Consumer Response to Information about a Functional Food Product: Apples Enriched with Antioxidants

"Interest in functional foods has been growing as consumers become increasingly concerned with diet and nutrition. This article measures consumers' responses to apples enriched with an antioxidant coating. Antioxidant-enriched apples are believed to provide additional health benefits reducing the risk of cancer and heart diseases. We discuss the consumer's benefit-risk trade-offs. Although functional food products provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition, some consumers may reject them because they utilize new technology. Face-to-face consumer surveys with contingent valuation questions were conducted in Seattle and Spokane, Washington in 2006. Consumers who choose where to shop based on organic availability are less likely to pay a premium for apples enriched with antioxidants. Also, there is evidence that consumers in Spokane are more likely to pay a premium for the product than consumers in supermarkets in Seattle. Information regarding the potential health benefits of antioxidants has a positive significant effect on consumers' willingness to pay (WTP). The estimated mean WTP suggests that there is a small premium associated with this product in the mind of an average consumer." Copyright (c) 2009 Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.