How do Brazilian consumers perceive a non-traditional and innovative fruit
juice? An approach looking at the packaging

Karen R. Romano, Amauri Rosenthal, Rosires Deliza

PII: S0963-9969(15)00196-9
DOI: doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2015.04.033
Reference: FRIN 5795

To appear in: Food Research International

Received date: 26 June 2014

Revised date: 11 April 2015
Accepted date: 18 April 2015

Please cite this article as: Romano, K.R., Rosenthal, A. & Deliza, R., How do Brazilian
consumers perceive a non-traditional and innovative fruit juice? An approach looking at
the packaging, Food Research International (2015), doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2015.04.033

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How do Brazilian consumers perceive a non-traditional and innovative fruit juice? An

approach looking at the packaging

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Karen R. Romanoa, Amauri Rosenthalb & Rosires Delizab*

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a
Food Technology Departament, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, BR 465 – Km

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07, CEP 23.890-000, Seropédica- RJ, Brazil

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b
Embrapa Food Technology, Av. das Américas, 29.501, CEP 23.020-470, Rio de Janeiro –

RJ, Brazil
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*Corresponding author: Rosires Deliza. Email address: rosires.deliza@embrapa.br

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Abstract

Consumer interest in nutritious and innovative foods encourages the development of products

based on raw materials with nutraceutical potential. The health benefits provided by

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pomegranate have been recognized; therefore, the development of pomegranate juice may

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match consumer expectations regarding this goal. However, the concept has to first be

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accepted by the consumer. The aim of the study was to utilize a rating based conjoint to

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investigate how Brazilian consumers perceive pomegranate juice by identifying the role of

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packaging attributes relevant to the consumer’s intention to purchase. Five factors were

considered in the study: technology used in the juice production (high hydrostatic pressure –
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HHP - a technology that preserves nutritional and sensory properties), antioxidants, price,

preservatives, and colorant. Eight hypothetical pomegranate juice packages were created
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following an incomplete block design and evaluated by 150 fruit juice consumers. Three
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clusters were identified. The average results revealed that antioxidants were the attribute of
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greatest relative importance to cluster 1 (RI: 36%), followed by HHP (RI: 25%) and colorants
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(14%). Consumers in cluster 2 considered price as the most important attribute (RI: 41%),

followed by antioxidants (RI: 21%) and HHP (RI: 18%). Cluster 3, as well as cluster 2,
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considered price the most important attribute (RI: 28%), followed by antioxidants (RI: 26%)

and HHP (RI: 22%). The results showed that consumers valued information on the health

benefits of antioxidants as well as on the technology, suggesting that both types of

information may be relevant tools to increase the intention to purchase the product. The

application of HHP for pomegranate juice processing was positively perceived by consumers,

suggesting a potential commercial application in the Brazilian industry.

Keywords: Pomegranate juice, consumer perception, conjoint analysis, package.

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1. Introduction

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an ancient fruit with extensive global commercial

appeal due to the increased demand for fresh and processed fruits with functional and

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nutraceutical properties (Ferrari, Maresca & Ciccarone, 2010). Pomegranate is consumed in

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several countries as a fresh fruit and in juices, alcoholic beverages and jellies, among other

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preparations, and is known to contain anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant

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properties due to the presence of phenolic compounds, such as hydrolysable tannins, ellagic

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acid and anthocyanins, which are responsible for the reddish color of the pulp (Gil, Tomas-

Barberan, Hess-Pierce, Holcroft & Kader, 2000; Al-maiman & Ahmad, 2002; Ferrari,
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Maresca & Ciccarone, 2010; Viuda-Martos, Fernandez-Lopez & Perez-Alvarez, 2010;

Wetzstein, Zhang, Ravid & Wetzstein, 2011).

