Turkish Consumers’ Perceptions of Organic Milk and the Factors Affecting Consumption: The Case of Kocaeli, Türkiye

Abstract

The supply of organic products is critical in ensuring sustainable consumption in the face of increasing world population. The increasing awareness of individuals about healthy eating and re-liable food also increases the demand for organic products. The most commonly consumed product group among organic products, after fruits and vegetables, is milk and dairy products. This study aims to determine the perception of organic milk and the factors affecting organic milk consumption by consumers in the city center of the Kocaeli province. The data of the study were collected from 384 consumers with a survey using proportional sampling. The primary material of the study consisted of the data collected by the face-to-face survey method from milk consumers living in the center of Kocaeli province. The study demonstrated their sociodemographic structure with frequency distributions in the data obtained. In addition, statistical analysis methods, such as the chi-squared test and t-test factor analysis, were used for data evaluation. According to the research results, the rate of organic milk consumers was 78.91%. In addition, consumers stated that organic milk was expensive, tasty, and not widely available. Moreover, the most commonly consumed organic dairy products were yogurt, butter, and cheese. The factors influencing consumers about organic milk consumption were price, availability, reliability, and awareness. Increasing the consumption of organic milk is critical for ensuring sustainable consumption and the health of future generations. These results clearly demonstrate that we can increase organic milk consumption in Türkiye and create a fairer and more sustainable organic milk market by ensuring producers follow policies supporting organic milk production, investing in education, and organizing awareness programs for Turkish consumers.