1. Introduction
Meat is regarded as the most valuable livestock product [
1]. Its consumption remains relatively steady in the developed world; however, in developing countries, its annual per capita consumption has doubled since 1980 [
1]. This is not the case in Venezuela, where there is currently a strong contraction in the demand for beef due to rampant hyperinflation and a drastic loss of purchasing power [
2,
3,
4]. The Venezuelan beef market has three main marketing channels: “Traditional” (local butcher shops that represents 60 percent of the market), which offers beef and beef products of different qualities, depending on location and the surrounding community’s economic circumstance; “Modern” (supermarkets and medium-sized grocery stores, selling packaged, higher quality that represents 30 percent of the market); and “Industrial” representing 10 percent of the market and is comprised of beef renderers and packers [
3,
4]. Higher oil prices during the first decade of the millennium allowed for subsidies to import beef products and (or) slaughter cattle from USA, Brazil, Argentina, and Nicaragua; however, in 2003, Venezuela banned all US beef and beef products because of Bovine Spongiform Encefalopathy regulatory concerns [
3]. Domestic beef production, imports, and per capita consumption from 2000 to 2019 have been estimated from different private sources [
4]. The beef per capita consumption that experienced a sustained rise during the period 2005 to 2011 and reached a historic peak of 24 kg in 2011, fell dramatically to 7 kg (a 70% decrease) in 2018 [
3]. Additionally, a lower domestic production (ca. 180,000 MT) and no imports were estimated for 2019, given the deteriorated macroeconomic and market conditions [
4]. The population of Venezuela could reach 28.7 million inhabitants by July 2020, a reduction of 7.42% from the population (ca. 31 million) estimated in 2018 [
5]. This anticipated population contraction could be explained by the publicly known refugee crisis in the country [
6].
Because of the chaotic economic conditions and agri-food situation in Venezuela [
2] any consumer survey conducted regarding the current consumers’ habits, needs, quality requirements, and (or) preferences would be of little value for medium- and long-term planning purposes. However, it is clear that, before the ongoing situation of high food insecurity in the country [
2], Venezuelans had a high preference for beef as center of the plate [
7] and, given the expected axiomatic income elasticity of its demand [
8], it can be hypothesized that it may eventually return to its former level if the purchasing power and economic conditions are recovered.
While beef demand is income- and price-sensitive, the purchase decision-making process is also affected by a set of attitudinal and credence factors. Organoleptic attributes perceived by consumers can add or subtract most value to a product, because this set of sensory traits largely determines the acceptance. Perceptions about domestic (and foreign) beef by final consumers are also heavily influenced by their varied socio-cultural background. Perceptions of intrinsic fresh meat attributes (e.g., nutritional value and organoleptic quality) and concerns (ethical quality, food safety, provenance, aging process, feeding, and production technologies, etc.) that influence the purchasing decision-making are poorly documented in Venezuela. Formal surveys designed to discern demand determinants (habits, traditions, preferences, and needs) are not easy to access. This is due to the subject of confidential marketing research for retail corporations or trade associations (e.g., Mercedes Hércules and Asociados, C.A. report for the Venezuelan Beef Council-CONVECAR), cited by Jerez-Timaure et al. [
7].
Retrospective data regarding attitudinal responses of beef Venezuelan consumers during the first decade of this century could be helpful in designing strategies for recovering and enhancing the future domestic demand. Hence, the present study aims to (a) learn about attitudinal responses expressed by Venezuelan beef consumers at point of purchase or at home, during the 2007–2008 period, and (b) discover, with their opinions, unmet needs, and opportunities in order to create and capture costumers’ preferences, values, and loyalty to Venezuelan fresh beef products.
4. Discussions
Consumers are the last segment of the beef chain, and having their expectations met is an important part of their satisfaction and shopping behavior. It is, therefore, important to understand the factors affecting consumer behavior [
14]. On the other hand, consumer perception is generally dynamic, and its development needs to be monitored continuously as one of the information resources for decision-making in all the food chain. Villalobos et al. [
15] stated that Chilean consumers can modify their choices and habits, prioritizing quality attribute differentiators over economic aspects at the time of purchase.