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The constant change in consumer lifestyle and eating habits over the years has led to
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increased consumption of processed products, leading to changes in the food industry as a

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consequence of consumer demand and interest to purchase processed foods combining both
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convenience and health. Consumers seek processed foods with fewer or no additives, low fat

and/or sugar and similar characteristics of non-processed foods while preserving their
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nutritional and sensory properties (Deliza, Rosenthal, Abadio, Silva & Castillo, 2005;

Laboissière, et al., 2007; Mújica-Paz, Valdez-Fragoso, Tonello Samson, Welti-Chanes &

Antonio Torres, 2011). Despite the nutritional value (Aviram et al., 2000; Ross,

Selvasubramanian, Jayasundar, 2001; Sumner et al., 2005; Al-Muammar & Khan, 2012) and

its consumption worldwide, the pomegranate is not popular in Brazil, and it has only recently

been used in fruit juice blends, and as an ingredient in formulated foods. Its production is very

low compared to the other fruits, mainly the tropical such as passion fruit, mango, pineapple

and guava, which are used to process the highly consumed ready to drink juices and nectars.

According to the IBRAF (2013) the consumption of beverages made from fruits reached

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1.152.670.000 liters in 2012 and presented a growing of 8.1% compared to the year before. In

addition, many consumers are concerned about environmental issues, and they look for

products that use clean technologies that are able to reduce environmental impacts.

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In order to service this specific market niche, the food industry has used innovative

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technologies such as High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP), a non-thermal technology that applies

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pressures up to 1000 MPa for a certain time to inactivate pathogens/spoilage microorganisms,

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leading to an increased product shelf life that simultaneously preserves sensory attributes and

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reduces the destruction of components such as vitamins (Hendrickx, Ludikhuyze, Van der

Broeck & Weemaes, 1998; Norton & Sun, 2008).

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Despite novel technologies that are able to ensure microbiological safety and improve the

sensory aspects of the processed product, it is necessary to investigate how consumers

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perceive this new technology and their intention to purchase the food (Cardello, 2003)
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processed with such novel technologies. Therefore, investigating how pomegranate juice
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processed by HHP is perceived by Brazilian consumers combines two innovations: the

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technology and the fruit. An industry alternative to letting the novel food attract the consumer

is to advertise the superiority of the technology and to correctly prospect it as a marketing

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strategy, i.e., using the packaging to communicate with consumers (Sorenson & Henchion,

2011). The packaging is the first contact between the product and the consumer and has a

great influence on consumer intention to purchase. It also protects the food, identifies the

product through its commercial brand, and can provide information that may increase or

decrease consumer product expectation even before it is experienced (Ares, Besio, Gimenez

& Deliza, 2010; Carrillo, Varela & Fizman, 2012; Ferrarezi, dos Santos & Monteiro, 2013;

Carrillo, Fiszman, Lähteenmäki & Varela, 2014).

The information provided on the package can be verbal (such as a claim) or nonverbal

(pictures and symbols). All elements on the package must have the function of making the

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product attractive and work as a bridge between the product and the consumer by conveying

feelings and communicating emotions (Cardello, 1995; Carrillo, Fiszman, Lähteenmaki &

Varela &, 2014; Gadioli et al., 2013).

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According to some authors, when the consumer has difficulty choosing a product

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among several options, she/he can use any specific information contained on the package,

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label or even from advertising to decide which product to purchase (Bredahl, 2004; Mueller,

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Lockshin, Saltman & Blanford, 2010; Imm, Lee & Lee, 2012; Ares et al., 2013).

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Numerous studies related to packaging have been conducted to investigate the consumer

intention to purchase and/or prefer, especially in foods with nutritional or health claims,
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through conjoint analysis (Hailu, Boecker, Henson & Cranfield, 2009; Ares, Besio, Gimenez

& Deliza, 2010; Mesías et al., 2011; Dean et al., 2012; Annunziata & Vecchio, 2013). This
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method is widely applied to investigate the effects of packaging attributes on consumer

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choice, selection or intention to purchase through combinations of packaging attributes and

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levels (Green & Rao, 1971; Deliza, Rosenthal, Abadio, Silva & Castillo, 2005; Moskowitz &
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Silcher, 2006; Furnouls,et al., 2011).

Conjoint analysis (CA) addresses complex decision-making, or the process of

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assessment, comparison, and/or evaluation in which consumers decide which aspects of

products or services are important. Consumers integrate information about different

determinant attributes to form overall impressions of products (Louviere, 1988). The main

principle of CA is that purchasing behavior can be interpreted as a choice among different

products that have a set of differentiating attributes or characteristics. This study aimed at

investigating the effects of packaging attributes on consumer intention to purchase

pomegranate juice. This focus brings an important contribution to the fruit juice industry, as it

may provide information on what consumers are willing to pay for a specific attribute (e.g.,

health benefits) or what they may give up to keep an attribute of particular importance.

