Consumer acceptance of the beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis). A conjoint analysis and sensory test

Abstract

The general objective of this research is to analyze consumer acceptance in Santiago of the beach strawberry produced by the farmers in Contulmo, Eighth Region, Chile, in order to determine if there is a potential market for this type of fruit. A survey was carried out with the target population of social strata ABC1, C2 and C3 living in the Metropolitan Region of Chile. The sample unit was housewives, homeowners, and people over 18 years of age. The sample was selected randomly at fruit and vegetable store, using the mall intercept technique and therefore it cannot be considered a probabilistic sample. A total of 224 questionnaires were considered valid and used in the analysis. The main procedures used were conjoint analysis and a sensory test, where the interviewees tasted the beach strawberry and were asked about its organoleptic properties. On the other hand, the attributes selected for conjoint analysis were price, type of strawberry and origin denomination. Results reveal a potential market for beach strawberries with origin denomination produced by small farmers in Contulmo. Furthermore, the sensory test demonstrates that the sample selected prefers the fresh beach strawberry to the red one, highlighting mainly its flavour and sweetness. Conjoint analysis also reveals that the sample selected prefers the beach strawberry to the red one. Moreover the main attribute pointed out by importance was the price, followed by type of strawberry and the attribute with the least importance was origin denomination. This research offers quantitative and qualitative information that could enable interested parties to determine the existence of business opportunities and thus to achieve both a phytogenetic and productive improvement of this species since, up to this moment, nobody knows how to improve its production.