FOOD LIFESTYLE AS A DETERMINANT FOR CONSUMER SEGMENTS OF SEAFOOD

Multiple factors are involved in consumption decisions for seafood. From immediate ones, as price and availability, to the perception, knowledge and experience with seafood products. Due to the abundance of available food products, broader sets of factors come into play in the decision process. This include the interest in food and health, the importance of convenience, and the enjoyment of cooking. Using general food lifestyle segements as a mediating factor Onozaka, Hansen and Sørvig (2014) explored the relationship between quality perception and salmon consumption. Through shifting perceptions of salmon, such as healthiness, convenience and value for money they found differential effects on consumption frequencies. The findings indicate that tailoring marketing efforts to differing segments should be beneficial, however the study did not examine how to identify the consumers in these segments.

Using an original survey, carried out in five European countries (UK, Germany, France, Russia and Sweden), this paper aims to examine the aforementioned gap and the characteristics of consumers in the different lifestyle segments. The rich sets of individual information obtained from the survey data allows for the characterisation of segment memberships. Further, the data show similarities and differences within the international markets.

This article adopt the lifestyle segments identified by Onozaka, Hansen and Sørvig (2014) who find that four of the five markets can be separated into three segments, but identifying four segments in Germany. These segments are based on the general involvement with food measure across seven dimensions: taste, health freshness, price/quality relations, importance of product information, enjoyment of cooking, and convenience (illustrated in Fig. 1). While the segmentation is not directly based on seafood consumption or attitude towards seafood, they found significant differences in seafood consumption frequencies among the segments that were detected    

To identify the determining factors on segmentation membership, this article will examine if socioeconomic characteristics (age, gender, country of residence, ethnic background, income, education, household composition, etc.) can significantly explain population of each segment. By cross-referencing with the consumptions and attitudes towards other protein sources (seafood and meat) we should be able to further the understanding of the segmentation formation and advice seafood marketers how one can reach the target groups in each market.   

Reference:

Onozaka, Y., H. Hansen and A. Sørvig. 2014. "Consumer Product Perceptions and Salmon Consumption Frequency: The Role of Heterogeneity Based on Food Lifestyle Segments" Marine Resource Economics, 29(4)