H3: There is a positive relationship between attitude and the frequency of organic
food consumption.
H4: There is a positive relationship between health consciousnesses and the
frequency of organic food consumption.
H5: There is a positive relationship between environmental concerns and the
frequency of organic food consumption.
H6: There is a positive relationship between organic food knowledge and the
frequency of organic food consumption.
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
Page 11
Both exploratory and descriptive researches were conducted in this study. For
exploratory research, secondary data were collected from academic journals, the Internet
and reference books. In terms of descriptive research, a questionnaire was structured and
personal interviews were conducted to determine the attitudes and behaviour of
consumers in Hong Kong towards organic food.
3.2 Sampling Plan and Sample Size
As one of the research objectives is to compare the buyers and non-buyers group, the
sample size formula for the estimation of proportion was applied (Malhotra, 2004). Based
on a past research done in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre, 2005), the
proportion of buyers is 30%. By substituting it into formula, the number 3231can be
obtained. Therefore, 330 questionnaires were distributed and the sample size should be
large enough to minimize Type II error.
In order to obtain the maximum socio-economic scattering of consumers’
characteristics, the quota sampling method was adopted as to follow the sampling plan of
a similar study (Siu and Tsoi, 1998). Three districts, Wan Chai, Sha Tin and Sham Shui
Po were selected as to represent the high income district, middle income district and low
income district respectively. 110 questionnaires were distributed in each district. The
respondent was selected from every three passed-by to avoid self-selection bias.
1Assuming confidence level is 95% and standard error is 5%, therefore
n=0.3*(1-0.7)*1.962
/0.052
= 323
Page 12
A pretest of questionnaire was conducted with 10 respondents prior to avoid
ambiguous wording and inapplicable questions in the questionnaire. Also, the survey was
completed through face-to-face interview in order to minimize misunderstanding of the
questions.
3.3 Questionnaire Design
A structured questionnaire will be used which employed with true-false questions,
multiple-choice questions and Likert scale questions.
Part 1 is aimed at identifying organic food buyers and non-buyers, and their consumer
behaviour. Statements are extracted from 2 similar reports done in Hong Kong by the
Hong Kong Organic Resources Centre (2005, 2008).
Part 2 consists of statements developed by previous research (Tsakiridou et al., 2008)
to assess attitudes towards organic food. The statements are short listed and slightly
modified from the original 23 statements to be better suit in gauging attitudes.
In Part 3, a six-item Likert-type scale to measure health consciousness was adapted
from Kraft and Goodell (1993) and expanded to 10 items with another research (Cheung,
2005) to examine personal health and diet.
The ten-item Likert type scale to measure environmental consciousness was selected
from Shepherd et al. (2005) and expanded based on the reference from the Green Power
in Part 4.
Page 13
In Part 5, 10 true or false questions is used to test knowledge of organic products with
reference to the statements developed by the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation
Department (2008). A “Do Not Know” option is created to avoid unreliable answers.
Finally, in Part 6, demographic information of gender, age, occupation, marital status,
presence of children in household, members in household, income and educational level
are collected.
3.4 Data Analysis
To analyze the collected data, the statistical analysis of Statistical Package for Social
Science (SPSS) was applied. Different data analysis methods are as follow:
1. Reliability Test was employed to determine the Cronbach’s alpha of attitude towards
organic food, health consciousness and environmental concerns. The resulting alpha
coefficients of the three variables are 0.835, 0.830 and 0.840 respectively, which all
above the minimum acceptable threshold of 0.7 suggested by Nunnally (1978). The
reliability test is contained in Appendix 4.1 for reference.
2. Frequency counts and descriptive statistics were used to summarize the result of
respondents.
3. Regarding attitudes towards organic food, One-way ANOVA was employed to find
out the significant differences between each of the five demographic factors.
4. One-way ANOVA, independent sample T-test and Linear Regression were used to
Page 14
examine the relationship between the independent variables (demographic factors,
health consciousness, environmental concerns, organic food knowledge) and
dependent variable (frequency of label usage).
5. Chi-square analysis and independent sample T-test were applied again to investigate
the significant differences between users and non-users on their demographics,
health consciousness, environmental concerns and organic food knowledge.
For all analysis, a probability level of
Page 15
group of earning less than $5,000 per month. Yet, 138 respondents (41.9%) indicated that
their family monthly income is more than $30000.
In terms of organic food consumption frequency, 265 respondents (80.3%) claimed
that they are buyers of organic food. Of those 252 users, the majority of respondents, with
the number of 166 (50.3%) stated that they “sometimes” use the label, which indicate the
consumption of organic food has not yet become a usual practice for general consumers.