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2. Material and methods

2.1.Participants

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One hundred fifty individuals participated in the study. The recruitment criteria

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included individuals aged from 18 to 70 years old, who consumed fruit juices, and were

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responsible for the household food purchases. The participants included lecturers, employees,

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and students of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica – RJ, Brazil.

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Participant profiles are shown in Table 1. It is possible to observe that the predominant gender

of consumers was female, corresponding to 72% of the total of participants; males made up
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28% of the total consumers. Despite the higher number of women, according to the IDEC

(Brazilian Institute of Consumer Protection), this figure followed the tendency towards the
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role of women and household purchases, i.e., women decide food purchases in Brazil (IDEC,
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2012). In addition, we may suggest that females were more interested in taking part in the
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study, as they promptly accepted the invitation. Grunert, Wills & Fernández-Celemín (2010)
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also reported a prevalence of women in their sample, which corresponds to the fact that

women still have the main responsibility for shopping of food in most of the UK households.
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Participants in the present study were mostly young people aged from 18-25 years old

(79.3%), as a consequence of the data having been collected at the University. The highest

education level was graduate degree (74%). The predominant income was 1-5 the Brazilian

minimum wage (49.3%), and the highest frequency of processed juice consumption was

“once in a while” (38.6%), followed by “often” (36.6%). The data were collected in January

2014.

Table 1 about here

2.2.Conjoint Analysis (CA)

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CA was performed to investigate the influence of information on the technology used

for the juice processing (HHP), health aspects (antioxidants, colorants and preservatives), and

price on consumer intention to purchase a non-familiar fruit juice – pomegranate juice. CA is

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a technique that can be used to investigate the attributes that are important in the construction

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of consumer product preference and intention to purchase. The first step in the study design is

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to identify the appropriate attributes and specify their feasible levels. The attributes were

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defined based on previous studies from the literature, which emphasized the importance of

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delivering to the consumer nutritious products that closely resemble their non-processed

counterparts (Deliza, Rosenthal, Abadio, Silva & Castillo, 2005; Lopes et al., 2010; Ozimek
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& Zakowska-Biemans, 2011; Lähteenmäki, 2013). Considering this finding, HHP technology

was included in the design with three levels (with additional information about the
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technology, without additional information, and with no information about the technology
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used for the juice processing). For the attribute Antioxidants, three levels were considered
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(with information about health benefits, without information about health benefits, and with
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no information on antioxidants). Two levels were used for the attributes Colorants and

Preservatives (contains colorants/contain no colorants and contains preservatives/ contains no

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preservatives). For the Price, the high level corresponded to the highest price of a 200 ml pack

of a commercial fruit juice mix (with pomegranate) in a local supermarket at the time of the

study, and the low level correlated to the cheapest price found for the same product. The

attributes and attribute levels considered in the study are summarized in Table 2. The

fictitious brand Disfruta and the best before date were kept constant for all samples. The

nutritional composition normally presented in fruit juice labels was also kept similar in all

packages and followed the recommendations of the Brazilian legislation.

Table 2 about here

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2.3.Experimental design

After defining the attributes and attributes levels, a fractionated factorial experimental

design with eight packages was generated using Conjoint Design in XLSTAT (Addinsoft

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SARL, 2014) software. We decided to perform a fractional factor design because the

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complete design would have 72 stimuli, as we had five factors with three or two levels each (3

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x 3 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 72). The evaluation of 72 packages would be exhaustive and boring to

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consumers and would cause fatigue in participants. Thus, a fractionated factorial design was

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applied. Table 3 shows the eight packages designed for this study and their descriptions.

Table 3 about here

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2.4.Packaging preparation
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The packages of pomegranate juice were specially created for the current study using
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the software Adobe Photoshop CS6 (2012). By following the descriptions presented in Table

3, each package was printed in vinyl adhesive paper and glued on the Tetra Pack® 200 ml
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juice packages available in the supermarket. The price was printed on a vinyl adhesive, glued

on a plastic support and presented together with the package. Figure 1 shows two of the eight
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experimental packages used in the study together with the prices.

