Consumers’ Perception towards Organic Products before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Bihor County, Romania
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Consumers’ Perception Regarding Organic Food Products—A Literature Review
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Research Methodology and Questionnaire Design
3.2. Sample Size, Data Collection, and Organic Food Industry in Bihor County
3.3. Data Analysis
4. Results
4.1. The Socio-Demographical Profile of the Respondents
4.2. Principal Component Analysis
4.3. Relationship between the Socio-Demographical Characteristics and the PCA Results
4.4. The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Frequency of Consumption of Organic Products
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Characteristics | Variables | Number of Respondents (N = 190) | % of Respondents |
---|---|---|---|
Gender | Female | 135 | 71.1 |
Male | 55 | 28.9 | |
Education | High school | 48 | 25.3 |
University degree | 73 | 38.4 | |
Postgraduate degree | 69 | 36.3 | |
Age | 18–25 years | 36 | 18.9 |
26–35 years | 45 | 23.7 | |
36–46 years | 44 | 23.2 | |
46–55 years | 45 | 23.7 | |
>55 years | 20 | 10.5 | |
Residence | Rural Urban | 68 122 | 35.8 64.2 |
Monthly income | <2000 RON | 14 | 7.4 |
2001–3000 RON | 38 | 20 | |
3001–4000 RON 4001–5000 RON >5000 RON | 40 29 69 | 21.1 15.2 36.3 | |
Children in household | No Yes | 113 77 | 59.5 40.5 |
Eigenvalue | Variance % | Factor | Item | Factor Loading | Mean | SD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11.814 | 62.180 | Intrinsic cues α = 0.895 mean = 4.07 ± 1.098 | Fresh | 0.895 | 4.22 | 1.187 |
Healthy | 0.890 | 4.15 | 1.238 | |||
Natural | 0.877 | 4.07 | 1.237 | |||
Without additives | 0.864 | 4.02 | 1.204 | |||
Superior Quality | 0.858 | 4.23 | 1.211 | |||
Tasty | 0.853 | 4.03 | 1.232 | |||
Non-Polluting | 0.843 | 4.02 | 1.188 | |||
Without GMOs | 0.832 | 4.02 | 1.274 | |||
With a shelf life | 0.816 | 4.17 | 1.197 | |||
Nutritional value | 0.710 | 3.74 | 1.245 | |||
2.117 | 11.143 | Extrinsic cues α = 0.922 mean = 3.32 ± 1.048 | Producer’s logo | 0.839 | 3.18 | 1.350 |
Brand | 0.834 | 3.06 | 1.302 | |||
Packaging | 0.772 | 2.95 | 1.344 | |||
Easy to cook | 0.757 | 3.44 | 1.323 | |||
Variety | 0.748 | 3.52 | 1.263 | |||
Available in supermarket | 0.686 | 3.51 | 1.383 | |||
Friends’ recommendation | 0.677 | 3.36 | 1.268 | |||
Price | 0.508 | 3.65 | 1.304 | |||
Country of origin | 0.462 | 3.51 | 1.352 | |||
Total variance % | 73.323, α = 0.964 |
Characteristics Variables | Intrinsic Cues | Extrinsic Cues | |
---|---|---|---|
Gender | Female | 3.99 ± 1.201 | 3.23 ± 1.043 |
Male | 4.26 ± 0.765 | 3.53 ± 1.042 | |
p-value | 0.815 | 0.067 | |
Education level | High school | 4.02 ± 1.084 | 3.27 ± 1.084 |
University degree | 4.12 ± 1.008 | 3.56 ± 1.043 | |
Post-University degree | 4.04 ± 1.206 | 3.10 ± 1.020 | |
p-value | 0.708 | 0.031 * | |
Age | 18–25 years | 4.08 ± 1.012 | 3.14 ± 0.950 |
26–35 years | 4.34 ± 0.758 | 3.55 ± 0.901 | |
36–45 years | 4.01 ± 1.231 | 3.51 ± 1.123 | |
46–55 years | 3.98 ± 1.145 | 3.20 ± 1.129 | |
