Design Delight Studio

Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Sustainable Food Products: Ingredients vs. Packaging

Source: Seo, S., Ahn, H.-K., Jeong, J., & Moon, J. (2016). Sustainability, 8(10), 1073. DOI: 10.3390/su8101073

Overview

As consumer demand for eco-friendly products rises, understanding preferences regarding different sustainability attributes of food products remains incomplete. This study explores how consumers value two dimensions of sustainability in food products:

• Internal eco-friendliness: The use of eco-friendly ingredients (e.g., organic)
• External eco-friendliness: The use of eco-friendly packaging

The research investigates how these factors affect consumers’ willingness to buy (WTB) and price premiums, considering the product’s attributes.

Context and Importance

• Environmental pollution has heightened consumer concerns about morality, health, and product safety, driving preference changes toward sustainable products.
• Most research emphasizes organic products (internal attribute) without adequately addressing packaging, which is recognized as a major pollution contributor.
• Companies typically adopt either eco-friendly ingredients or packaging, rarely both simultaneously, largely due to cost and possible impacts on product qualities such as taste.

Methodology

• Three experimental studies investigated the interplay between WTB, price premiums for eco-friendliness, and product attributes.
• Study 1 & 3: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
• Study 2: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA)
• Research included examining consumer satisfaction alongside WTB.

Key Findings

1. Willingness to Buy Varies by Product Attribute:

   • Consumers’ WTB differs significantly depending on whether eco-friendliness is in ingredients or packaging.

2. Eco-friendly Packaging Influences Consumer Satisfaction and WTB:

   • Level of packaging sustainability (appropriate vs. excessive) affects consumer response.
   • Consumers prefer products with eco-friendly packaging, valuing appropriate packaging as a signal of sustainability.

3. Market Implications:

   • Packaging plays a crucial role as the first point of consumer contact and influences product evaluation.
   • Excessive packaging reduces perceived environmental benefits despite eco-friendly credentials.

4. Consumer Perception Nuances:

   • Organic ingredients are generally seen as beneficial for environment and health but do not universally guarantee higher product evaluation.
   • Avoiding excessive packaging is sometimes perceived as more environmentally responsible than purchasing organic products.

Implications for Sustainable Product Marketing

• Businesses should balance internal (ingredients) and external (packaging) sustainability to optimize consumer acceptance.
• Emphasizing eco-friendly packaging and minimizing excess can enhance perceived product value and consumer satisfaction.
• Certification and clear communication of both ingredient and packaging sustainability may increase consumer confidence and willingness to pay premium prices.

Conclusion

This comprehensive study pushes beyond the traditional focus on organic products to highlight the growing importance of packaging in sustainable food products. It demonstrates that consumer attitudes and purchase intentions are influenced not only by the eco-friendliness of product ingredients but also—and increasingly—by sustainable packaging design and application.

Keywords

Sustainable food products, organic, eco-friendly packaging, consumer willingness to buy, price premium, product attributes, environmental protection.

This research offers valuable insights for companies and marketers aiming to strengthen their sustainable product strategies by considering both ingredients and packaging to meet evolving consumer expectations and environmental goals.

Design Delight Studio curates high-impact, authoritative insights into sustainable and organic product trends, helping conscious consumers and innovative brands stay ahead in a fast-evolving green economy.