Table 1: Demographics profile of overall sample
Variables Frequency % Frequency %
Gender Male 147 44.5 Female 183 55.5
16 - 25 122 37.0 46 - 55 53 16.1
26 - 35 53 16.1 56 - 65 24 7.3
Age
36 - 45 73 22.1 66 or above 5 1.5
Primary or below 38 11.5 Undergraduate 160 48.5
Junior secondary school 41 12.4 Postgraduate 14 4.2
Education
Senior secondary school 77 23.3
Single 169 51.2 Others 9 2.7 Marital Status
Married 152 46.4
Yes 220 66.7 No 110 33.3 Children in
Household
1 15 4.5 4 112 33.9
2 63 19.1 5 45 13.6
Members in
Household
3 75 22.7 >5 20 6.1
Executive/Manager 15 4.5 Housewife 35 10.6
Professionals 31 9.4 Student 89 27.0
Clerk 63 19.1 Unemployed 1 0.3
Service worker/Salesperson 31 9.4 Retired 8 2.4
Labour Worker 11 3.3 Self-employed 12 3.6
Occupation
Technician 8 2.4 Others 26 7.9
$5,000 or below 125 37.9 $30,000-$34,999 18 5.5
$5,000-$9,999 46 13.9 $35,000-$39,999 15 4.5
$10,000-$14,999 65 19.7 $40,000-$44,999 5 1.5
Personal
Monthly
Income
$15,000-$19,999 22 6.7 $45,000-$49,999 6 1.8
Page 16
$20,000-$24,999 22 6.7 $50,000 or above 0 0.0
$25,000-$29,999 6 1.8
$5,000 or below 15 4.5 $30,000-$34,999 38 11.5
$5,000-$9,999 13 3.9 $35,000-$39,999 23 7.0
$10,000-$14,999 32 9.7 $40,000-$44,999 19 5.8
$15,000-$19,999 39 11.8 $45,000-$49,999 17 5.2
$20,000-$24,999 55 16.7 $50,000 or above 41 12.4
Total Family
Monthly
Income
$25,000-$29,999 38 11.5
At least Once/week 37 112 Seldom 166 50.3
At least Once/month 41 12.4 Never 65 19.7
Frequency of
Consumption
Once half a year 21 6.4
Buyers 99 30.0 Non-buyers 65 19.7
Consumption
of Organic
Food
4.2 Nutrient Content Usage Pattern
265 buyers were asked to identify their consumption pattern in organic food
consumption. As shown in Table 2, 34.3% and 38.1% of the respondents indicated a
past and future spending of $51-$200 respectively in organic food. Most buyers
bought organic vegetables most often while 83.8% of the respondents shop for
organic food in supermarkets. 41.1% respondents always read organic food labels
when shopping for organic food. For the price premium consumers are willing to pay
when compared with conventional food, 67.5% of the respondents are willing to pay a
higher price for organic food.
Table 2: Consumption Pattern of Organic Food Buyers
Variables Frequency % Frequency %
$50 or below 76 28.7 $501 - $700 23 8.7
$51-$200 91 34.3 $701 – 1000 15 5.7
Past Spending on
Organic Food
$201-$500 44 16.6 $1001or above 16 6.0
Page 17
$50 or below 34 12.8 $501 - $700 22 8.3
$51-$200 101 38.1 $701 – 1000 24 9.1
Planned Future
Spending on
Organic Food $201-$500 56 21.1 $1001or above 28 10.6
Vegetables 133 50.2 Processed food 59 22.3
Fruits 41 15.5 Raw Material 19 7.2
Type of Organic
Food Bought
Most Often Meat 13 4.9
Markets 44 16.6
Health Food
Stores 97 36.6
Supermarkets 222 83.8 Stores 1 0.4
Shopping Place
for Organic Food
Convenient
Stores 2 0.8 Others 3 1.1
Always 109 41.1 Seldom 28 10.6
Usually 69 26.0 Never 11 4.2
Frequency to
Read Organic
Food Labels Sometimes 48 18.1
Negative 9 3.4 1/2 higher 42 15.8
0 77 29.1 double 13 4.9
1/4 higher 124 46.8
Price Premium
Willing to Pay
(compared with
conventional food)
4.3 Attitudes towards Organic Food
4.3.1 General Attitudes towards Organic Food
Both buyers and non-buyers of organic food were asked about the attitudes towards
organic food and the result is presented in Table 3. Generally speaking, the general public
have a favourable attitude towards organic food (Mean = 3.18) while the buyers have a
more favourable attitude (Mean = 3.24). Viewing organic food “healthier” scores the
highest mean of 4.12. The lowest means of 2.43, 2.48 and 2.49 are scored by the views
that “it is difficult to identify real organic products”, “organic products labels in the
market are confusing” and “organic products are very expensive” respectively.
Table 3: Attitudes towards Organic Food
Page 18
General Buyers
Item Mean
Std.
Deviation Mean
Std.
Deviation
1. I am not interested in organics. 3.65 .897 3.81 .842
2. I prefer buying organics. 3.45 .854 3.62 .785
3. Organic products are safer and more reliable. 4.03 .724 4.08 .749
4. Organic products are of better quality. 3.96 .672 4.01 .666
5. Organic products are healthier. 4.12 .720 4.21 .673
6. Organic products taste better. 3.27 .775 3.30 .778
7. Organic products are of higher nutrition value. 3.61 .789 3.65 .785
8. Organic products are very expensive. 2.49 .848 2.55 .852
9. The packaging of organic products looks less pleasing to the
eye.
3.14 .796 3.20 .797
10. The outlook of organic products is less attractive. 3.16 .815 3.24 .818
11. Organics are supreme products consumed only by rich people. 3.17 1.013 3.30 .984
12. Consumption of organic products represents higher social
status.
2.63 .917 2.45 .932
13. Not many organic products are available in the market. 2.61 .811 2.61 .842
14. There is a small variety of organic products. 2.61 .834 2.61 .842
15. There are a lot of selling locations for organic products. 2.83 .806 2.85 .826
16. It is difficult to identify real organic products. 2.43 .914 2.48 .917
17. The organic products labels in the market are confusing. 2.48 .840 2.65 .845
18. I trust organic products. 3.12 .787 3.19 .775
19. I trust organic producers. 3.06 .812 3.11 .823
20. Organics consumption helps protecting the environment. 3.71 .764 3.80 .715
Overall Mean 3.18 3.24
4.3.2 Relationship between Attitudes and Age Group
One-way ANOVA reveals statistically significant differences in attitudes towards
organic food of different age groups. As shown in Table 4, 4.1 and 4.2, the figure
(F=6.246, p
Page 19
36-45 while the groups 26-35 and 36-45 both indicate a more positive attitude than 16-25
and 56-65. The age group “66 or above” has a more negative attitude with the lowest
mean score of 2.81 when compared with the 36-45 age group of the highest mean score of
3.3. Yet, the other pair groups have comparable frequency (p>0.05). There is no
relationship between attitude and age group, hence, hypothesis H1a can be rejected
(Appendix 4.2).
