Chestnut is deeply rooted in the Portuguese economy, gastronomy and cultural heritage. For this reason, this paper aims to understand the behavior of Portuguese chestnut consumers, their preferences, uses, buying habits and perceptions about the benefits of consuming chestnuts. A cross‑sectional study was carried out based on a sample of 320 individuals. The participants buy, on average, 6.5 kg/year. Most consumers buy fresh chestnuts and do so occasionally, mainly in supermarkets and hypermarkets, fairs or directly from the producer. They prefer to buy the chestnut without packaging and the most valued attributes are quality perceived by the consumer, size and price. The district of residence and the monthly household income revealed to be differentiating factors of the frequency of chestnut consumption. In fact, chestnuts are consumed more frequently in Oporto and other Portuguese non-producer districts of chestnut and in households with an income from 580 € to 1740 € and more than 3480 €. The size, the shell conservation state, the origin and the quality perceived by consumers revealed to be determinant factors of the purchase of fresh chestnuts. These findings point out the need to better communicate the nutritional qualities and possible beneficial health effects of chestnut consumption and to invest in R&D of new chestnut-based food, therapeutic and cosmetic products.
La castaña está profundamente arraigada en la economía portuguesa, en la gastronomía y en el patrimonio cultural. Por estas razones, este trabajo pretende comprender el comportamiento de los consumidores portugueses de castañas, sus preferencias, usos, hábitos de compra y percepciones sobre los beneficios del consumo de castañas. Para eso, se realizó un estudio transversal basado en una muestra de 320 individuos. Los consumidores encuestados compran un promedio de 6,5 kg/año. La mayoría compra castañas frescas y lo hace ocasionalmente, principalmente en supermercados e hipermercados, ferias o directamente al productor. Los consumidores prefieren comprar la castaña sin embalaje y los atributos más valorados son la percepción de la calidad, el tamaño y el precio. El distrito de residencia y los ingresos mensuales del hogar resultaron ser factores diferenciadores de la frecuencia de consumo de castañas. De hecho, se consumen castañas con mayor frecuencia en Oporto y otros distritos portugueses no productores de castañas, y en hogares con ingresos mensuales entre los 580 y 1740 euros y con más de 3480 euros. El tamaño, el estado de conservación de la cáscara, el origen y la percepción de calidad de los consumidores son factores determinantes de la compra de castañas frescas. Estos hallazgos revelan que, a fin de mejorar los datos de consumo de castaña, es necesario comunicar mejor las cualidades nutricionales y los posibles efectos beneficiosos para la salud del consumo de castañas e invertir en I+D de nuevos productos alimenticios, terapéuticos y cosméticos hechos con castañas.
Chestnut is deeply rooted in the Portuguese economy, gastronomy and cultural heritage. For this reasons, this paper aims to understand the behavior of Portuguese chestnut consumers, their preferences, uses, buying habits and perceptions about the benefits of consuming chestnuts. For this, a cross-sectional study was carried out based on a sample of 320 individuals. The surveyed consumers buy, on average, 6.5 kg/year. Most consumers buy fresh chestnuts and do so occasionally, mainly in supermarkets and hypermarkets, fairs or directly from the producer. The consumers prefer to buy the chestnut without packaging and the most valued attributes are quality perceived by the consumer, size and price. The district of residence and the monthly household income revealed to be differentiating factors of the frequency of chestnut consumption. In fact, chestnuts are consumed more frequently in Oporto and other Portuguese non-producer districts of chestnut and in households with an income from 580 to 1740 euros and more than 3480 euros. The size, the shell conservation state, the origin and the quality perceived by consumers revealed to be determinant factors of the purchase of fresh chestnuts. These findings point out the need to better communicate the nutritional qualities and possible beneficial health effects of chestnut consumption and to invest in R&D of new chestnut-based food, therapeutic and cosmetic products.
Los autores agradecen a Fundación para la
Ciencia y Tecnología (FCT, Portugal) y a FEDER,
en el ámbito del programa PT2020, por el
apoyo financiero al CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020).
