Determining Consumer Requirements for Lamb Loin Chops - a Preliminary Study

There is little published information about what influences individual lamb consumers in Australia, and the factors uppermost in their mind as they make their purchases. Gross consumption and price relationships are available from statistical studies, whilst taste panel responses relating to organoleptic properties are limited to material from technical experiments. It is contended that the gross approach to identifying consumer habits masks the individual needs of consumers. Furthermore, it is suggested that consumers have specific requirements for lamb cuts and joints, but these are compromised at the shop-counter by other factors such as price and the price of alternatives. A survey was conducted amongst 479 people to identify whether people were as discerning as the hypothesis suggested. A Chi-square analysis showed (P < .005) that most consumers required 3 mm fat cover over the eye muscle of lamb loin chops, and that an eye muscle area of about 17.5 cm2 was favoured. It was concluded that consumers appeared to have specific requirements which were masked by current marketing arrangements. This suggested that detailed study of domestic consumer behaviour and habits was warranted.