Fig. 1 about here

2.5. Intention to purchase evaluation

Before starting the evaluation, the participants were informed about the test they

would perform, and they were asked to behave as if they were in a purchase situation in the

supermarket and about to buy pomegranate juice. Then, the participants were instructed to

mark his/her product intention to purchase using linear horizontal non-structured 9-cm line

scales, in which the expressions at the extremes varied from 1: “definitely would not buy”

written on the left side and 9: “definitely would buy” on the right side. Samples were coded

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with three digit numbers and monadically presented in a balanced order to participants

according to MacFie at al. (1989). Consumers marked on the scales the positions that best

described his/her intention to purchase. After the packages evaluation, participants answered a

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demographic questionnaire that also included a question regarding the frequency of

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consumption of processed fruit juices. The test was carried out in a room with individual

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white tables, and the maximum test duration was 15 minutes. Participants read and signed a

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consent form (study submitted to an Ethical Committee with the approval No.

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02633612.2.0000.5291). There was no monetary incentive for their participation.
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2.6. Statistical Analyses

The conjoint analysis was performed using the individual additive model as the
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composition criteria to calculate the part-worths of each consumer and, consequently,

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generate the overall evaluation of the product (Steenkamp 1987). The statistical model of this
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analysis can be seen in the formula below:

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where

Y is the intention to purchase for the product; vij is the part-worth being estimated in the

conjoint analysis on the j-th level of the i-th factor (i = 1, 2, ...n and j = 1, 2, ... m), and Xij is

the indicative variable of the presence of the j-th level of the i-th factor in the product (Xij =

Xij = 0 or 1).

After this procedure, ANOVA was performed on each consumer’s data in order to identify

those consumers whose scores showed no significant effect for at least one of the package

attributes (p<0.05) or participants who were unable to indicate differences of purchase intent.

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Consumers as such would be excluded from the subsequent analyses. In the present study,

nobody was excluded.

After the conjoint analysis, cluster analysis was applied to identify consumers with similar

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intention to purchase and group them. For this, the average linkage method and Euclidean

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distance as a dissimilarity measure were used. Next, the part-worths of each segment was

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estimated using the aggregate model of conjoint analysis (Moore, 1980). The part-worths

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were estimated through the MONANOVA (Monotone Analysis of Variance) method. This

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technique combines a monotonic transformation of the variable response with a linear

regression, aiming to provide a better regression score.

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All the statistical analyses mentioned above were performed using XLSTAT software,

version 2014.
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3. Results
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3.1. Participant socio-demographic profile after consumer segmentation

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Table 4 shows the participant socio-demographic profile after segmentation based on the

similarity of their responses regarding the intent to purchase pomegranate juice. Three
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segments of consumers were identified, cluster 1 with 80 consumers, cluster 2 with 29, and

cluster 3 with 41. No significant profile difference was observed among the three clusters.

However, considering the frequency of consumption, cluster 2 declared consumption of

industrialized juice “often”, while clusters 1 and 3 stated “once in a while”.

Table 4 about here

3.2. Relative importance of package attributes

3.2.1. Overall results

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Table 5 shows the part-worth and relative importance (RI) of the investigated package

attributes considering the entire population who participated in the study (n=150). It is

possible to observe that on average “price” was the most relevant attribute regarding the

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consumer intent to purchase pomegranate juice (RI: 28.17%), followed by antioxidants

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(26.54%), HHP (22.61%), colorants (12.56%) and preservatives (10.10%).

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Table 5 about here

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Considering the mean part-worths, it is possible to conclude that the low priced

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product positively contributed to consumer pomegranate juice intention to purchase. Price is

considered a non-sensory attribute that is very influential on the product decision-making

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process. This result is similar to those reported by Della Lucia et al. (2007) and Ferrarezi et al.

