Testing consumers’ acceptance for an extra-virgin olive oil with a naturally increased content in polyphenols: The case of ultrasounds extraction
Luigi Roselli, Gianni Cicia, Teresa Del Giudice, Carla Cavallo, Riccardo Vecchio, Valentina Carfora, Daniela Caso, Ruggiero Sardaro, Domenico Carlucci, Bernardo De Gennaro
Abstract
Innovation is fundamental for all agri-food companies to increase competitiveness. Being extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) a traditional food product (TFP), the main obstacle to innovation is its traditional nature. This study evaluated consumers’ acceptance for an EVOO with a naturally increased content of poliphenols, as it has been extracted through ultrasounds. This product has been compared with a set of emerging innovations that may be introduced in the next future. To this end, a choice experiment was carried out bent on the estimation of a Latent Class Model (LCM). A nationally-representative sample of EVOO consumers were involved in a web-based interview. The LCM analysis highlighted three segments of consumers: (1) innovative; (2) traditionalist; (3) cautious. Results showed that there is cluster of consumers willing to accept this innovation, therefore its introduction on the market appears to be possibly successful.