>55 years | 3.75 ± 1.408 | 2.97 ± 1.070 | |
p-value | 0.648 | 0.112 | |
Monthly household income | <2000 RON | 3.95 ± 1.104 | 3.36 ± 1.101 |
2001–3000 RON | 4.17 ± 1.106 | 3.75 ± 1.112 | |
3001–4000 RON | 3.94 ± 0.967 | 3.45 ± 1.014 | |
4001–5000 RON | 3.93 ± 1.331 | 3.12 ± 0.949 | |
>5001 RON | 4.16 ± 1.072 | 3.08 ± 1.002 | |
p-value | 0.342 | 0.011 * | |
Children in the house | Yes | 4.01 ± 1.114 | 3.35 ± 1.082 |
No | 4.10 ± 1.090 | 3.30 ± 1.030 | |
p-value | 0.409 | 0.810 | |
Residency | Rural | 3.91 ± 1.157 | 3.37 ± 1.073 |
Urban | 4.15 ± 1.201 | 3.23 ± 1.043 | |
p-value | 0.101 | 0.577 |
Changes in Consumption Frequency after the Pandemic | Number of Respondents | % of Respondents |
---|---|---|
Increased | 40 | 21.1 |
Decreased | 35 | 18.4 |
Remained the same | 115 | 60.5 |
Frequency | Before the Pandemic | Changes in Frequency of Consumption after the Pandemic (%) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of Respondents | % of Respondents | Increased | Decreased | Remained the Same | |
Daily | 26 | 13.7 | 26.9 | 3.8 | 69.2 |
More times a Week | 91 | 47.9 | 20.9 | 7.7 | 71.4 |
Once a Week | 31 | 16.3 | 32.3 | 22.6 | 45.2 |
2–3 Times a Month | 32 | 16.8 | 9.4 | 46.9 | 43.8 |
Once every 6 Months | 7 | 3.7 | 14.3 | 57.1 | 28.6 |
Less than once every 6 Months | 3 | 1.6 | 66.7 | 33.3 | 0 |
Type of Product (N = Number of Consumers) | Increased (%) | Remained the Same (%) | Decreased (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Dairy (N = 143) | 25.2 | 55.2 | 19.6 |
Meat (N = 125) | 22.4 | 53.6 | 24 |
Fresh vegetables (N = 175) | 20.6 | 60.6 | 18.8 |
Fresh Fruits (N = 179) | 20.1 | 60.3 | 19.6 |
Canned Vegetables and Fruits (N = 89) | 22.5 | 46.1 | 31.4 |
Cereals (N = 109) | 20.1 | 56 | 23.9 |
Eggs (N = 159) | 20.7 | 58.6 | 20.7 |
Sweets (N = 83) | 19.3 | 53 | 27.7 |
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Brata, A.M.; Chereji, A.I.; Brata, V.D.; Morna, A.A.; Tirpe, O.P.; Popa, A.; Arion, F.H.; Banszki, L.I.; Chereji, I.; Popa, D.; et al. Consumers’ Perception towards Organic Products before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Bihor County, Romania. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 12712. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912712
Brata AM, Chereji AI, Brata VD, Morna AA, Tirpe OP, Popa A, Arion FH, Banszki LI, Chereji I, Popa D, et al. Consumers’ Perception towards Organic Products before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Bihor County, Romania. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(19):12712. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912712
Chicago/Turabian StyleBrata, Anca Monica, Aurelia Ioana Chereji, Vlad Dumitru Brata, Anamaria Aurelia Morna, Olivia Paula Tirpe, Anca Popa, Felix H. Arion, Loredana Ioana Banszki, Ioan Chereji, Dorin Popa, and et al. 2022. "Consumers’ Perception towards Organic Products before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Bihor County, Romania" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 19: 12712. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912712