Progress 11/04/16 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Agricultural and applied economists in the academia, industry, government agencies, and policy makers; agribusinesses; processed ethnic food industry (food manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers); consumers of processed ethnic food. Changes/Problems:Funding (either external or internal) wasneeded to expandthe primary consumerdata set to include other ethnically diverse states, and toobtain data/information on the supply chain of pre-cooked ethnic food.As mentioned in the progress reports, due to lack of such funding,it was necessary to drop the supply chain objective. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project allowed collaboration among the PI and other researchers in DAFRE as well as training of undergraduate and grad students in the Department. As mentioned elsewhere, students (both undergraduate and graduate) and faculty colleagues (from Rutgers as well as from abroad) were co-authors of professional presentations and peer-reviewed journal articles. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The typical route is through professional conferences which were almost non-existent since 2020, so most of the professional presentations were prior to 2020. Nonetheless, research results have been communicated via peer-reviewed journal articles. The target audience is typically reached via conferences, invited talks, etc. and via published articles. Details of these publications are given under "Products." What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The demand for pre-cooked Caribbean RTE (ready-to-eat) food is growing in the United States. Given the growing demand we use a self-administered survey among primary shoppers in random households in New Jersey, to examine their choices of pre-cooked foods and their relationship of such elements as non-price factors (such as taste, flavor, etc.) and demographic factors (such as age, income, etc.). Additionally, we examine the factors that are influencing consumers' food choices of pre-cooked Caribbean style food. The results of the study show that the most popular or most commonly bought pre-cooked international foods were Mexican and similar foods (includes South American) followed by Chinese food. Our study shows that the factors influencing consumers' decision to purchase pre-cooked Caribbean style food are price (distance), consumer self-related factors (ethnicity), and environmental factors (employment and income). Entrepreneurs making such foods available in grocery stores are likely to see an increase in demand if those foods are easily accessible to all consumers as well as in areas that are ethnically diverse and relatively economically wealthy. The overall focus of this project was on analyzing the consumer side or the demand side of the ethnic food (aka international food) market. Primary data was collected (sample size was limited due to lack of funding), analyzed, and have been presented and/or published or work is underway to publish. Secondary data (both USDA and private sources) at firm level was explored but not accessible due to cost, e.g., IRI data. Training of undergraduate students through Rutgers Aresty Reseach Assistant (RA) program continues (seven students in the 2019-20 AY and 6 students in the 2020-21 AY) and two graduate students (one of who will defend his thesis in spring 2021) was very valuable accomplishments of this project. Students as well as faculty colleagues were a part of the conference papers listed elsewhere. As of the reporting time, two peer-reviewed journal articles were published and an additional one is being worked on. While those objectives focused on consumers have been successfully addressed, the objective focusing on the supply chain of pre-cooked ethnic food has not been successful, mainly due to lack of willingness on the part of the business community, lack of funding to provide incentives, and inability to visit businesses due to Covic-19 related restrictions and risks. So, the supply chain objective was not fulfilled.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Bhuyan, S. & Tavernier, E.M., 2021. "Determinants of the consumption of pre-cooked Caribbean RTE (ready-to-eat) Food in Northeastern United States," Farm & Business: The Journal of the Caribbean Agro-Economic Society, 13(1): 7-24.