Few studies have evaluated the demand determinants based on beef quality attributes in developing countries. Castillo and Carpio [
16] conducted a survey of 574 households in Ecuador and reported that they have a positive interest in all credence attributes (i.e., sanitary control, aging, animal welfare and traceability). In Brazil, Giacomazzi et al. [
17] reported that the most valued attributes for beef consumers are appearance, price, and type of cut; while brand and certifications had little relevance as purchase-decision criteria.
To get a broader representation of Venezuelan consumers, surveys were performed in the regions that concentrate most of the population, including Caracas, the capital city of the country. From the total sample of consumers (
n = 693), most of them (67.1%) were women. This finding concurs with those of Segovia et al. [
18], Pierce-Colfer et al. [
19], Mahbubi et al. [
20] and Castillo and Carpio [
16], supporting the argument that women dominate the decision-making for beef consumption in their family.
Educational status affects food consumption patterns, which reflects more nutrition and dietetic knowledge, and health-food perceptions, as stated by Bhurosy and Jeewon [
21]. For Krystallis and Arvanitoyanis [
10], age and education are the most important socio-demographic characteristics that influence consumers' attitudes towards meat. Older consumers associate meat purchases to the risk concept, mainly due to perceived diet-health issues.
Most of the consumers interviewed herein have families comprised of four or more members (
Table 1). Yee et al. [
22] stated that smaller families tend to be well-nourished and healthier because they have a broader opportunity to access sources of animal protein. Bonny et al. [
23] highlighted other demographic factors such as income, gender, employment status, occupation, city or region, number of children and adults at home; while the frequency of beef consumption and degree of doneness had little effect on beef preferences.
Participants in this survey showed a relatively high preference for beef. The majority (93.8%) responded that they like beef or like it very much, and more than 50% of the responders consumed beef at least every 2 or 3 days. High frequencies of beef consumption have also been reported by the majority (>50%) of responders in other Latin American countries like Mexico (i.e., 75%, by Vilaboa-Arroniz et al. [
24], and 95% by Ngapo et al. [
25]), Ecuador (79%, by Castillo and Carpio [
16]), Costa Rica (91%, by CORFOGA, [
26]), and Chile (82%, [
27]). Additionally, in Australia, Ardeshiri and Rose [
28] reported from a survey of 1002 Australian residents that the majority of respondents (51.8%) purchase beef once a week.
Intrinsic and extrinsic beef attributes are important determinants of consumer´s demand for beef; however, the relative importance of these factors varies from country to country [
16] or from city to city (in the same country), as it was detected in the present study. Intrinsic cues relate to physical aspects of the product (e.g., color, shape, appearance, etc.) whereas extrinsic ones relate to the product but are not physically part of it (brand, origin, store, packaging, type of cut, production information, etc.).
From the preliminary FA, four variables/questions with a low KMO value were excluded from further FA analysis, namely marbling (as an intrinsic trait and willingness), butcher trustworthiness, freshness preferences for buying and/or consuming beef, and preference for ready-to-eat meat. These results showed that these attributes were not as important for Venezuelan consumers.
Among the intrinsic attributes, marbling, and color stand out as the most important beef quality traits in other surveys [
29]. Marbling is well known by consumers in countries with long-standing appreciation for beef quality, and it is frequently used as an intrinsic clue (and consumers are willing to pay for highly marbled beef); particularly in those countries with well-established beef carcass quality systems or meat standards (i.e., USA, Canada, Australia, Japan) [
30]. Additionally, it is widely accepted that the use of early-maturing
Bos taurus genetics, castration and grain feeding favors deposition of intramuscular fat [
31]. However, in Venezuela, most of the cattle are genetically composed by
Bos indicus types (mainly Brahman straight-breeds and crossbreds) because of their adaptability to harsh, tropical conditions. Brahman-influenced breed-types have been characterized in many studies as having lower intramuscular fat content (and hence, lower marbling scores) as compared to
Bos taurus breed types [
31]. Additionally, the beef cattle in Tropical America are mostly raised and fattened on pastures with little supplementation (i.e., lower energy diets), which contributes to a poor marbling performance. Moreover, the predominant slaughter cattle in Venezuela are intact males whose carcasses are leaner (with lower marbling scores) than castrates and cull females. For instance, Jerez and Huerta [
32] described beef carcasses derived from grass-fed bulls with low marbling scores (fluctuating between “Traces” and “Slight” amounts). This observation can explain why most Venezuelan consumers are not familiar with marbling or do not recognize it as an important quality trait/clue.
