Factors Influencing the Consumption of Seaweed amongst Young Adults
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Data Collection
2.3. Data Analysis
2.4. Ethical Approval
3. Results
3.1. Participant Characteristics
3.2. Food Neophobia
3.3. Influences on Decision to Purchase Seaweed
3.4. Source of Seaweed-Related Information
3.5. Familiar Forms of Seaweed
3.6. Eating Occasions
3.7. Frequency of Consumption
3.8. Associations between Demographic Characteristics, Beliefs, and Consumption Patterns
3.9. Motivators and Barriers of Consumption
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Sample Characteristics | Frequency (n) | Percent (%) |
---|---|---|
Age | ||
19–24 | 653 | 46.5 |
25–30 | 750 | 53.5 |
Gender | ||
Female | 1248 | 89.0 |
Male | 73 | 5.2 |
Non-binary/other/prefer not to say | 82 | 5.8 |
Highest education level | ||
Primary school | 5 | 0.4 |
High school or equivalent | 319 | 22.7 |
Diploma, certificate or equivalent | 259 | 18.5 |
Tertiary level, equivalent, or above | 810 | 57.7 |
Prefer not to say | 10 | 0.7 |
Annual household income (AUD) | ||
Under $40,000 | 316 | 22.5 |
$40,000–$59,999 | 231 | 16.5 |
$60,000–$99,999 | 349 | 24.9 |
$100,000 or over | 368 | 26.2 |
Prefer not to say | 139 | 9.9 |
State of residence | ||
New South Wales | 442 | 31.5 |
Victoria | 360 | 25.7 |
Queensland | 334 | 23.8 |
South Australia | 92 | 6.6 |
Western Australia | 82 | 5.8 |
Australian Capital Territory | 54 | 3.8 |
Tasmania | 34 | 2.4 |
Northern Territory | 5 | 0.4 |
Geographical classification | ||
Metropolitan | 1095 | 78.0 |
Rural | 266 | 19.0 |
Metropolitan/rural | 42 | 3.0 |
Influence * | Importance of Influence on Decision Making (Frequency, Percentage) ** | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Not Applicable | Not at All/Slightly Important | Moderately Important | Very Important | |
Taste | n = 6, 0.4% | n = 69, 4.9% | n = 178, 12.7% | n = 1150, 82.0% |
Cost | n = 6, 0.4% | n = 206, 14.7% | n = 464, 33.1% | n = 727, 51.8% |
Ease of preparation | n = 38, 2.7% | n = 283, 20.2% | n = 468, 33.4% | n = 614, 43.8% |
Health | n = 11, 0.8% | n = 374, 26.7% | n = 436, 31.1% | n = 582, 41.5% |
Freshness | n = 55, 3.9% | n = 396, 28.2% | n = 406, 28.9% | n = 546, 38.9% |
Friend/family preference | n = 160, 11.4% | n = 840, 59.9% | n = 240, 17.1% | n = 163, 11.6% |
Setting * | Consumption Frequency (Frequency, Percentage) ** | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Never | Less Than Once Monthly | Monthly | Fortnightly | Weekly | Daily | |
Home prepared | n = 281, 20.0% | n = 447, 31.9% | n = 244, 17.4% | n = 165, 11.8% | n = 224, 16.0% | n = 42, 3.0% |
Sushi bar/train | n = 60, 4.3% | n = 557, 39.7% | n = 427, 30.4% | n = 223, 15.9% | n = 129, 9.2% | n = 7, 0.5% |
Restaurant | n = 151, 10.8% | n = 665, 47.4% | n = 371, 26.4% | n = 136, 9.7% | n = 77, 5.5% | n = 3, 0.2% |
Fast food/takeout | n = 615, 43.8% | n = 431, 30.7% | n = 204, 14.5% | n = 93, 6.6% | n = 58, 4.1% | n = 2, 0.1% |
Question (No.) | Theme | Frequency (n) | Percentage (%) | Representative Quotes * |
---|---|---|---|---|
Advantages (8) | Flavour profile | 1248 | 89.1 |
|
Desirable nutrient content | 688 | 49.1 |
| |
Health benefits | 625 | 44.5 |
| |
Other sensory characteristics | 274 | 19.6 |
| |
Versatility | 203 | 14.5 |
| |
Convenience | 162 | 11.6 |
| |
Affordable price point | 130 | 9.3 |
| |
Sushi | 122 | 8.7 |
| |
Environmentally sustainable | 106 | 7.6 |
| |
Disadvantages (9) | Undesirable side-effects | 508 | 38.0 |
|
Unaffordable price point | 428 | 32.0 |
| |
Lack of accessibility | 399 | 29.9 |
| |
Other sensory characteristics | 340 | 25.4 |
| |
Undesirable flavour profile | 262 | 19.6 |
| |
Undesirable packaging | 241 | 18.0 |
| |
Undesirable processing | 239 | 17.9 |
| |
Socially unacceptable | 157 | 11.8 |
| |
Undesirable nutrient content | 150 | 11.2 |
| |
Inadequate knowledge, skills, and awareness | 148 | 11.1 |
| |
Unsatiating | 115 | 8.6 |
| |
Concern regarding environmental sustainability | 114 | 8.5 |
| |
Enablers (10) | Greater accessibility | 972 | 71.8 |
|
Affordable price point | 621 | 45.9 |
| |
Desirable packaging | 391 | 28.9 |
| |
Greater diversity of options | 384 | 28.4 |
| |
Opportunity for more targeted promotion | 280 | 20.7 |
| |
Greater knowledge and skills | 111 | 8.2 |
| |
Desirable processing | 105 | 7.8 |
| |
Improved sensory characteristics | 95 | 7.0 |
| |
Environmentally sustainable sourcing | 79 | 5.8 |
| |
Greater social acceptance | 77 | 5.7 |
| |
Barriers (11) | Lack of accessibility | 741 | 59.5 |
|
Unaffordable price point | 579 | 46.5 |
| |
Undesirable packaging | 237 | 19.0 |
| |
Lack of product diversity | 209 | 16.8 |
| |
Undesirable processing | 157 | 12.6 |
| |
Lack of seaweed-related knowledge | 174 | 12.4 |
| |
Social unacceptance | 153 | 12.3 |
| |
Undesirable flavour profile | 132 | 10.6 |
| |
Undesirable sensory characteristics | 112 | 9.0 |
| |
Inconvenient to prepare or purchase | 104 | 8.3 |
| |
Undesirable side-effects of consumption | 97 | 7.8 |
|
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Young, M.; Paul, N.; Birch, D.; Swanepoel, L. Factors Influencing the Consumption of Seaweed amongst Young Adults. Foods 2022, 11, 3052. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11193052
Young M, Paul N, Birch D, Swanepoel L. Factors Influencing the Consumption of Seaweed amongst Young Adults. Foods. 2022; 11(19):3052. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11193052
Chicago/Turabian StyleYoung, Mikaela, Nicholas Paul, Dawn Birch, and Libby Swanepoel. 2022. "Factors Influencing the Consumption of Seaweed amongst Young Adults" Foods 11, no. 19: 3052. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11193052