RESEARCH OF СONSUMER PREFERENCES ON CHOOSING AND BUYING OF MAIN FOOD PRODUCTS

Abstract

Introduction. One of the main tasks of governments around the world is to provide the population with quality and safe food products in the required quantities, preferably national production, which makes it important to determine consumer preferences as an empirical basis for food security. The purpose of the article is to explore the consumer preferences in selecting and buying basic food groups. Results. There were conducted market researches of consumer preferences of Odessa city population while chosing and buying basic food products. The studies were conducted using the method of anonymous questioning. The respondents were asked to answer verbally or in writing a number of questions. The questioning could be done online or offline. In fact, 548 people participated in the survey. Respondents were of different age, gender, occupation, financial and marital status, as well as educational level. Studies have shown which food groups are the most commonly used. In addition, it was found out which factors have more influence on consumers' choices. Respondents answered the question "Which food products do you prefer depending on its country of origin?" It was also possible to find out what advantages the imported food has over the domestic for the Ukrainian consumers. In addition, answers were given to the question "Where do you usually buy food?". Respondents also tried to indicate what amount of money they spend on food per family member per month. Conclusions. As a result, it is concluded that among the most consumed food products the respondents chose meat and meat products, cereals, milk and milk products, vegetables and melons. Among the priority factors that influence the choice when buying basic food products are cost, manufacturer/country of the producer, shelf life, etc. The same number of respondents either buy only domestic food products or do not pay attention to the country of origin of these goods. The major food shopping area for most consumers is large supermarkets. The main point of buying food for the majority of consumers are large supermarkets. At the same time the population of the country is not satisfied with the pricing policy and spends 2000-4000 UAH. per month per family member. Keywords: consumer preferences, food products, marketing research, questionnaires, respondents, population, food security.