Table 4: Descriptive statistics of Attitudes between Age Group
Frequency Mean Std. Deviation
16-25 122 3.10 .322
26-35 53 3.30 .466
36-45 73 3.32 .444
46-55 53 3.15 .404
56-65 24 2.98 .232
66 or above 5 2.81 .282
Table 4.1: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Attitudes and Age
Group
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig
Between Groups 4.631 5 .926 6.246 .000
Within Groups 48.049 324 .148
Total 52.68 329
Table 4.2: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Attitudes and Age Group
(I) Age (J) Age Mean Difference
(I-J) Std. Error Sig.
26-35 -.196 .063 .026 16-25
36-45 -.218 .057 .002
16-25 .196 .063 .026 26-35
56-65 .320 .095 .011
16-25 .218 .057 .002 36-45
56-65 .342 .090 .003
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66 or above .511 .178 .049
26-35 -.320 .095 .011 56-65
36-45 -.342 .090 .003
66 or above 36-45 -.511 .178 .049
4.3.3 Relationship between Attitudes and Gender
To examine the significant difference between attitude and gender, Independent
Sample T-test is applied in Table 5 and 5.1. Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances
p>0.05 means assumption of equal variances is met. The figure (t=-5.376, p
Page 21
figure (F=4.993, p=0.001) reveals different education levels differentiate themselves in
attitudes. By the Turkey Test, the pairwise comparisons of the mean frequency shows that
Education with primary or below has the lowest mean of 2.93 and has a more negative
attitudes towards organic food when compared with senior secondary and undergraduate
education. As the other pair groups have comparable frequency (p.>0.05) (Appendix 4.4),
consumers’ education level is not positively related to attitudes towards organic food.
Hypothesis H1c can therefore be rejected.
Table 6: Descriptive statistics of Attitudes between Education Level
Frequency Mean Std. Deviation
Primary or below 38 2.93 .378
Junior secondary school 41 3.14 .367
Senior secondary school 77 3.26 .421
Undergraduate 160 3.20 .387
Postgraduate 14 3.25 .370
Table 6.1: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Attitudes and
Education Level
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig
Between Groups 3.050 4 .762 4.993 .001
Within Groups 49.631 325 .153
Total 52.680 329
Table 6.2: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Attitudes and Education
Level
(I) Age (J) Age Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.
Senior secondary school -.330 .077 .000 Primary or below
Undergraduate -.270 .071 .001
Senior secondary school Primary or below 330 .077 .000
Undergraduate Primary or below 270 .071 .001
4.3.5 Relationship between Attitudes of Income
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2 separate One-way ANOVAs and Turkey Tests are employed to investigate on
significant difference between attitude and income including personal and family income
respectively as shown in Table 7, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4. For personal income, the outcome
reveals a difference between groups (F=3.711, p
Page 23
Table 7.1: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Attitudes and Personal
Income
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig
Between Groups 4.978 9 .553 3.711 .000
Within Groups 47.702 320 .149
Total 52.680 329
Table 7.2: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Attitudes and Personal
Income
(I) Age (J) Age Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.
$5,000 or below $40,000-$44,999 -.687 .176 .005
$5,000-$9,999 $40,000-$44,999 -.810 .182 .001
$10,000-$14,999 $40,000-$44,999 -.630 .179 .018
$20,000-$24,999 $40,000-$44,999 -.611 .191 .049
$5,000 or below .687 .176 .005
$5,000-$9,999 .810 .182 .001
$10,000-$14,999 .630 .179 .018
$40,000-$44,999
$20,000-$24,999 .611 .191 .049
Table 7.3: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Attitudes and Family
Income
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig
Between Groups 4.987 10 .499 3.335 .000
Within Groups 47.694 319 .150
Total 52.680 329
Table 7.4: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Attitudes and Family Income
(I) Age (J) Age Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.
$45,000-$49,999 -.501 .142 .021 $5,000-$9,999
$50,000 or above -.403 .123 .045
$45,000-$49,999 -.385 .112 .028 $1,5000-$19,999
$50,000 or above -.288 .086 .039
$5,000-$9,999 .501 .142 .021 $45,000-$49,999
$15,000-$19,999 .385 .112 .028
$5,000-$9,999 .403 .123 .045 $50,000 or above
$15,000-$19,999 .288 .086 .039
Page 24
4.3.6 Relationship between Attitudes of Presence of Children in household
To examine the significant difference of attitudes between presence of children in
household, Independent Sample T-test is applied in Table 8 and 8.1. The result of
Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances (F=1.494, p>0.05) confirmed the assumption of
equal variance. However, due to an insignificant test result (t=0.607, p>0.05), there is no
relationship between attitudes and presence of children. Hypothesis H1e is there fore
rejected (Appendix 4.6).
Table 8: Descriptive statistics of Attitudes between Presence of Children
Frequency Mean Std. Deviation
Yes 110 3.20 .041
No 220 3.17 .026
Table 8.1: Independent Sample T-test for significant difference between Attitudes and Presence of
Children
Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances
t-test for Equality of Means
F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed)
Equal cariances assumed 1.494 .223 .607 328 .544
Equal variances not assumed .588 200.408 .557
4.4 Health Consciousness
Overall, the mean score of health consciousness is 3.62, which shows a fair level in
health and diet of Hong Kong people as shown in Table 9. The item “I worry that there
are harmful chemicals in my food” has the highest mean of 3.93, reflecting a rise of
concern in food safety.
Page 25
Table 9: Descriptive statistic of Health Consciousness
Item Mean
Std.
