Influencing factors of consumer willingness to buy cattle meat: An analysis of survey data from three Brazilian cities

ABSTRACT. Brazil is currently undergoing a process to establish new patterns of consumption habits and the implementation of a new concepts of meat quality. The process emphasizes the quality of information delivered to consumers, which is part of the new approach to meat quality and food safety. The objective of this article is to investigate the attributes considered important when buying beef, knowledge about the production process, labelling, cuts and characteristics of the animals. The study included 276 consumers in three Brazilian cities and their responses were examined in relation to the semi-structured form with fifteen spontaneous and stimulated questions. It was verified that the presentation of the product is regarded as the most important attribute at the time of purchase, they prefer to purchase meat in the butchers, and do not value the labelling of the product, which makes it difficult to identify and offer differentiated products or certificates. The frequency of consumption of beef increases with family income and the vast majority of consumers prefer low marbling meat regardless of the type of preparation. The consumer has little knowledge of more specialized cuts, since the product sold in the butchers has different cuts terminology.

摘要
当前巴西正处于构建新型消费习惯模式、推广全新肉类品质理念的进程之中。该进程着重强调向消费者传递信息的质量，这亦是肉类品质与食品安全全新管理思路的组成部分。
本文旨在探究消费者购买牛肉时所重视的各项属性、对牛肉生产流程的认知情况、产品标签、分割部位以及牲畜的相关特征。本研究共招募巴西三座城市的276名消费者，针对包含15个自发式与诱导式问题的半结构化问卷对其答复进行分析。
研究证实，消费者在购买时将产品外观视为最重要的考量属性；他们更倾向于在肉铺购买肉类，却对产品标签关注度不足，这使得识别并推出差异化产品或认证产品的工作难以开展。牛肉的消费频次随家庭收入提升而增加，且绝大多数消费者偏好脂肪纹理较少的牛肉，无论采用何种烹饪方式。由于肉铺售卖的牛肉切割部位术语各不相同，消费者对专业切割部位的认知普遍较为匮乏。