(2013), which demonstrated consumer preference for foods with low price.
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On average, “antioxidants” was the second attribute of highest relative importance for
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consumers when evaluating pomegranate juice intention to purchase. However, results

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indicated that participants valued the product with antioxidants only when the claim was
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presented together with the explanation on the health benefits (Rich in antioxidants: Anti-

aging action, helps to prevent the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and some
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cancers). The attribute level “Rich in antioxidants” with no further information has negatively

contributed to the consumer intention to purchase. This finding suggests that consumers were

not aware of the meaning Rich in antioxidants, and the inclusion of additional information

contributed to make them more interested in the juice. Therefore, informing the consumer

with clear and easily understandable claims may be an efficient market strategy to promote

the product. Ares, Gimenez & Deliza (2010) reported similar results in their study, i.e. the

information “yogurt enriched with antioxidants” on the label together with the inclusion of the

claim ‘High antioxidants intake can reduce the risk of heart disease and certain kinds of

cancer’ was positive in the evaluation of the yogurt, and increased consumers’ interest in

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consuming functional yogurts.

The “information on the HHP technology” - Pressurized product – Technology that

preserves nutrients and keeps the flavor of the fresh fruit - also positively contributed to the

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consumer intention to purchase. This additional information about the benefits of the

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technology used in the pomegranate juice processing provided on the package was a valuable

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tool that might have important influence on consumer product evaluation. This result is

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consistent with previous studies on fruit juices reported by Deliza, Rosenthal, Abadio, Silva &

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Castillo (2005) and Laboissière, et al. (2007). Therefore, the presence of information about

the process and benefits of HHP on the package were essential in making the product
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attractive to the consumer. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that the attribute level

Pressurized juice with no further explanation about the technology did not have a negative
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impact on the consumer product evaluation, as was observed in other studies. It may suggest
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that participants in the present study had some knowledge/information about HHP.
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The attributes “colorants” and “preservatives” had low relative importance.

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Nevertheless, consumers attributed higher intention to purchase to juices without colorants

and preservatives (Contains no colorants, Contains no preservatives), suggesting that

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consumers valued processed food free of preservatives and colorants.

The hypothetical product with the highest intention to purchase for the investigated

population would be that which, from its combination of attributes, offers the respondents the

greatest utility. For the pomegranate juice, the ideal product corresponds to the juice sold at

R$2,00, with information about the health benefits of the antioxidants, with additional

information on HHP, and without preservatives and colorants.

3.2.2. Results after segmentation

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After segmenting consumers regarding their intention to purchase, the mean part-

worth and relative importance (RI) for each level of the attributes were calculated. Table 6

presents the results. Cluster 1 was the largest, totaling 53.3% of consumers (80 participants).

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For this cluster, the attribute antioxidants had the highest relative importance (36%) when

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compared with the other two segments. They valued the pomegranate juices with the

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information on the health benefits provided by antioxidants present in the juice. The attributes

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with the lowest relative importance for consumers in this segment were preservatives (RI:

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12%) and price (RI: 11%). Looking at the three clusters, we can suggest that cluster 1 valued

the antioxidant attribute level the most with the claim of disease prevention, followed by high
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hydrostatic pressure with additional information about the nutritional and sensory benefits of

the juice (RI: 25%) and the absence of colorants in the product (RI: 14%).
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Table 6 about here

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Cluster 2, which was the smallest segment with 19.3% of participants (29 consumers),
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was characterized by giving the greatest relative importance to the price. Those consumers
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were very much price oriented, as they considered price (RI: 41%) as the most important

attribute when evaluating pomegranate juice, and attributed greater intention to purchase to
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low-priced juices. Antioxidants with information on health benefits and HHP without

additional information about the benefits of the technology had an RI of 21% and 18%,

respectively. For consumers in segment 2, the attributes of lowest relative importance were

colorants (RI: 10%) and preservatives (RI: 8%). However, for both attributes, the absence of

colorants and preservatives in the juice contributed positively to their intention to purchase.

Cluster 3 consisted of 27.3% of participants (41 consumers) and expressed a similar

evaluation as cluster 2, differing only in their relative importance. The highest relative

importance was price (28%) with low level showing a positive contribution to the intent to

purchase, followed by antioxidants with information on health benefits (26%) and HHP

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technology (22%) with additional information about the nutritional and sensory preservation

properties. Colorants (RI: 12%) and preservatives (RI: 10%) had the lowest relative

importance and again followed similar pattern to the other two segments.