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Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Agricultural and applied economists in the academia, industry, government agencies, and policy makers; agribusinesses; processed ethnic food industry (food manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers); consumers of processed ethnic food. Changes/Problems:External funding is/was needed to expandthe primary consumer data set to include other ethnically diverse states, and to obtain data/information on the supply chain of pre-cooked ethnic food. As mentioned in the previous year's report, due to lack of such external funding, it will be probably necessary to drop the supply chain objective. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project allows collaboration among the PI and other researchers as well as training of undergraduate and grad students. Training of undergraduate students through Rutgers Aresty Research Assistant (RA) program continues (seven students in the 2019-20 AY and 6 students in the 2020-21 AY) and two graduate students (one of whom will defend his thesis in spring 2021) is a valuable accomplishment of this project. Students as well as faculty colleagues were a part of the conference papers listed elsewhere. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The typical route is through professional conferences which were almost non-existent in 2020. Nonetheless, research results have been communicated via peer-reviewed journal articles (one forthcoming). The target audience is typically reached via conferences, invited talks, etc. and via published articles. Details of these publications are given under "Products." What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Currently working on a manuscript on consumer response to pricing and branding of pre-cooked ethnic food. Given that the business side data is not likely to be available, plan is to further examine the consumer side data (collected as primary data as mentioned elsewhere) for detecting additional characteristics of consumer behavior. Getting USDA or similar funding on this topic seems to be a tough sale, but the PI will continue to try to obtain external funding.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
There is a growing demand for international food in the United States. Both traditional supermarkets and specialty food stores are increasingly providing various international food selections. Our aim here was to examine American consumers' purchasing behavior of ready-to-eat (RTE) pre-cooked international food at grocery stores (i.e., food at home or FAH). More specifically, we wanted to identify the most commonly bought RTE international food by American consumers. In addition, we wanted to find out what factors, both price and non-price factors as well as consumers' demographic characteristics, influenced consumers' decision to purchase RTE international food. Using an online survey (implemented by a professional data collection firm), consumer data was collected from 262 individuals who were primary food shoppers for their households in New Jersey, a state well-known for its ethnic diversity in the northeast United States. Based on information collected from the survey respondents, we identified several major food types by their popularity. The most popular or most commonly bought pre-cooked international food was Mexican and similar type of food(includes South American) followed by Chinesefood, then East Asian food (Japanese, Korean, Thai, etc.), then European food (Greek, Spanish, France, etc.), then Middle Easternfood, then Indian food, and lastly Caribbean food. We found that regarding purchasing of pre-cooked international food in grocery stores, the most important non-price factors for consumers were the taste of such food, followed by such food being safe, then their quality, and then flavor of such food. Food processors and retailers, thus, should give priority to these four non-price factors in their respective value propositions to attract and retain customers. We found that those consumers who identified themselves as white (non-Hispanic and Hispanic) purchased various types of RTE international food identified in this study; however,there were some differences in their purchasing choices. For example, when purchasing Indian food, it was evident that such food was typically bought by Asians; similarly, Caribbean food was typically bought by Black/African-Americans. Thus, to increase the demand for various types of pre-cooked international food, ethnic food marketers (processors and retailers) may need to target ethnic groups beyond their normal target consumers, e.g., retailers of RTE Indian food could expand their market by promoting their stores among non-Asian Americans, or retailers of Caribbean food need to promote their stores among non-Blacks/African-Americans, and so on. Reaching out to such non-traditional customers may expand the consumer base of the retailers of various types of RTE international food identified here. The discrete choice (logit) model used to explain consumers' decision to purchase one of the top two RTE international food choices (either Mexican or Chinese) shows that authenticity of such significantly impacted consumers' purchasing behavior. Therefore, producers of such food need to adhere to the authentic nature of such food to satisfy consumer demand. We also find that those consumers who are older or who have higher levels of education or who are female tend to purchase such food less. Considering young Americans (20-35 yrs.) are known for their willingness to try out international food more than their parental generations, food marketers may want to target these young Americans, particularly the young males. A drawback of the study was its small sample size which may have led to a lack of statistical significance in most of the explanatory variables in the logit model. This study was limited to only one state (New Jersey) and may not be representative of other states in the country which do not have similar population characteristics.Thus, increasing both the study areas and sample size would be beneficial for such studies in future.The focus is on analyzing the consumer side or the demand side of the ethnic food (aka international food) market. Primary data was collected (sample size was limited due to lack of funding), analyzed, and have been presented and/or published or work is underway to publish. Secondary data (both USDA and private sources) at firm level is still being explored but not available due to cost. While those objectives focused on consumers have been successfully addressed, the objective focusing on the supply chain of pre-cooked ethnic food has not been successful, mainly due to lack of willingness on the part of the business community, lack of funding to provide incentives, and inability to visit businesses due to COVID-19 related restrictions and risks. So, it is very likely that the supply chain objective will not be fulfilled.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Bhuyan, S. & Govindasamy, R., 2020. " Factors Affecting Consumption of RTE (ready-to-eat) International Food in the United States." International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), 8(1): 257-269.