Deviation
1. I worry that there are harmful chemicals in my food. 3.93 0.69
2. I always avoid eating foods with additives and preservatives. 3.43 0.867
3. I am concerned about my drinking water quality. 3.85 0.664
4. I usually read the ingredients on food labels. 3.33 1.027
5. I read more health-related articles than I did 3 years ago. 3.35 0.973
6. I am interested in information about my health. 3.91 0.655
7. I always eat fresh and healthy foods, e.g. fruits, vegetables,
etc. 3.81 0.763
8. I am concerned about my health all the time. 3.86 0.696
9. I always pay attention to a balanced diet. 3.61 0.792
10. I always avoid eating snacks. 3.09 1.063
Overall mean 3.62
4.5 Environmental Concerns
The mean score of environmental concerns is 3.44, which shows a fair to favourable
level of environmental concerns as shown in Table 10. The item “I use double sides of a
paper before throwing it away or taking it recycled” scores the highest mean of 3.98 while
the item “I avoid purchasing products in environmental unfriendly packages” and “I
prefer to buy environmental friendly labeled products” both have the lowest mean score
of 3.05.
Table 10: Descriptive statistics of Environmental Concerns
Item Mean
Std.
Deviation
1. I avoid purchasing products in environmental unfriendly packages. 3.05 0.903
2. I always save energy. 3.67 0.790
3. I prefer to buy environmental friendly labeled products. 3.05 1.008
4. I always recycle plastic bottles and newspaper etc. 3.66 0.858
5. I use double sides of a paper before throwing it away or taking it recycled. 3.98 0.868
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6. I bring my shopping bag when I go shopping. 3.38 1.124
7. I always donate things I do not need (like electric appliances, computers, toys,
clothes) to the charity. 3.42 0.933
8. I always avoid using disposable tableware. 3.28 1.026
Overall Mean 3.44
4.6 Organic Food Knowledge
The knowledge variable is based on ten true or false questions. For each question a
correct answer was assigned a 1 and a wrong answer was assigned a 0, giving a total
score between 0 and 10 for each respondent. The distribution of score and the percentage
of correct responses for each question are presented in Table 11 and 12. The average
score is 4.98, showing a fair level of organic food knowledge among the respondents.
Table 11: Scores of Organic Food Knowledge
Score 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Frequency 12 8 16 44 51 64 57 40 21 12 5
% 3.6 2.4 4.8 13.3 15.5 19.4 17.3 12.1 6.4 3.6 1.5
Overall Mean = 4.98
Table 12: Percentage of correct responses for each organic food question
Item (Notes: Correct answers are written in blankets) %
1. Organic production does not apply chemical pesticides and fertilizers. (True) 79.1
2. Organic food is not natural products. (False) 66.4
3. Organic food involves genetic modification. (False) 57.3
4. Organic food has higher nutrition content than conventional food. (False) 27.0
5. We can judge if a product is organic or not by its outlook appearance. (False) 62.1
6. There is no preservative in organic food. (True) 71.2
7. Organic farming use animal excretion as fertilizers. (False) 23.3
8. ISO9001 (Product management certification) is organic certification. (False) 24.5
9. Real organic products can only be bought in large supermarkets, department
stores or organic food stores. (False) 47.6
10. Only those products with organic-certified labels are real organic products. (True) 39.7
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4.7 Variables Affecting Frequency of Organic Food Consumption
4.7.1 Relationship between Frequency and Age
Referring to Table 13, 13.1 and 13.2, One-way ANOVA shows statistically
significant differences in frequency of organic food consumption of different age groups.
The figure (F=12.967, p0.05)
(Appendix 4.7). Therefore, consumers’ age is not positively related to the frequency of
organic food consumption and hypothesis H2a can be rejected.
Table 13: Descriptive statistics of Frequency between Age Group
Frequency Mean Std. Deviation
16-25 122 1.96 .322
26-35 53 2.87 .466
36-45 73 3.15 .444
46-55 53 2.43 .404
56-65 24 2.25 .232
66 or above 5 1.00 .282
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Table 13.1: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Frequency and Age
Group
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig
Between Groups 85.992 5 17.198 12.967 .000
Within Groups 429.732 324 1.326
Total 515.724 329
Table 4.2: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Frequency and Age Group
(I) Age (J) Age Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.
26-35 -.909 .189 .000 16-25
36-45 -1.192 .170 .000
16-25 .909 .189 .000 26-35
66 or above 1.868 .539 .008
16-25 1.192 .170 .000
46-55 .717 .208 .008
56-65 .901 .271 .013
36-45
66 or above 2.151 .532 .001
46-55 36-45 -.717 .208 .008
56-65 36-45 -.901 .271 .013
26-35 -1.868 .539 .008 66 or above
36-45 -2.151 .532 .001
4.7.2 Relationship between Frequency and Gender
To examine the significant difference of frequency of organic food consumption
between genders, Independent Sample T-test is applied in Table 14 and 14.1. Levene’s
Test for Equality of Variances p
Page 29
Male 147 2.25 1.109
Female 183 2.61 1.337
Table 14.1: Independent Sample T-test for significant difference between Frequency and Genders
Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances
t-test for Equality of Means
F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed)
Equal cariances assumed 15.73 .000 -2.621 328 .009
Equal variances not assumed -2.675 327.547 .008
4.7.3 Relationship between Frequency and Education Level
One-way ANOVA and Turkey Test are used to check the significant differences
in frequency of label usage of different education level and the result is presented in
Table 15, 15.1 and 15.2. The figure (F=3.966, p
Page 30
Undergraduate 160 2.40 1.193
Postgraduate 14 2.36 1.082
Table 15.1: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Frequency and
Education Level
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig
Between Groups 24.002 4 6.000 3.966 .004
Within Groups 491.723 325 1.513
Total 515.724 329
Table 15.2: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Frequency and Education
Level
(I) Age (J) Age Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.