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Comparing the results of the three clusters, it is possible to observe that HHP without

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additional information about the technology (pressurized product) had a negative impact on

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consumer evaluation only for cluster 1; for participants in cluster 2, this level had a higher

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positive impact than the level with additional information. In cluster 3, although the additional

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information about the benefits of HHP had the greatest positive contribution to the consumer

intent to purchase, the level without additional information showed a positive contribution,
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even though it was lower than that with information. In general, the three clusters valued the

additional information about health benefits contained on the pomegranate juice packaging.
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4. Discussion
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In general, HHP was positively perceived by consumers, and the information on the
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packaging about this emerging food processing technology has shown to be relevant to

consumer intention to purchase of pomegranate juice, in spite of being relatively unknown by

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many consumers and not commonly used by the Brazilian food industry. However, the

positive effect for HHP without additional information observed in cluster 2 and 3 may have

been due to the possible previous knowledge about the technology consumers might have, as

the study was carried out in an University, and some participants may have been from the

Food Science area. Another possible reason may be related to the fact that consumers like to

have information on the product, and in this particular case, they liked to be informed about

the technology. This result may indicate that the investigated product can please a niche that

is concerned with having a healthy diet without compromise the flavour, suggesting that

pressurized pomegranate juice might be a promising product in the Brazilian juice market.

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Deliza, Rosenthal, Abadio, Silva & Castillo (2005) and Abadio-Finco et al. (2010) also

reported that the claim showing HHP sensory and nutritional benefits were also positive when

consumers evaluated pineapple juice. It might be attributed to the fact that many consumers

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are looking for healthy eating habits by attempting to increase the consumption of nutritive

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food products, even when industrialized food products are taken into account. Results indicate

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that for any product development, it is crucial to inform consumers about the innovative

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technology and its benefits on the product labeling in order to increase acceptance and

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purchase intent (Nielsen et al., 2009).

Despite the not very high relative importance for the attributes “colorants” and
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“preservatives”, it was observed that the levels Contains preservatives/Contains colorants for

the referred attributes showed a negative impact on consumer intention to purchase in the
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three segments. This result supports the trend of some consumer niches that look for more
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natural products. Some authors have reported the preference for food free of colorants and
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preservatives, suggesting a higher acceptance of such products because they may cause health
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problems (Haddad et al., 2007; Michel, Anders & Wismer, 2011; Gadioli et al., 2013).

Taking into account the “antioxidants” attribute, the level with the health benefits
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claim was determinant in the consumer intention to purchase. On the other hand, when “rich

in antioxidants” or “no information on antioxidants” was only mentioned, there was a

negative impact. As mentioned by Hailu, Boecker, Henson & Cranfield (2009) and Ares,

Gimenez & Deliza (2010), health claims are one of the most important tools for consumers to

recognize a functional food. The claim of functional food has been a feature highly valued by

consumers, especially when it is related to disease prevention (Annunziata & Vecchio, 2013).

It is worth mentioning that the “Antioxidants” attribute was more relevant to the consumer

than the technology process “High Hydrostatic Pressure”. This finding implies that consumers

in the current study valued the health benefit claims related to the antioxidants more than the

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preservation of nutritional and sensory properties described in the HHP level. It confirms the

importance of adequate communication between the food processor and the consumer about

the positive characteristics of the product. This goal can be achieved through the

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package/label information, which is a powerful tool to make the product attractive to the

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consumer when the product contains substances/compounds beneficial to health

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(Lähteenmäki, 2013). Considering the pomegranate juice, the use of claims on the packaging

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was fundamental to provide consumers additional information on both the technological

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process applied and the health benefits that the juice consumption would promote.

Low price had a positive impact for consumers in all three segments, confirming the
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importance of considering price in the experimental design when planning a study for

evaluating the intent to purchase any product. Thus, the results also suggest that increasing the
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price might reduce the product intent to purchase, suggesting that even with the claim of
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preventing diseases, consumers would not be willing to pay more for the juice. This result can
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be explained by the income of the majority of respondents, which was between 1 to 5 times
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the minimum Brazilian wage. It is also relevant to emphasize that even the low price (R$2.99)

used in the current study can be considered high when compared to traditional fruit juices
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(200 mL) sold in Tetra Pack® packs that are available on the Brazilian market, such as

passion fruit, pineapple, grape, guava, and orange juices. However, the price of pomegranate

juice was based on the market, and it was high because of fruit seasonality and low fruit

production.

