Fruit-Related Lifestyles as a Segmentation Tool for Fruit Consumers

Purpose- This study develops a modified food-related lifestyle (FRL) instrument to analyse Kosovo consumers' fruit consumption behaviour and attitudes. Design/methodology/approach- The research is based on a structured questionnaire designed using a reduced version of the FRL instrument including evaluation factors related to fruit consumption, useful to describe a fruit-related lifestyle. Data was collected through a face-to-face survey with 300 consumers in three main cities in Kosovo. A principal component analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation and Kaiser Normalization was performed to interpret and investigate fruit-related lifestyles. Cluster analysis was performed to analyse market segments, using the identified factors obtained from the PCA, a hierarchical clustering algorithm with a Ward linkage method and the K-means clustering technique. Findings– Consumption behaviour is motivated by health concerns, (perceived) fruit (nutrition) content, and consumption habits. Four distinct consumer clusters were identified based on the fruit-related lifestyle instrument and analysed considering the different fruit purchase and consumption behaviour, attitudes towards health, quality, taste, and safety. Originality/value- The fruit-related lifestyle instrument can be used in studies focused on fruit consumer segmentation. Results provide insight to fruit marketing and distribution companies which can adjust their marketing strategies and customer-oriented initiatives tailored for specific consumer segments. Results can be useful also for policy-makers to promote increased fruit consumption. Research limitations/implications- We adapted a survey tool based on a reduced FRL instrument, to elaborate a specific survey instrument suitable to describe the fruit-related consumer’s lifestyles. The instrument was not designed according to the standard scales design procedure, but it is a first step towards creating a fruit-related lifestyle instrument.