Primary or below Senior secondary school -.923 .244 .002
Primary or below .923 .244 .002 Senior secondary school
Undergraduate .470 .171 .048
Undergraduate Primary or below -.470 .171 .048
4.7.4 Relationship between Frequency and Income
Both personal income and family income are investigated by employing 2 separate
One-way ANOVAs and Turkey Tests respectively on significant difference in Table 16,
16.1, 16.2, 16.3 and 16.4. For personal income, the outcome reveals a difference between
groups (F=3.711, p
Page 31
the family monthly income level of $30,000. The highest income level group also poses a
higher frequency over groups $5,000-$9,999, $15,000-$19,999 and $20,000-$24,999.
Since not all pairs shows significant results (p
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$45,000-$49,999 -2.008 .470 .001
$25,000-$29,999 -1.703 .489 .020
$35,000-$39,999 -1.270 .335 .007
$40,000-$44,999 -2.870 .530 .000
$5,000-$9,999
$45,000-$49,999 -1.870 .489 .006
$5,000 or below 0.577 0.172 0.03 $10,000-$14,999
$40,000-$44,999 -2.431 .522 .000
$15,000-$19,999 $40,000-$44,999 -2.182 .558 .004
$20,000-$24,999 $40,000-$44,999 -2.273 .558 .002
$5,000 or below 1.841 .470 .004 $25,000-$29,999
$5,000-$9,999 1.703 .489 .020
$30,000-$34,999 $40,000-$44,999 2.222 .560 .004
$35,000-$39,999 $5,000 or below 1.408 .308 .000
$5,000-$9,999 1.270 .335 .007
$5,000 or below 3.008 .513 .000
$5,000-$9,999 2.870 .530 .000
$10,000-$14,999 2.431 .552 .000
$1,5000-$19999 2.182 .558 .004
$20,000-$24,999 2.273 .558 .002
$40,000-$44,999
$30,000-$34,999 2.222 .569 .004
$5,000 or below 2.008 .470 .001 $45,000-$49,999
$5,000-$9,999 1.870 .489 .006
Table 16.3: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Frequency and Family
Income
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig
Between Groups 69.866 10 6.987 4.999 .000
Within Groups 445.858 319 1.398
Total 515.724 329
Table 16.4: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Frequency and Family Income
(I) Age (J) Age Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.
$5,000 or below $45,000-$49,999 -1.722 .419 .002
$45,000-$49,999 -1.819 .436 .002 $5,000-$9,999
$50,000 or above -1.231 .376 .046
$10,000-$14,999 $45,000-$49,999 -1.151 .355 .050
$15,000-$19,999 $40,000-$44,999 -1.077 .331 .048
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$45,000-$49,999 -1.665 .344 .000
$50,000 or above -1.077 .264 .003
$45,000-$49,999 -1.388 .328 .002 $20,000-$24,999
$50,000 or above -.800 .244 .045
$25,000-$29,999 $45,000-$49,999 -1.351 .345 .005
$40,000-$44,999 $15,000-$19,999 1.077 .331 .048
$5,000 or below 1.722 .419 .002
$5,000-$9,999 1.819 .436 .002
$10,000-$14,999 1.151 .355 .050
$15,000-$19,999 1.665 .344 .000
$20,000-$24,999 1.388 .328 .002
$45,000-$49,999
$25,000-$29,999 1.351 .345 .005
$5,000-$9,999 1.231 .376 .046
$1,5000-$19999 1.077 .264 .003
$50,000 or above
$20,000-$24,999 .800 .244 .045
4.7.5 Relationship between Frequency and Presence of Children in Household
Independent Sample T-test is applied to examine the significant difference between
frequency and the presence of children in a household. In Table 17 and 17.1, Levene's
Test for Equality of Variances
Page 34
Equal variances not assumed 2.453 192.967 0.15
4.7.6 Relationship between Frequency and Attitude
Linear Regression is used to test the relationship between frequency of organic food
consumption and attitude and the result is presented in Table 18. The estimated slope
(B=1.954, p
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4.7.8 Relationship between Frequency and Environmental Concerns
Again, Linear Regression is employed in testing the relationship between frequency
and environmental concerns as shown in Table 20. The estimated slope (B=0.740,
p
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5. Discussion
The majority of the respondents have a positive attitude towards organic food.
However, over 50% of them indicated that they seldom consume organic food. Despite
the fact that a portion of the consumers claimed that they will spend more on organic food
in the future, most of them spent only $51-$200 on organic food in a year, which reflect
organic food, still, as a niche market in Hong Kong.
The socio-demographic profile of organic food buyers are revealed as women buying
more frequently then men. Although age is not an important factor, consumers aged
between 36-45 shows the highest frequency in the consumption of organic products
(Davis et al., 1995). It was explained by some studies that although younger consumers
has a higher willingness to buy due to their greater environmental concerns, they cannot
always afford it, and therefore being replaced by the mid-age group who has higher
financial power (Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002, Baker et al., 2002, Solomon et al.,
1999). Households with the presence of children are also found to consume organic food
more often. The reason behind may be perceived as a higher level of concern in food
safety with the presence of children, especially for women.
As expected, people who are more health conscious, environmental friendly and
have higher level of organic food knowledge are also confirmed to purchase organic food
more frequently. The item “I worry that there are harmful chemicals in my food” has the
Page 37
highest mean value of 3.93 in the health consciousness scale implies a general high
awareness in the threat of food safety. Together with the 3 highest-mean-valued attitudes
of organic food of being “healthier”, “safer and more reliable” and “are of higher quality”,
an opportunity in the expansion and raise of the organic food market can be seen.
