Assessing Consumer Acceptance and Willingness to Pay for Novel Value-Added Products Made from Breadfruit in the Hawaiian Islands

Abstract

Breadfruit is a high yielding tree crop with a long history in the Pacific Islands, with the potential to improve food security under climate change. Traditionally, it has been grown and used extensively as a food source in Hawaii, but in the past decades, it has been neglected, underutilized, and supplanted by imported staple foods. Revitalization of breadfruit is central for reducing dependency on food imports and increasing food resiliency and self-sufficiency in Hawaii. Such a process could potentially be strengthened by the development of novel value-added products. This empirical study investigates consumer acceptance and willingness to pay in two scenarios: with and without detailed product information about breadfruit and its cultural significance, nutritional benefits and potential contribution to increase local food security. A total of 440 consumers participated in the study. Participants receiving descriptive information had a higher level of acceptance and were willing to pay a higher price compared with participants who were not informed that the product was made from breadfruit: 1.33 ± 0.15 acceptance on the hedonic scale and 1.26 ± 0.23 USD (both p < 0.0001). In conclusion, repeated exposure and building a positive narrative around breadfruit products may increase consumer acceptability.