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Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Agricultural and applied economists in the academia, industry, government agencies, and policy makers; agribusinesses; processed ethnic food industry (food manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers); consumers of processed ethnic food. Changes/Problems:External funding, which is very difficult to come by, is needed to fulfill all the objectives, including Objectives 2 and 3 which requires ethnic food wholesalers and retailers. Thus, some modification, including dropping, of objectives may be necessary in the near future. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project allows collaboration among the PI and other researchers as well as training of undergraduate and grad students.Training of undergraduate students (7 in the current academic year) and two graduate students is an accomplishment of this project. Students as well as faculty colleagues were a part of the conference papers listed elsewhere. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The target audience is typically reached via conferences, invited talks, etc. and via published articles. To that end, one paper on focusing on Caribbean food was accepted for presentation at a Caribbean agricultural economics conference in August 2019 and another paper focusing on consumers' willing to pay (WTP) was presented in the FDRS 2019; the later conference was attended by academics, government researchers, extension personnel, and industry representatives. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue to examine and explore obtaining secondary data to complement the primary data collected by the PI. Getting NIFA funding on this topic seems to be a tough sale, but the PI will continue to try to obtain external funding.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The main focus is on analyzing the consumer side or the demand side of the ethnic food (aka international food) market. In addition to the primary consumer data collected by the PI, additional data sources (both USDA and private sources) are being explored. For example, the FoodAPS data base is being examined. Recent research results show that most shoppers of pre-cooked international food in NJ prefer to eat Chinese food and Mexican food. Positive determinants of pre-cooked international food included brand familiarity, specific flavors, and household income. Negative determinants included miles driven to purchase such food, authenticity (this one is puzzling), age, education, and being a male shopper. Efforts were made to solicit participation from ethnic food wholesalers and retailers but that such efforts have not been successful. If that stands in the foreseeable future, Objectives 2 and 3 may need to be modified to one objective that can be accomplished using secondary data/info.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Yu, Z., Bhuyan, S., Zhang, P., and Govindasamy, R., 2019. Analyzing Consumers' WTP a Brand Premium for RTE Ethnic Foods: An Ordered Logistic Regression Model Approach, research report accepted for presentation at the 2019 FDRS (Food Distribution Research Society) annual meeting, Seattle, WA, Oct 19-22.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Bhuyan, S. & Tavernier, E., 2019. Factors Affecting Consumption of International Food in the Northeastern United States. paper accepted for presentation at the 33rd West Indies Agricultural Economic Conference, Caribbean Agro-Economic Society, Tobago, August 4-9, 2019.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Vettithanam, R. & Bhuyan, S., 2019. Impact of SNAP on the Households' Food-Away-From-Home Consumption Behavior in the Northeast. Paper accepted for presentation at the Northeastern Agricultural Economics Association (NAREA) annual meetings, Portsmouth, NH, June 9-12, 2019.