In term of price premium, nearly 70% of the consumers denoted a willingness to pay
a premium for organic food. Among them, the most bearable price premium is evaluated
at a 1/4 price level higher than non-organic conventional food. All these seem
contradictory to the phenomenon that organic food is surprisingly consumed at a low
frequency level. The reason behind can possibly be explained by some of the findings of
the survey. Among the attitudes towards organic food, the statements “it is difficult to
identify real organic products”, “organic products labels in the market are confusing” and
“organic products are very expensive” scored the lowest in mean values. They can be
interpreted as the main reasons failing organic products in becoming popular, which
coincide with rationalizations in past researches (Dent and McGregor 1994, An Bord Glas
1991, Stopes and Woodward 1988, Dixon and Holmes 1987, von Alvensleben and
Altmann 1987). This suggests a space for development or improvement in areas of price
competitiveness and organic food labeling certification.
Other negative attitudes towards organic food include “few organic products available
in the market”, “small variety of organic products” and “few selling locations for organic
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products”. These negative attitudes act as barriers for consumption of organic products
(An Bord Glas 1991, Stopes and Woodward 1988; Jolly et al. 1989).
While talking about the difficulty in identifying real organic food products and
labels, the study about organic knowledge brings a lack of knowledge on organic food
into light. The average score of 4.98 out of 10 reveals lack adequate information in
identifying real organic food products and labels. Over 70% of the respondents mixed up
the product management certification ISO9001 with organic certification and did not
know that organic-certified labels represent real organic products. There is also a serious
misunderstanding about a higher nutrition content and the use of animal excretion as
fertilizers in organic food which are both actually false. Past studies have pointed out that
such a misunderstanding in organic ways of production will prevent consumers from
buying organic food (Verdurme et al., 2002, Worner and Meier-Ploeger, 1999)
In environmental aspect, the overall mean of environmental concerns is 3.44 which
represent a fair to moderate level of environmental concerns of the general public. The
same association has been captured by Fotopoulos and Krystallis (2002). However, it is
generally recognized that there are also numerous barriers to the diffusion of
environmentally friendly products, like organic food, despite the green trend in consumer
values and attitudes. The most common barriers stressed in the marketing literature
include consumer's reluctance to pay higher costs, both in terms of money and in time and
Page 39
effort, their skepticism regarding the higher quality of these products (Vindigni et al.,
2002) and the lack of availability of these products (Lea and Worsley, 2005). Therefore,
marketing should be carefully handled to avoid collision of such barriers.
6. Recommendations
6.1 Strategies based on Demographics
As discovered in the survey, female and households with children are more likely to
consume organic products. These two groups therefore have a bigger potential as the
major consumption group and can be identified as target customers. A marketing mix
could focus on these groups and investigate in any special needs in the groups. As female
consumers are becoming more needy for detail information and knowledge about organic
facts and benefits, in terms of advertising, for example, rational appeals should be used
instead of emotional appeals in order to enhance the rate of return. Likewise, when
designing advertisement and packaging of products, more feminine designs, like more use
of warm colours, will be more appealing to the target group customers.
6.2 Strategies based on Consumption Pattern
According to the survey, a majority of the consumers take a price 1/4 higher than
non-organic conventional food. This can act as a reference when organic food marketers
develop their pricing strategies. As a matter of fact, organic products do require a higher
production cost due to more intensive farming, slower crops growth and less government
Page 40
subsidies which pose an understandable difficulty in drawing down the prices. Therefore,
in long term, development of local organic agriculture could be encouraged to increase
production volumes of organic products. More organic food could also be imported from
China or overseas in order to decrease the price by driving up the supply, thereby
attracting more customers.
6.3 Strategies based on Attitude towards Organic Food
As mentioned before, negative attitudes towards organic food other than prices are
“limited availability”, “limited variety”, “limited selling locations”, “difficulty in
identifying real organic products” and “confusing organic products labels”.
6.3.1 Coping with limited availability, variety and selling locations
Selling locations and distribution channels could be increased and broadened, so that
the increase in convenience could attract both buyers and noon-buyers of organic food.
By increasing the production volume or supply of more variety organic food as
mentioned, not only the price could be reduced, selling locations could also be directly or
indirectly increased.
Further, the pattern of distribution channels could also be changed. As supermarkets,
health food stores and markets occupied a large share as organic food shopping points,
emphasis should be placed in these 3 channels, especially supermarket as it is the most
often shopping place for consumers. More organic food, especially vegetables and fruits,
Page 41
should also be directed to markets in order to absorb a broader consumption group.
6.3.2 Coping with difficulty in identifying real organic food and confusing labels
The difficulty and confusion reflect a cluttered organic food labeling and
certification system. Need for an independent and standardized organic labeling system is
clearly indicated. This calls for cooperation and aids from local and international
governments. Organic food marketers should encourage the government to propose legal
standard on organic food certification in order to protect health of the general public. In
shorter term, organic food marketers could educate the public about certified labels by
means of advertisements or promotion such as TV advertisements.
6.4 Strategies based on Health Consciousness
Since consumers are increasingly aware of the threat of harmful additives and food
safety, organic food provide a safe and reliable way to “eat healthy”. Aspects like “safe”,
and “healthy” should be stressed in packaging, brand image development and advertising
to draw favourable attitude towards the brand or products.
Moreover, efforts in educating consumers about health awareness can foster more
favourable attitude and consumption for organic food. To do this, food marketers should
work together with the Government for developing promotional campaigns to influence
consumers’ beliefs about the relationship between food safety and disease. The
promotional campaign can be in different forms, depending on the target audience.
Page 42
6.5 Strategies based on Environmental Concerns
Being a part of green food, environmental friendliness is advised to be maintained
when establishing brand image and formulating marketing mix. For example, the
packaging of food is advised to be environmental friendly, with less excessive packaging
to maintain a consistent image and impression for the product.
More than that a type of food, "organic" is not only a set of harmless agricultural
production technique, but a more important idea behind to protect the environmental and
create a mutual beneficial living environment for both nature and man. During marketing,
marketers can stress the importance in this aspect by means of education and promotion,
so that consumers will one day consider their social responsibility in environmental
protection.
