Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 11 No. sp4 (2024): Recent Advances in Agriculture by Young Minds - I

Exploring consumer preferences for fresh strawberries in Coimbatore district

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.5860
Submitted
16 October 2024
Published
27-12-2024 — Updated on 17-02-2025
Versions

Abstract

Strawberries have achieved a dominant position in the worldwide fruit market due to its attractive appearance and pleasantly distinct flavour. The fruit is valued not only for its taste but also for its nutritional content, particularly its high vitamin C levels. The study was conducted in the Coimbatore district using purposive sampling to obtain primary data from 150 respondents, all of whom were frequent strawberry buyers. A questionnaire was framed to gather information on demographics, purchase frequency, quantity, expenditure, and factors influencing consumer decision making when purchasing fresh strawberries. To analyse customer preferences, the following factors were chosen: price, berry size, freshness, origin, cultivation method, and site of purchase. To ascertain the relative importance of various elements influencing consumer choices, conjoint analysis was employed. Six attributes with various levels were examined, yielding 216 potential combinations, which were condensed to 16 for practical evaluation. The variables were investigated to determine their impact on consumer preferences. The study analyzed the data using SPSS software, calculating utility estimates for each attribute and its levels. The findings revealed that price, freshness, and berry size were the most important factors that influenced consumer preferences, while the cultivation method had a relatively lower impact. This study sheds light on how these traits work together to influence local market consumers’ choices for fresh strawberries.

References

  1. Awasthi R, Joolka N. Growing strawberries. Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, HP. 2010.
  2. Hernández-Martínez NR, Blanchard C, Wells D, Salazar-Gutiérrez MR. Current state and future perspectives of commercial strawberry production: A review. Sci Hortic. 2023;312:111893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2023.111893
  3. Giampieri F, Alvarez-Suarez JM, Battino M. Strawberry and human health: Effects beyond antioxidant activity. J Agric Food Chem. 2014;62(18):3867-76. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf405455n
  4. Whitaker VM, Boyd NS, Peres NA, Desaeger J, Lahiri S, Agehara S. Strawberry production. HS736/CV134, rev. 4/2021”, EDIS, vol. 2021 (VPH). https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-cv134-2021
  5. Fagherazzi A, Grimaldi F, Kretzschmar A, Molina A, Gonçalves M, Antunes L, et al. editors. Strawberry production progress in Brazil. VIII International Strawberry Symposium; 2016. 1156. https://doi.org/10.17660/actahortic.2017.1156.138
  6. Prakash S, Sarkar D. Production economics of strawberry in Haryana, India. EconAff. 2017;62(4):697-704. https://doi.org/10.5958/0976-4666.2017.00085.7
  7. Pramanick K, Kishore D, Sharma S, Das B, Murthy B. Strawberry cultivation under diverse agro-climatic conditions of India. Int J Fruit Sci. 2013;13(1-2):36-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538362.2012.696969
  8. Karthikeyan S, Thamaraiselvi S, Sivakumar V, Lourdusamy DK. Performance of strawberry cultivars under different growing environments in Nilgiris. Int J Environ Clim Chang. 2023;13(12):942-46. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijecc/2023/v13i123757
  9. Rafeeq FN. A case study of organic protected cultivation at Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, India. J Appl Nat Sci. 2021;13(SI):188-93. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v13isi.2826
  10. Antunes LEC, Peres NA. Strawberry production in Brazil and South America. Int J Fruit Sci. 2013;13(1-2):156-61. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538362.2012.698147
  11. Giampieri F, Tulipani S, Alvarez-Suarez JM, Quiles JL, Mezzetti B, Battino M. The strawberry: Composition, nutritional quality and impact on human health. Nutrition. 2012;28(1):9-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2011.08.009
  12. Barney DL, Davis BB, Fellman JK. Strawberry production: Overview. University of Idaho, Cooperative Extension Service, Agricultural Experiment and UI Extension Publications, University of Idaho Library Digital Collections; 1992. https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/uiext/items/uiext30532.html
  13. Tulipani S, Romandini S, Capocasa F, Mezzetti B, Battino M. The nutritional quality of strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) after short-refrigeration: Genetic influences. 2010;
  14. Stevens MD, Lea-Cox JD, Black BL, Abbott JA. A comparison of fruit quality and consumer preferences among three cold-climate strawberry production systems. Horttechnology. 2007;17(4):586-91. https://doi.org/10.21273/horttech.17.4.586
  15. Profeta A, Balling R, Roosen J. The relevance of origin information at the point of sale. Food Qual Prefer. 2012;26(1):1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2012.03.001
  16. Van Kleef E, Van Trijp HC, Luning P. Consumer research in the early stages of new product development: a critical review of methods and techniques. Food Qual Prefer. 2005;16(3):181-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2004.05.012
  17. Green PE, Srinivasan V. Conjoint analysis in marketing: new developments with implications for research and practice. J Mark. 1990;54(4):3-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299005400402
  18. Asioli D, Varela P, Hersleth M, Almli VL, Olsen NV, Næs T. A discussion of recent methodologies for combining sensory and extrinsic product properties in consumer studies. Food Qual Prefer. 2017;56:266-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2016.03.015
  19. Bhat R, Geppert J, Funken E, Stamminger R. Consumers perceptions and preference for strawberries—A case study from Germany. Int J Fruit Sci. 2015;15(4):405-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538362.2015.1021408
  20. Hernosa S, Siregar L, Hanum C, Supriana T, editors. Conjoint analysis of consumer preferences for pineapple fruit in Labuhan Batu district, North Sumatra. IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci.;2021.892:012012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/892/1/012012
  21. Conner D, Miller J, Zia A, Wang Q, Darby H. Conjoint analysis of farmers’ response to conservation incentives. Sustainability. 2016;8(7):684. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8070684
  22. Hauser JR, Rao VR. Conjoint analysis, related modeling and applications. Marketing research and modeling: progress and prospects: a tribute to Paul E Green: Springer; 2004. p. 141-68. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-28692-1_7
  23. Al-Omari B, Farhat J, Ershaid M. Conjoint analysis: A research method to study patients’ preferences and personalize care. J Pers Med. 2022;12(2):274. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm12020274

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.