Chocolate Milk Choice and Acceptance in Adult Consumers : The Role of Psychographic Segmentation and Information Framing
- Author
- Brodock, Jennifer
- Published
- [University Park, Pennsylvania] : Pennsylvania State University, 2021.
- Physical Description
- 1 electronic document
- Additional Creators
- Hayes, John
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- Graduate Program
- Restrictions on Access
- Open Access.
- Summary
- Fluid dairy milk consumption has decreased over the last 4 decades, and this drop has accelerated with the introduction of many competing beverage alternatives, such as plant-based milks and bottled water. Conversely, flavored milk sales remain strong, but many adults avoid flavored milk because of concerns about added sugar and calories and/or excessive sweetness. We theorized then that a segment of adults may be interested in a dark chocolate milk drink that would be more bitter and less sweet than current commercial chocolate milks. The first part of this research used two online discrete choice experiments to assess interest for a dark chocolate milk drink in adults. Adults were recruited from the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States for two conjoint analysis studies. In a general population cohort (n = 735), type of sweetener was the most important attribute (24%), followed by milk fat (19%), grams of added sugar (16%), front of pack messaging (15%), package type (12%), carton size (8%), and protein content (6%). Attribute importance was relatively consistent in a second study with a younger, more physically active cohort (n = 1,017). Attribute importance was relatively consistent in a second study with a younger, more physically active cohort (n = 1,017). Product choices in the active cohort were related to Orthorexia and physically activity scores, indicating revealed preferences in a choice task are reflective of personal lifestyle and eating behavior. In both cohorts, three consistent consumer segments were identified and characterized: the calorie conscious, the average consumer, and the natural eaters. The cohort of physically active adults from the second conjoint analysis study were further analyzed to assess two types of Orthorexia, Healthy Orthorexia (HeOr) and Orthorexia Nervosa (OrNe) and explore if regular engagement in physical activity is associated with greater risk of Orthorexia. Participants had previously completed the Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS) and the Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA), which is used to broadly assess aerobic physical activity level and participation in strength training and/or flexibility training. As expected, scores for HeOr and OrNe differed between our participants, with lower scores for Orthorexia Nervosa in our non-clinical sample. Individuals reporting participating in more aerobic physical activity had higher HeOr scores, with the most active men having the highest scores. Notably, participants who reported regularly participating in strength training had higher scores for both HeOr and OrNe, with men who strength train showing higher OrNe scores than women. In addition, we found higher HeOr scores were associated with a lower BMI, and this finding was significant in both men and women. The second conjoint analysis from our initial study was replicated using participants from the existing database maintained by the Penn State Sensory Evaluation Center. We used the discrete choice experiment to segment consumers on their product choices for an adult chocolate milk beverage before their participation in a home use test for a single chocolate milk product. Two consumer segments were identified, the clean eaters (n = 107) and the calorie conscious (n = 142). A total of 122 participants completed the home use test (calorie conscious = 70 and clean eaters = 52), with half of each consumer group assigned to one of two information conditions. Clean eaters responded negatively to information stating the product was made with non-fat milk with much lower creaminess scores compared to the clean eaters shown only the nutrition label. In contrast, calorie conscious consumers did not differ in creaminess scores when shown the non-fat milk information, in fact this information increased their liking for the product. This research has found that there are distinct consumer segments in regards to interest in an adult chocolate milk beverage. These segments differ in their preferences for milk fat, sweetener type and added sugar, which can be used to determine the best information for marketing an adult chocolate milk to the target consumer. In addition, we found that product preferences in a discrete choice task correlate with lifestyle differences that can impact food choice such as Orthorexia and physical activity.
- Other Subject(s)
- Genre(s)
- Dissertation Note
- M.S. Pennsylvania State University 2021.
- Technical Details
- The full text of the dissertation is available as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file ; Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view the file.
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