6.6 Strategies based on Organic Knowledge
The framework reinforces the basic notion that, to increase consumers’ use of
nutrition label, policy can focus on education about health knowledge. Educational
programmes targeted at increasing levels of diet-disease knowledge can be effective in
teaching consumers that diet-related diseases may be preventable. This, in run, may lead
to healthier eating habits (Szykman et al., 1997).
To increase the nutrition knowledge, the food sector can cooperate with the
Government and public organizations to produce brochures, campaigns and TV
Page 43
programmes for the general public. In addition, compulsory nutrition class and seminars
can be provided by schools to target the students. The younger they learn about nutrition,
the more benefits of healthy food choices they can enjoy.
7. Limitations and Further Research
This exploratory study provides some valuable information on attitudes and
frequency of organic food consumption, yet several questions remain unanswered.
First, due to cost limitation and time constraint, the study has placed emphasis on
isolating the role of health consciousness, environmental concerns and organic food
knowledge on organic food consumption apart from the role of demographic
characteristics in affecting them. As the variables are examined separately, estimates
linking demographic factors with organic food consumption without controlling for health
consciousness, environmental concerns and organic food knowledge into account may not
be accurate.
The study has also focus on the role of demographics in affecting attitude but
exclude other factors such as health consciousness, environmental concerns and organic
food knowledge.
This search focuses on demographics variables, health consciousness, environmental
concerns and organic food knowledge in relation to the frequency of organic food
consumption. However, it may have ignored other possible factors like consumers’
Page 44
skepticism, psychographic variables, health status, cost of information search, etc.
Besides, an experimental nature of study may provide a broader scope of understanding.
Knowing the characteristics of individuals who purchase organic food is a critical
part of the organic food consumption analysis. Yet, a key question still remains as to why
customers buy or not buy organic food. In the study, attitude is used as a way to
interpreter the reason behind, but it is not reliable as it is only a perception based on
findings. Further research should extend this study and determine the factors influencing
consumers’ purchase decision.
8. Conclusion
All in all, this study provides a preliminary analysis of the proposed framework that
underlies the consumption of organic food. Interestingly, age, education and income are
proved for not having a positive relationship with consumption of organic food. A
significant difference between gender and the organic food consumption is found.
Positive relationships among organic food consumption frequency and four aspects are
established, namely attitude, health consciousness, environmental concerns and organic
food knowledge. Findings in this study help marketers and government to develop
specific strategies for organic food customers and provide insights and directions for
future research.
Page 45
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Page A1
Appendices
Appendix 1: Questionnaire on Organic Food Consumption – English Version
A Questionnaire on Organic Food Consumption
Hello! I am a Year 3 student from the Hong Kong Baptist University majoring in
Marketing. I am now conducting a research project about organic food consumption
in Hong Kong. Please spare 5-10 minutes to fill in this questionnaire. All your
information given will be used for academic purpose only. Here, I would like to
express my gratitude for your help.
Part 1
The following statements measure your consumption of organic food.
Please tick the appropriate box(es).
1. Have you ever heard of the term “organic food”?
□ Yes □ No (End of questionnaire, thank you)
2. How often do you purchase organic food?
□ At least once/week □ At least once/month □ Once half a year
□ Seldom □ Never (Please jump to Part 2)
3. In the past year, how much do you and your family spend on organic food
monthly?
□ $50 or below □ $51 - $200 □ $201 - $500
□ $501 - $700 □ $701 – $1000 □ $1001or above
4. In the coming year, how much will you and your family spend on organic food?
□ $50 or below □ $51 - $200 □ $201 - $500
□ $501 - $700 □ $701 – $1000 □ $1001or above
5. Which type of organic food do you and your family buy most often?
□ Organic vegetables (e.g. Chinese cabbage, botany)
□ Organic fruits (e.g. apples, oranges)
Questionnaire No: Date / Time: / Venue: SSP / ST / WC
Page A2
□ Organic meat (e.g. chicken, beef)
□ Processed organic food (e.g. coffee, biscuits)
□ Organic raw materials (e.g. sugar, flour)
6. Where is the shopping place that you go most often when you buy organic food?
(You may choose more than one item.)
□ Markets □ Supermarkets □ Convenient stores
□ Health food shops □ Stores □ Others: ________________
7. How often do you pay attention to information on food labels on food products if
you need to purchase organic food?
□ Always □ Usually □ Often
□ Seldom □ Never
8. When compared with the price of conventional food, what is the maximum level
you are willing to spend on organic food?
□ When organic food is cheaper than conventional food
□ When organic food and conventional food are priced the same
□ When organic food is priced 1/4 higher than conventional food
□ When organic food is priced half way higher than conventional food
□ When organic food is priced double than conventional food
Part 2
The following statements describe your attitudes towards organic food.
Please indicate your agreeableness on a five-point scale with 1 representing strongly
disagree and 5 representing strongly agree.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree Strongly
Agree
1. I am not interested in organics. 1 2 3 4 5
2. I prefer buying organics. 1 2 3 4 5
3. Organic products are safer and more
reliable. 1 2 3 4 5
4. Organic products are of better quality. 1 2 3 4 5
5. Organic products are healthier. 1 2 3 4 5
6. Organic products taste better. 1 2 3 4 5
7. Organic products are of higher nutrition 1 2 3 4 5
Page A3
value.
8. Organic products are very expensive. 1 2 3 4 5
9. The packaging of organic products looks
less pleasing to the eye. 1 2 3 4 5
10. The outlook of organic products is less
attractive. 1 2 3 4 5
11. Organics are supreme products
consumed only by rich people. 1 2 3 4 5
12. Consumption of organic products
represents higher social status. 1 2 3 4 5
13. Not many organic products are available
in the market. 1 2 3 4 5
14. There is a small variety of organic
products. 1 2 3 4 5
15. There are a lot of selling locations for
organic products. 1 2 3 4 5
16. It is difficult to identify real organic
products. 1 2 3 4 5
17. The organic products labels in the
market are confusing. 1 2 3 4 5
18. I trust organic products. 1 2 3 4 5
19. I trust organic producers. 1 2 3 4 5
20. Organics consumption helps protecting
the environment. 1 2 3 4 5
Part 3
The following statements describe your personal opinions about health consciousness.
