French consumer profiles' reactions to information on cod fillet products

Abstract

Purpose – The aims of this study were: to identify consumer segments in France, based on their use of and trust in information sources regarding the freshness of fish, to examine differences between the segments regarding use of and interest in information cues and objective and subjective knowledge, to compare the consumer segments regarding their fish consumption and fish storage behaviour and to discover how different consumer segments reacted to labels regarding the processing of cod fillet products. Design/methodology/approach – This paper describes how French consumers (n=485) of fish were clustered in three segments based on their use of and trust in information sources regarding the freshness of fish and then compared by means of use of and interest in various information cues, knowledge, fish consumption behaviour, age and parenthood. Findings – Information regarding thawed cod fillet products should be carefully communicated. Fresh fish remains at the top of consumers' aspirations, regarding fish. However, a short label indicating that fish was frozen directly after catch and thawed directly before they were put on the retailers' displays may lead to an improvement of the image of previously frozen cod fillet products. Research limitations/implications – This survey based study could be confirmed in a real-life experimental setting. Practical implications – The results can be direct advice for the development of communication strategies for the successful launching of fresh and thawed cod fillet products in the market. Originality/value – This manuscript expands the segmentation presented by Pieniak et al. to France. Using this segmentation as a starting point, this study demonstrates the benefits of its use in the development of directed communication strategies.