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Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Agricultural and applied economists in the academia, industry, government agencies, and policy makers; agribusinesses; processed ethnic food industry (food manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers); consumers of processed ethnic food. Changes/Problems:As mentioned in the past, if funding is not received,then all objectives may be accomplished (internal or NJAES funding is NOT enough). Additionally, if ethnic food wholesalers and retailers refuse to participate, then Objectives 2 and 3 will need to be modified. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project allows collaboration among the PI and other researchers as well as training of undergraduate and grad students. As mentioned elsewhere, both undergraduate and graduate students were co-authors of professional presentations delivered this CY. Training of undergraduate students (7 in the current academic year) is an accomplishment of this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The target audience is typically reached via conferences,talks to interested groups/organizations andvia published articles. For example, one of the conferences (FDRS, 2018) was attended by various organizations and entities involved in the community and farmers market sector. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue to examine and explore obtaining secondary data to complement the primary data collected by the PI. Continue to solicit participation from ethnic food wholesalers and retailers. Getting NIFA funding on this topic seems to be a tough sale, but the PI will continue to try to obtain external funding.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The main focus is on analyzing the consumer side or the demand side of the ethnic food (aka international food) market. In addition to the primary consumer data collected by the PI, additional data sources (both USDA and private sources) are being explored. For example, the FoodAPS database is being examined. Both graduate and undergraduate students were a part of the conference papers listed elsewhere. Recent research results show that most shoppers of pre-cooked international food in NJ prefer to eat Chinese food and Mexican food. Positive determinants of pre-cooked international food included brand familiarity, specific flavors, and household income. Negative determinants included miles driven to purchase such food, authenticity (this one is puzzling), age, education, and being a male shopper. Efforts were made to solicit participation from ethnic food wholesalers and retailers but that such efforts have not been successful. If that stands in the foreseeable future, Objectives 2 and 3 may need to be modified to one objective that can be accomplished using secondary data/info.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Bhuyan, S., Dalton, C., Majid, R. & Govindasamy, R., 2018. "Determinants of demand for international food by consumers in the northeast united states." Paper presented at the 2018 Food Distribution Research Society annual meetings, Washington, D.C., September 14-18, 2018.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Bhuyan, S., Dalton, C. & Majid, R., 2018. "Consumption of international food by American consumers: what determines their food choices?" Paper accepted for presentation at the Summer Marketing Workshop, University of Warsaw, Poland, July 6.
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Progress 11/04/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Agricultural and applied economists in the academia, industry, government agencies, and policy makers; agribusinesses; processed ethnic food industry (food manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers); consumers of processed ethnic food. Changes/Problems:If funding is not received,then all objectives may be accomplished (internal or NJAES funding is NOT enough). What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project allows collaboration among the PI and other researchers as well as training of undergraduate and grad students. Additionally, the project allowed (allows) Dr. Bhuyan and his students (e.g., Devin Vasoya, Marcelle Mathews, and Waleed Azam) to present research outcomes in professional meetings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Some of thetarget audience is reached viaprofessional presentations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Applying for external funding so that data collection can be expanded to the northeast region and beyond. If funded, hire a post-doc to assist with research. Also, hire graduate students to work on the project. Efforts are being made to collaborate with the NJ Food Innovation Center.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
So far, work has been undertaken to address Objective 1 (including applying for external funding). Based on the research carried out so far, we have learned that consumers in in Central Jersey spend over 39% of their monthly grocery bill on ethnic food, and the top 5 products demanded are: spices, flour/rice, snacks, sauces, and sweets. In terms of their store selection, consumers select stores based on product availability, prices, distance to the store, location of the store, and store familiarity. Consumers believe that processed ethnic food made in the USA are safer and healthier compared to what is currently available (which is mostly imported). Consumers are willing to purchase or willingness to buy (WTB) Made in USA processed ethnic food IF such food is authentic, organic, tastier, similarly priced, and identical to what is currently available. The likelihood of consumers purchasing "Made in USA" processed food increases when consumers believe that such food are tastier than the imports, have familiar brand names, and when their HH size is larger. Bottom line - consumers do have positive attitude toward "Made in USA" processed ethnic food, and are likely to buy if local (domestic) entrepreneurs are able to compete with the currently available goods in terms of taste (flavor), authenticity, and quality (brand familiarity).
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Bhuyan, S., D. Vasoya, M. Mathews, W. Azam, & R. Govindasamy, 2017. Preliminary Results of a Study on Consumer Behavior toward Made in USA RTE Processed Ethnic Food. Selected paper, presented at the NAREA annual meetings, Arlington, VA, June 11-14.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Bhuyan, S., Govindasamy, R., Vasoya, D., Mathews, M., & Azam, W., 2017. A Pilot Study of Examining the Shopping behavior of Consumers of Processed Ethnic food. Paper presented at the 2017 Food Distribution Research Society (FDRS) meeting October 20-24, Honolulu, Hawaii.
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