Please indicate your agreeableness on a five-point scale with 1 representing strongly
disagree and 5 representing strongly agree.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Agree
1. I worry that there are harmful chemicals
in my food. 1 2 3 4 5
2. I always avoid eating foods with
additives and preservatives. 1 2 3 4 5
3. I am concerned about my drinking water 1 2 3 4 5
Page A4
quality.
4. I usually read the ingredients on food
labels. 1 2 3 4 5
5. I read more health-related articles than I
did 3 years ago. 1 2 3 4 5
6. I am interested in information about my
health. 1 2 3 4 5
7. I always eat fresh and healthy foods, e.g.
fruits, vegetables, etc. 1 2 3 4 5
8. I am concerned about my health all the
time. 1 2 3 4 5
9. I always pay attention to a balanced diet. 1 2 3 4 5
10. I always avoid eating snacks. 1 2 3 4 5
Part 4
The following statements describe your behaviour on environmental friendliness.
Please indicate your agreeableness on a five-point scale with 1 representing strongly
disagree and 5 representing strongly agree.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Agree
1. I avoid purchasing products in
environmental unfriendly packages. 1 2 3 4 5
2. I always save energy. 1 2 3 4 5
3. I prefer to buy environmental friendly
labeled products. 1 2 3 4 5
4. I always recycle plastic bottles and
newspaper etc. 1 2 3 4 5
5. I use double sides of a paper before
throwing it away or taking it recycled. 1 2 3 4 5
6. I bring my shopping bag when I go
shopping. 1 2 3 4 5
7. I always donate things I do not need (like
electric appliances, computers, toys, clothes)
to the charity.
1 2 3 4 5
8. I always avoid using disposable tableware. 1 2 3 4 5
Page A5
Part 5
Please answer the following questions about nutrition and food products according to
your knowledge. Please put a tick in the corresponding box.
True False
Do Not
Know
1. Organic production does not apply chemical
pesticides and fertilizers.
2. Organic food is not natural products.
3. Organic food involves genetic modification.
4. Organic food has higher nutrition content
than conventional food.
5. We can judge if a product is organic or not by
its outlook appearance.
6. There is no preservative in organic food.
7. Organic farming use faeces as fertilizers.
8. ISO9001 (Product management certification)
is organic certification.
9. Real organic products can only be bought in
large supermarkets, department stores or
organic food stores.
10. Only those products with organic-certified
labels are real organic products.
Part 6
Personal Information
Gender □ Male □ Female
Age □ 16 - 25 □ 26 - 35 □ 36 - 45
□ 46 - 55 □ 56 - 65 □ 66 or above
Education Level □ Primary or below
□ Junior secondary school (S1-S3)
□ Senior secondary school (S4-S7)
□ Undergraduate
Page A6
□ Postgraduate
Marital Status □ Single □ Married □ Others
Children in a □ Yes □ No
Household
Members in a □ 1 □ 2 □ 3
Household □ 4 □ 5 □ >5
Occupation □ Executive / Manager □ Professionals
□ Clerk □ Service worker / Salesperson
□ Labour Worker □ Technician
□ Housewife □ Student
□ Unemployed □ Retired
□ Self-employed □ Others
Personal □ $5,000 or below □ $5,000-$9,999
Monthly Income □ $10,000-$14,999 □ $15,000-$19,999
□ $20,000-$24,999 □ $25,000-$29,999
□ $30,000-$34,999 □ $35,000-$39,999
□ $40,000-$44,999 □ $45,000-$49,999
□ $50,000 or above
Total Family □ $5,000 or below □ $5,000-$9,999
Monthly Income □ $10,000-$14,999 □ $15,000-$19,999
□ $20,000-$24,999 □ $25,000-$29,999
□ $30,000-$34,999 □ $35,000-$39,999
□ $40,000-$44,999 □ $45,000-$49,999
□ $50,000 or above
This is the end of the questionnaire. Thank you!
Page A7
Appendix 2: Questionnaire on Organic Food Consumption – Chinese Version
有機食品消費市場問卷調查有機食品消費市場問卷調查有機食品消費市場問卷調查有機食品消費市場問卷調查
你好,本人為香港浸會大學市場學系三年級的學生,現正進行一項有關香港有機
食物消費者市場的研究。希望你可以花 5-10 分鐘完成以下問卷,閣下所提供的
資料將絕對保密及只供學術用途。在此先感謝你的幫忙。
第一部第一部第一部第一部分分分分
以下問題用作量度以下問題用作量度以下問題用作量度以下問題用作量度你你你你對有機食品的消費習慣對有機食品的消費習慣對有機食品的消費習慣對有機食品的消費習慣。。。。 請選取合適的方格並填上請選取合適的方格並填上請選取合適的方格並填上請選取合適的方格並填上「「「「√√√√」」」」號號號號。。。。
1. 請問你有沒有聽過「有機食品」?
□ 有 □ 沒有 (問卷完,謝謝!)
2. 你購買有機食品的頻率為:
□ 每星期最少一次 □ 每月最少一次 □ 半年一次
□ 偶爾一次 □ 從不 (跳到第二部份)
3. 在過去一年裡面,你和你的家人每個月平均花多少錢去購買有機食品?
□ $50 或以下 □ $51 - $200 □ $201 - $500
□ $501 - $700 □ $701 - $1000 □ $1001 或以上
4. 在未來一年,你和你的家人願意每個月