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1. Introduction
Brazil is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world and has a wide range of fruit species. Many of these species are unknown and, therefore, have little commercial value. The North and Northeast regions of Brazil are home to the greatest biodiversity (Mattietto et al., 2010) and many of the plant species of this region provide fruits with unique sensory characteristics and high nutrient content (Souza et al., 2012). Therefore, these fruits are of potential interest to agroindustry and a possible source of income for the local population (Almeida et al., 2011; Cardoso et al., 2011). One way to increase the availability of, and add even more value to, exotic Brazilian fruits is to create new products, such as jams and fruit preserves. Given the wide variety of fruits in the Brazilian Cerrado, a number of products can be prepared from various mixtures. However, for the development of a new Cerrado fruit product, previous knowledge regarding the factors that influence the consumer buying process as well as identification of the target audience is necessary.
In the new product development process, product launch is very important and risky, since success or failure depend on its market (Khajavi et al., 2015). Many products on the market have failed because they did not meet consumer needs and preferences (Grunert et al., 2011). New indices indicate product failures from 33 to 90 percent in the market (Khajavi et al., 2015). One way to reduce the chance of failure of a new product in the market is to develop products that have features and benefits that meet consumer preference needs. Before developing a new product, features and benefits desired by consumers must be identified, i.e., factors that influence the preference and intention to purchase a new product (Grunert et al., 2011; Broderick et al., 2015).
Recently, several authors have investigated consumer attitudes and perceptions on food products to clarify the factors that interact with consumer response. Many of them have concluded that food choice depends on sensory as well as non-sensory characteristics (Varela et al., 2010; Mendéz et al., 2011; Carrillo et al., 2012; Torres-Moreno et al., 2012; Vanhonacker et al., 2013;...