Foods, Vol. 14, Pages 293: Perception, Trust, and Motivation in Consumer Behavior for Organic Food Acquisition: An Exploratory Study

Fecha de publicación: 17/01/2025

Fuente: Foods - Revista científica (MDPI)

Foods, Vol. 14, Pages 293: Perception, Trust, and Motivation in Consumer Behavior for Organic Food Acquisition: An Exploratory Study
Foods doi: 10.3390/foods14020293
Authors:
Elena Moroșan
Violeta Popovici
Ioana Andreea Popescu
Adriana Daraban
Oana Karampelas
Liviu Marian Matac
Monica Licu
Andreea Rusu
Larisa-Marina-Elisabeth Chirigiu
Sinziana Opriţescu
Elena Iuliana Ionita
Alina Saulean
Maria Nitescu

(1) Background: A sustainable healthy diet assures human well-being in all life stages, protects environmental resources, and preserves biodiversity. This work investigates the sociodemographic factors, knowledge, trust, and motivations involved in organic food acquisition behavior. (2) Methods: An online survey via Google Forms platform, with 316 respondents, was conducted from 1 March to 31 May 2024. (3) Results: Our findings show that suitably informed people with high educational levels (academic and post-college) report significant satisfaction with organic food consumption (p < 0.05). There is also a considerable correlation between ages 25–65, moderate to high satisfaction, and “yes” for eco-food recommendations (p < 0.05). The same satisfaction levels are associated with medium confidence in eco-food labels and a moderate to high monthly income (p < 0.05). Our results show that monthly income and residence are not essential factors in higher price perception. Insignificant price variation perception correlated with high confidence and weekly acquisition (p < 0.05). Similar price perception correlates with the highest confidence level and daily acquisition (p < 0.05). Obese respondents exhibited minimal satisfaction and opted for “abstention” from eco-food recommendations (p < 0.05). (4) Conclusions: The present study extensively analyzed Romanian people’s knowledge, perception, and trust regarding organic foods. It demonstrates that sociodemographic factors differentiate consumers and influence attitudes and motivation for organic food acquisition.

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