Preference for frozen vs. refrigerated beef or ready-to-eat beef was irrelevant. Indifference (or lack of understanding) to ready-to-eat meals may be explained for the entrenched custom of many Venezuelans to prefer to eat at home. On the other hand, extrinsic attributes such as butcher trustworthiness were disregarded by consumers. This may be due to the growth of self-service store (without personalized attention) in the cities under study. It should be noted that many of the surveys were carried out at the exit of this type of store. Additionally, there are many anecdotes of bad experiences dealing with butchers, which leads to a bad opinion of these merchants. Previous experiences could modify the quality expectations of meat products [
29].
The confirmatory FA revealed that intrinsic attributes such as tenderness, color, juiciness, smell, flavor, and freshness were deemed important by most consumers; however, cluster analysis revealed that intrinsic attributes, such as tenderness, color, flavor, and smell were more important for G3 than for the G1 group of consumers. The brilliant red color is desirable for most consumers and it determines the purchasing decision, probably because consumers perceive discoloration as an indicator of spoilage [
33]. In other countries, consumers also relate red–purple color with freshness and brown color with a lack of freshness [
11,
14,
27].
Most of the consumers from this survey (G3, G2, and G4) highly regarded tenderness as an important attribute for beef preference, and interestingly, they acknowledged more the beneficial effect of aging on beef quality/tenderness than marbling. The latter perception is supported by science because Khan et al. [
34] and many others demonstrated that beef aging positively affects the final texture, juiciness, and aroma developed through the major biochemical processes-proteolysis, lipolysis, and oxidation.
Several extrinsic factors related to origin (i.e., breed information, animal feeding, traceability, etc.) were important to Venezuelan consumers. According to the FA analysis, these attributes are regarded as some of the most important considerations for explaining differences among consumers. The G1 group was more sensitive to extrinsic attributes of beef; generally, consumers preoccupied about origin of beef also have a higher preference for healthier beef (free of hormones, additives or certified as natural or organic). Bernués et al. [
35] pointed out that animal feeding and the provenance are the most important extrinsic attributes for European consumers and supported that origin of meat has also been associated with meat safety. In France, a survey with 625 consumers [
36] revealed that consumers are willing to pay for meat products with guaranteed attributes such as labels, traceability, tenderness, and certifications. Meanwhile, in Latin American (Chile), Villalobos et al. [
15] found that quality assurance was the most important attribute in the consumer's beef purchase decision process, followed by country of origin, production system, and price.
Perceptions of beef quality and motivations to buy beef have shown to be different among regions. However, from a marketing standpoint, results from the Central region—which included the most populated cities—indicate that its attitudinal pattern could be representative of the rest of the country. However, cluster analysis provides a more precise consumer segmentation and allowed to determine the demographics and preferences profile of each group. For instance, cluster analysis segregated consumers from the Eastern region in one group (G1); and this group had a particular interest in origin and traceability, perhaps because most (73%) of them had some college education and 55.07% were independent professionals or full-time employees; hence, they seem to be better informed about beef production. On the other hand, the majority of the G2 consumers were from the Central region, with a high-school educational level (41.5%), and most of them were full-time housewives. Most of the consumers from the Western region were concentrated in the G4 group, who dismissed extrinsic attributes over intrinsic ones.
5. Conclusions
Two factors could explain the higher proportion of heterogeneity in this sample of Venezuelan beef consumers. Intrinsic attributes such as tenderness, color, smell, flavor, freshness, and juiciness; as well as extrinsic attributes such as aging, hygiene, origin, breed, and animal feeding information were important for Venezuelan consumers.
The FA analysis of the profiling data showed a distinct location for each region in the multivariate space and four groups of consumers were defined by cluster analysis, which demonstrated that the relative importance that consumers are giving to the different beef attributes, as determinants of its purchase and consumption, varies widely between regions, and, in turn, depends on the educational level, occupation and other sociodemographic characteristics.
This reality constitutes a great opportunity for consumer-driven product development and further market segmentation and indicates that consumers need to be well informed and educated on quality and food safety matters, by means of trustworthy sources of information.