engleski

Sustainable food products – habits and attitudes of Croatian consumers

Growing demand for sustainable food products (SFP’s) comes from fears related to food safety, confidence in product quality, but also the desire to preserve the environment and encourage the development of the regional economy. Although public interest in sustainability is increasing, and consumer attitudes are generally positive, patterns of behavior are not always in line with attitudes. SFP’s are still a small niche market that attracts fewer consumers of a specific profile. The aim of this study was to examine consumers' familiarity with SFP’s and to determine consumer attitudes about SFP’s and habits in buying these products. An online survey was conducted on a sample of 168 respondents. According to the results of the research slightly more than a third of the respondents are familiar with the concept of SFP's. They are most often defined as products whose production has a reduced harmful impact on the environment, then as products that are produced according to the principles of organic agriculture and as locally produced food. From SFP’s respondents mostly buy locally produced fruit and vegetables, most often at city markets. When buying SFP’s, the most important factor for consumer is the quality of the product, the impact of the product on the environment and the price of the product. Regarding attitudes towards SFP’s, it is very important to consumers that the products they buy are produced without exploiting women or children, which indicates the importance of the social aspect of SFP’s. Also, support for local producers is very important for consumers, which indicates the importance of the altruistic characteristics of SFP’s. A high proportion of respondents are willing to pay more to buy these products and intend to buy these products in the future as well. The chi-square test found that women and the elderly are more likely to buy SFP’s.

sustainable food products, familiarity, consumer habits, consumer attitudes

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