Food neophobia, risk perception and attitudes associations of Brazilian consumers towards non-conventional edible plants and research on sale promotional strategies

• Published in: Food research international Vol. 167; p. 112628
• Main Authors: Gomes de Souza, Pâmela, Rosane P. Azeredo, Denise, da Silva, Thadia T.C., Carneiro, Carla da Silva, Junger Teodoro, Anderson, Menezes Ayres, Ellen M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2023
• Subjects: Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder; Best-worst scaling; Brazil; Diet; Food neophobia; Healthy eating; Humans; Lactuca; Non-conventional leafy vegetables; Perception; Plants, Edible; Purchasing choice; Risk perception; Sustainable eating; Vegetables; Brazil; Healthy eating; Food neophobia; Purchasing choice; Risk perception; Sustainable eating; Best-worst scaling; Non-conventional leafy vegetables
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112628
• EISSN: 1873-7145
• ISSN: 0963-9969

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•The high degree of neophobia was associated with the condition of trying a non-conventional leafy vegetable if the nutritional value was proven.•Disseminating information about the NCEP can break the resistance by neophobic individuals to consume these vegegetables.•The dissemination of informations about sustainable and healh attributes as well as the methods that can reduce the toxic substances and anti-nutritional factors specific to each species can encourage an increase in purchases.•Promotional strategies to bring two familiarity options (conventional + non-conventional edible plants) for low price may increase consumer adherence and the sale.•The knowledge about the consumer's perception of the sustainability and health attributes of these non-conventional vegetables can help to understand the influence on the purchase decision of these species by consumers.
Non-conventional edible plants (NCEP) are plants or parts of plants that are not usually consumed by the population and have limited geographic distribution. This study investigated the consumption of NCEP, the influence of Food Neophobia and risk perception on Brazilian consumers attitudes as well as purchase preferences to determinate the best sale promotional strategy. Participants (n = 271) answered the online questionnaire that consisted of socio-demographic questions, items about consumption (open questions), Food Neophobia Scale, risk perception (to assign the level risk) and attitudes towards NCEP (using 5-point Likert scale). Fisher’s exact test was used to investigate possible associations. Task purchase choice was evaluated using the Best-Worst Scale. The most consumed conventional leafy vegetables were collard greens (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala D.C) (95.6%) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) (88.5%). As for NCEP, taioba (Xanthosoma taioba E.G) (26.7%), bertalha (Basela alba L.) (23.3%) and beldroega (Portulaca oleracea L.) (14.1%) were the most cited leafy vegetables. High food neophobia individuals demonstrated to try NCEP if its nutritional value and safety are proven, showing a demand for such strategy, this would increase the consumption of these vegetables. The perception of a high risk was also associated with the inclusion of NCEP in the diet. The inclusion of NCEP at the moment of purchase, even at a higher price, presented higher scores when compared to the purchase of only conventional vegetables, at lower prices. Despite this, the price can still be a limiting factor and the search for promotional strategies should be reinforced to increase the commercialization of NCEP at street markets.