Percepções no consumo de alimentos orgânicos em supermercados: a influência de valores individuais como determinante de compra

Abstract

The growth of the world’s organic food market in the last ten years has been raising the demand for studies related to this theme. Supermarkets have been proving themselves relevant actors in the distribution of these products in Brazil and in the external market. This paper aims to describe the characteristics of the consumer behavior of organic fruits and vegetables in the city of Uberlândia in the state of Minas Gerais. More specifically, it aims to evidence this behavior through the enchainment of attributes, consequences (benefits that these attributes provide) and the consumers’ personal values. 30 in-depth interviews were done using the laddering qualitative technique, which is based on the means end chain theory. The results show, emphatically, the consumers’ awareness regarding individual well being and its maintenance in the long run through quality of life and a healthy lifestyle, classified as individual values according to the Schwartz scale. Finally, we present these consumers’ dominant perceptions from the enchainment between the attributes, consequences and values obtained in the research.