Aplicação de nanofibras de celulose em embalagens para frutas e hortaliças: um estudo do comportamento do consumidor

Abstract

The objective of this research was to identify the acceptance and effectiveness of biodegradable packaging, produced with cellulose nanofibers obtained from agro-industrial wastes, for fruits and vegetables. The first stage of the research was to perform a Systematic Literature Review in the Science Direct and Scopus databases, considering as inclusion and exclusion criteria: the last five years of publication (2016 to August 2021), English language, only articles. A total of 367 articles were returned, exported to the Zotero reference manager, duplicate articles were excluded (35), and selected from reading by title, reading by abstract and diagonal reading. Fifty-five articles were considered eligible to inform the research. It was assessed that starch is promising in application in biodegradable food packaging, but, it has mechanical and barrier limitations. Cellulose nanofibers are effective when applied as a starch reinforcement agent and reduce the environmental impact, constituting a good alternative to conventional plastic food packaging. The second stage of the research includes a study of fruit and vegetable consumer behavior with regard to relevant attributes in packaging. The field research is qualitative in nature and was approved by the Research Ethics Committee. Thirty-two in-depth interviews were conducted using the laddering technique to build the individual ladders. With the help of the LadderUx® software the implication matrix and the hierarchical map of values were built. Consumer segments described in GROUPS 1 to 7 were identified, according to their perceptions of packaging. The cost-benefit and food protection groups stand out because they are more representative of the respondents' opinions. As a conclusion we highlight that the behavior of fruit and vegetable consumers has been guided by the terminal values: quality of life, happiness and honesty. The instrumental values "satisfaction", "environmental awareness", "trust" and "self-care" were the ones that stood out. The identification of these values shows that these consumers would not be resistant to consume biodegradable packaging produced from NFC obtained from agro-industrial waste. From the discovery of the attributes of importance and values that guide consumer behavior, it will be possible to guide the production of packaging to meet the expectations, needs and desires of consumers.