How can the business potential of products with health claims increase?
(2007)Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate the influencing factors on the business
potential of products with health claims, using PrimaLiv as an example. And to
give recommendations on how a dairy producer, which is present in the Swedish
market, could improve the sales rates of products with health claims. We have chosen
to put a main focus on the consumer, as he or she determines the business potential.
This is an unusual approach since most studies cover the producer’s perspective. We
thereby wish to contribute with new knowledge on the area in question. In order to
understand the consumer’s attitude towards products with health claims a questionnaire
and a sensory analysis have been carried out as well as discussions in
... (More) - The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate the influencing factors on the business
potential of products with health claims, using PrimaLiv as an example. And to
give recommendations on how a dairy producer, which is present in the Swedish
market, could improve the sales rates of products with health claims. We have chosen
to put a main focus on the consumer, as he or she determines the business potential.
This is an unusual approach since most studies cover the producer’s perspective. We
thereby wish to contribute with new knowledge on the area in question. In order to
understand the consumer’s attitude towards products with health claims a questionnaire
and a sensory analysis have been carried out as well as discussions in focus
groups. 36 persons, men and women, of various ages and with different backgrounds
participated in the consumer investigation. Also, we have carried out a high number
of interviews with people in the academic world, experts, important authorities, producers
and retailers. Through covering all of the important actors, which influence the
consumer we have mapped the situation on a systemic level.
The consumer investigation shows that consumers do not spontaneously put products
with health claims into the category of healthy products. Instead, natural products like
meat and fish, fruits and vegetables and fibre rich bread are associated with healthy
products. Consumers are not willing to negotiate about the taste of a product just because
it is healthy and good taste is co-related to natural characteristics. Since natural
taste associations create positive experiences, the flavour of a product with health
claims should reflect something that is naturally healthy. It is also advantageous if the
flavours are easy to recognize by the consumer. To make sure that the consumer’s
requirements concerning taste are fulfilled, a producer should invest in a sensory
evaluation before launching the products in the market. The nutritional value of a
product is also considered important so the keyhole symbol adds value to the product.
Further on, consumers express an insecurity concerning how, when and why they
should consume products with health claims and they are sceptical about the stated
health effects. Moreover, products with health claims are more expensive than ordinary
products, and to make the consumer willing to pay this additional cost he or she
needs to understand the health effect. There are a number of channels in which a producer
could communicate its message to the consumer. Our investigation shows that
the most efficient way to reach potential buyers is to promote the products on the
television, followed by magazines with a health approach. Another way is to network
with health care professionals since consumers listen to and follows their recommendations.
Today, health care professionals’ have knowledge lacks about the effects of
the products with health claims, which makes this group potential.
In order to create a high potential of a product with health claims, studies show that
the health effect should be experienced in connection to the time of consumption as a
guarantee from the producer that the product really has a health promoting effect. If
the producer succeeds in this, the possibility of a second purchase increases.
The food industry is a market with intense competition and due to this fact it is important
to build strong brands and products demanded by the consumer. There is no
space for products with questionable taste and high price. The producer must know
what kind of product design that is appealing to the consumer, which makes the product
development process into a vital step. Money spent in this phase will be paid-off
if spent on increasing the producer’s knowledge about the consumer. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1342640
- author
- Gäre, Hanna and Göransson, Caroline
- supervisor
- organization
- year
- 2007
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Business potential, Products with Health Claims, Consumer, Management of enterprises, Företagsledning, management
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 1342640
- date added to LUP
- 2007-05-17 00:00:00
- date last changed
- 2012-04-02 16:46:43
@misc{1342640,
abstract = {{The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate the influencing factors on the business
potential of products with health claims, using PrimaLiv as an example. And to
give recommendations on how a dairy producer, which is present in the Swedish
market, could improve the sales rates of products with health claims. We have chosen
to put a main focus on the consumer, as he or she determines the business potential.
This is an unusual approach since most studies cover the producer’s perspective. We
thereby wish to contribute with new knowledge on the area in question. In order to
understand the consumer’s attitude towards products with health claims a questionnaire
and a sensory analysis have been carried out as well as discussions in focus
groups. 36 persons, men and women, of various ages and with different backgrounds
participated in the consumer investigation. Also, we have carried out a high number
of interviews with people in the academic world, experts, important authorities, producers
and retailers. Through covering all of the important actors, which influence the
consumer we have mapped the situation on a systemic level.
The consumer investigation shows that consumers do not spontaneously put products
with health claims into the category of healthy products. Instead, natural products like
meat and fish, fruits and vegetables and fibre rich bread are associated with healthy
products. Consumers are not willing to negotiate about the taste of a product just because
it is healthy and good taste is co-related to natural characteristics. Since natural
taste associations create positive experiences, the flavour of a product with health
claims should reflect something that is naturally healthy. It is also advantageous if the
flavours are easy to recognize by the consumer. To make sure that the consumer’s
requirements concerning taste are fulfilled, a producer should invest in a sensory
evaluation before launching the products in the market. The nutritional value of a
product is also considered important so the keyhole symbol adds value to the product.
Further on, consumers express an insecurity concerning how, when and why they
should consume products with health claims and they are sceptical about the stated
health effects. Moreover, products with health claims are more expensive than ordinary
products, and to make the consumer willing to pay this additional cost he or she
needs to understand the health effect. There are a number of channels in which a producer
could communicate its message to the consumer. Our investigation shows that
the most efficient way to reach potential buyers is to promote the products on the
television, followed by magazines with a health approach. Another way is to network
with health care professionals since consumers listen to and follows their recommendations.
Today, health care professionals’ have knowledge lacks about the effects of
the products with health claims, which makes this group potential.
In order to create a high potential of a product with health claims, studies show that
the health effect should be experienced in connection to the time of consumption as a
guarantee from the producer that the product really has a health promoting effect. If
the producer succeeds in this, the possibility of a second purchase increases.
The food industry is a market with intense competition and due to this fact it is important
to build strong brands and products demanded by the consumer. There is no
space for products with questionable taste and high price. The producer must know
what kind of product design that is appealing to the consumer, which makes the product
development process into a vital step. Money spent in this phase will be paid-off
if spent on increasing the producer’s knowledge about the consumer.}},
author = {{Gäre, Hanna and Göransson, Caroline}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{How can the business potential of products with health claims increase?}},
year = {{2007}},
}