Conclusion

This study showed that on average, price, information about HHP and the health benefits

provided by antioxidants were the most relevant attributes to consumers when evaluating

intention to purchase pomegranate juice. In spite of the limited number of participants and a

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non-representative consumer sample, our results suggested that consumers valued the

information presented on the packaging and that they were interested in purchasing a non-

traditional product processed by an innovative technology. This result may imply that the

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product may have success in the market. We also expect that other pressurized products may

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be well accepted and promising in the Brazilian market. The findings of the present study

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have important implications to the fruit juice sector regarding the need for delivering

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nutritious products with good sensory properties. However, the higher number of women

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could have had an effect on the results, as it has been reported that women usually have a

higher preference for products with health claims (Lähteenmäki, 2013). Further studies
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involving the juice evaluation together with the package have to be carried out to determine

re-purchase patterns and how these are affected by the sensory properties of a product.
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Acknowledgements
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The authors would like to thank the consumers who took part in the study. They also
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thank CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) and

FAPERJ (Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro) for the financial
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support.

References

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Figure caption

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Figure 1. Example of two packages used in the study: (a) package 1 and (b) package 5 from

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Table 3.

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Figure 1.

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Table 1. Participants’ (n=150) socio-demographic profile, expressed in %.

Gender
Female 72
Male 28

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Age group (years)
18-25 79.3

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26-35 13.3
36-45 1.3

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46-55 3.3
56-65 2.6

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Education
No formal education 1.3
Incomplete Fundamental school 4
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High school 0.6
Incomplete Graduate
16
Graduate degree
Post graduate degree 74
4
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Income Minimum Brazilian Wage (MBW)§ = R$724.00)

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1 a 5 MBW 49.3
>5 a 10 MBW 23.3
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>10 a 20 MBW 22.6

>20 a 30 MBW 2.6
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>30 MBW 1.3

Consumption of Processed juice

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Never 0
Rarely 14
Once in a while 38.6
Often 36.6
Daily 10.6
§
In Brazilian currency (Real)

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Table 2. Attributes and levels of pomegranate juice packages used in the study.

Attributes Levels
High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) 1- With additional information about the

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technology (Pressurized product –

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Technology that preserves nutrients and
keeps the flavor of fresh fruit)

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2- Without additional information about the
technology (Pressurized product)

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3- No information about the technology used
for the juice processing

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Antioxidants 1- With information about health benefits
(Rich in antioxidants – Anti-aging action,
helps to prevent the risk of heart diseases,
Alzheimer’s disease and some cancers)
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2- Without information about health benefits
(Rich in antioxidants)
3- No information on antioxidants
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Colorants 1- With colorants (Contains colorants)

2- Without colorants (Contains no colorants)
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Preservatives 1- With preservatives (Contains

preservatives)
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2- Without preservatives (Contains no

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preservatives)

Price§ 1- Low: R$ 2,99

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2- High: R$ 4,25
§
In Brazilian currency (Real)

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Table 3. Description of the pomegranate packages evaluated by consumers, following the

experimental design.

Attributes
§

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Package HHP Antioxidants Colorants Preservatives Price

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1 With additional Without additional Without Without R$2,99
information (Pressurized information (Rich in colorants preservatives
product – Technology

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antioxidants) (Contains no (Contains no
that preserves nutrients
colorants) preservatives)
and keeps the flavor of

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fresh fruit)

2 Without additional No information on With colorants Without R$4,25

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information (Pressurized antioxidant (Contains preservatives
product) colorants) (Contains no
preservatives)
3 No information Without additional With colorants Without R$2,99
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information (Rich in (Contains preservatives
antioxidants) colorants) (Contains no
preservatives)
4 No information With additional Without Without R$4,25
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information (Rich in colorants preservatives

antioxidants – Anti- (Contains no (Contains no
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aging action, helps to

colorants) preservatives)
prevent the risk of
heart diseases,
Alzheimer’s disease
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and some cancers)

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5 Without additional Without additional Without With preservatives R$4,25

information (Pressurized information (Rich in colorants (Contains
product) antioxidants) (Contains no preservatives)
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colorants)
6 No information No information on Without With preservatives R$2,99
antioxidant colorants (Contains
(Contains no preservatives)
colorants)
7 With additional No information on With colorants With preservatives R$4,25
information (Pressurized antioxidant (Contains (Contains
product– Technology that colorants) preservatives)
preserves nutrients and
keeps the flavor of fresh
fruit)

8 Without additional With additional With colorants With preservatives R$: 2,99
information (Pressurized information (Rich in (Contains (Contains
product) antioxidants – Anti- colorants) preservatives)
aging action, helps to
prevent the risk of
heart diseases,
Alzheimer’s disease
and some cancers)
§
In Brazilian currency (Real)
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Table 4. Socio-demographic profile of the consumer’s segments, expressed in %.

Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3

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(n=80) (n=29) (n=41)
Gender

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Female 66 79 63
Male 34 21 37

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Age group (years)

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18-25 80 75 81
26-35 15 13 10
36-45 0 4 2

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46-55 4 4 2
56-65 1 4 5
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Education
No formal education 2 0 3
Incomplete Fundamental school 5 0 5
High school 2 0 0
Incomplete Graduate 18 10 15
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Graduate degree 73 80 70
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Post graduate degree 0 10 7

Income - Minimum Brazilian Wage§:

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(MBW)
1 a 5 MBW 54 34 51
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>5 a 10 MBW 24 28 20
>10 a 20 MBW 19 31 24
>20 a 30 MBW 0 7 5
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>30 MBW 3 0 0

Consumption of Processed juice

Never 0 0 0
Rarely 15 4 19
Once in a while 36 41 42
Often 35 45 34
Daily 14 10 5
§
MBW In Brazilian currency (Real): R$724,00

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Table 5. The part-worths and relative importance of package attributes.

Attributes Levels Mean Part- Mean Relative

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worth Importance (%)
HHP With additional information about 0.596 22.61

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the technology (Pressurized
product – Technology that

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preserves nutrients and keeps the

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flavor of the fresh fruit)

No information about the -0.695

technology

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Without additional information
about the technology (Pressurized
0.099
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juice)

Preservatives With preservatives (Contains -0.332 10.10

preservatives)
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Without preservatives (Contains no 0.332

preservatives)
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Colorants With colorants (Contains -0.292 12.56

colorants)
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Without colorants (Contains no 0.292

colorants)
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Antioxidants With information about health 1.171 26.54

benefits (Rich in antioxidants –
Anti-aging action, helps to prevent
the risk of heart diseases,
Alzheimer’s disease and some
cancers)

No information on antioxidants -0.620

Without information about health -0.551

benefits (Rich in antioxidants)

Price High R$ 4.25 -0.834 28.17

Low R$ 2.99 0.834

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Table 6. Mean part-worths and relative importance for consumers segments

Attributes Levels Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3

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(n=80) (n=29) (n=41)
19.3% 27.3 %

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53.3%
HHP  With additional information about 0.748 0.357 0.470

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technology (Pressurized product
– Technology that preserves

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nutrients and keeps the flavor of
fresh fruit)
 No information about technology -0.660 -0.872 -0.637

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 Without information about -0.088 0.515 0.167
technology (Pressurized product)
Relative Importance (%) 25 18 22
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Preservatives  With preservatives (Contains -0.311 -0.389 -0.332
preservatives)
 Without preservatives (Contains no 0.311 0.389 0.332
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preservatives)
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Relative importance (%) 12 8 10

Colorants  With colorants (Contains colorants) -0.183 -0.594 -0.290

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 Without colorants (Contains no 0.183 0.594 0.290

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colorants)
Relative importance (%) 14 10 12

Antioxidants  With information about health 1.304 0.870 1.125

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benefits (Rich in antioxidants –

Anti-aging action, helps to prevent
the risk of heart diseases,
Alzheimer’s disease and some
cancers)
 No information on antioxidants -0.939 -0.040 -0.409
 Without information about health -0.366 -0.830 -0.715
benefits (Rich in antioxidants)
Relative importance (%) 36 21 26

Price  High -0.192 -2.064 -1.215

 Low 0.192 2.064 1.215
Relative importance (%) 11 41 28

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Highlights:

 Consumers valuated additional information about the technology (HHP) and

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antioxidants benefits


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High hydrostatic pressure was positively perceived by consumers
 Information on antioxidants without health benefits’ claim had negative impact on

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consumer intention to purchase
 On average, price was the most relevant attribute when consumer evaluated

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pomegranate juice intention to purchase

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