Who buys organic food? Understanding different types of consumers

Abstract

Globally, concerns regarding consumers’ food quality and safety have increased. There is an increase in the search of alternative healthy and safe food that also enhances immunity. Organic food eliminates most of the concerns that consumers have. Market experts expect the Indian domestic organic food market to grow rapidly in the coming years. This study aims to understand the characteristics, attitudes, and buying patterns of different types of consumers so that producers, sellers, and the government can design appropriate marketing strategies. To study the attitude of consumers, the Multi-attribute Model was used. A survey was conducted in Delhi-NCR, and data was obtained from 556 consumers. Through Exploratory Factor Analysis, six factors were derived: health, humanity, and environment; obstacles in buying; trust and confidence; fundamental knowledge; tradition and culture; and social acceptance and status. Based on these factors, and with cluster analysis, consumers were classified into five segments: incognizant consumers, unconcerned consumers, critical consumers, conservative consumers, and congruent consumers.