Determinants of young Polish consumers’ food product purchases

1. Introduction

In the process of making decisions about purchasing specific food products, consumers pay attention to various factors characterizing the food itself, as well as the terms of sale, labelling, price (Kumar & Kapoor, 2017), taste, brand, product appearance or food quality (Gelici-Zeko et al., 2013; Eldesouky & Mesías, 2014). In developed countries, the influence of advertising campaigns on the choice of food products is also noted (Prowse et al., 2020). Research shows that consumers indicate food packaging as one of the primary sources of information about food (Gutkowska & Ozimek, 2005; Alibabić et al., 2011), and this information function of packaging is now becoming more and more critical for consumers.

The labelling of products placed on the market, including food, must include mandatory information, the presence of which on the packaging results from applicable legal provisions. In the EU countries, Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 generally regulates issues related to the labelling, advertising and presentation of food. As emphasized in this legal act, the advertising and presentation of food and feed products, taking into account their appearance, shape, and packaging, as well as the arrangement and place of display and the information provided about them, may not provide consumers with incorrect information. In this respect, detailed rules for food labelling are set out in Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011, which defines food information as “information about a food made available to the final consumer using a label, other accompanying materials or other means, including modern technological tools or oral communication’ (p. 3). Food labelling, in turn, includes “any inscriptions, particulars, trademarks, brand names, illustrations or symbols relating to a food and affixed to any packaging, document, leaflet, label, band or ring accompanying such food or relating to it’ (Regulation…, 2011, p. 4). Also important are the requirements regarding hygienic conditions related to the sale of products, which are regulated in particular by EU regulations such as: Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs; and Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin.

A product’s price should also be clearly displayed at the point of sale. This issue is regulated in Poland by the Act of May 9, 2014 on information on prices of goods and services (Act…, 2014), which implements Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of February 16, 1998, on consumer protection by displaying the prices of products offered to consumers, together with the implementing act, i.e. the Regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology of December 19, 2022, on the visibility of prices of goods and services (Regulation…, 2022).

The modern consumer is becoming more and more open to trying different product categories at regional, national, European, and global levels (Angowski & Jarosz-Angowska, 2020). Research shows that food shopping habits are influenced, among other factors, by age, gender, place of residence, and education level (Aday & Yener, 2014; Grande Covián et al., 2014; de Lourdes Samaniego-Vaesken et al., 2018; Bassola et al., 2020; Lima et al., 2021). Moreover, the young generation, representing the future of society, seems to have a completely different approach and different ideas than the older generation (Kanchanapibul et al., 2014).

In this study, we resolved to concentrate on young buyers, who constitute an essential group for the development of Poland’s economy – given that people between 18 and 34 years of age constitute over 18% of the population (Statistics Poland, 2021). However, the definitions of ‘young consumers’ used in previous research vary. For example, Solomon (2017) identifies young consumers as individuals up to 24 years old, whereas other publications define them as individuals up to 35 years old, such as Bakewell & Mitchell (2003), Olejniczuk-Merta (2008), Nyrhinen et al. (2024). In his research, Arnett (2000) focused on young consumers aged 18–25. He emphasized that this period of life, which he termed ‘emerging adulthood,’ is neither adolescence nor early adulthood and differs both theoretically and empirically. This stage is characterized by intense identity exploration and experimentation with various social roles, translating into specific consumer behaviors. Following Arnett’s (2000) research, we focused on the 18–25 age group of young consumers.

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of selected factors on the purchase of food by young consumers, using the CAWI method (computer-assisted Internet interview technique). The survey was created in Google Forms, an online survey collection tool.

2. Materials and method

The survey was conducted in October-November 2020, using purposive sampling. Participants were specifically selected based on two criteria: age (18–25 years) and their status as students. It was administered online via a publicly accessible Google Forms questionnaire, which included both the research questions and additional questions regarding the respondents’ demographic and socio-economic characteristics.

The study used a 5-point Likert scale to gauge the extent to which a given respondent pays attention to particular selected factors when purchasing food (a score of 1 indicating no attention to this factor at all, a score of 5 indicating high attention to this factor). We treat the ordinal scales as quasi-quantitative scales for analytical purposes, calculating means and standard deviations (SD) via descriptive analysis. The reliability of the scales was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, which was 0.829 – indicating satisfactory reliability (as indicated by values above 0.7)

To investigate the complexity of factors determining consumers’ food choices, we examined the validity of selected 17 elements related to food product characteristics and conditions of food sales. The following factors were analysed: the food storage method at the store, the storage conditions, appropriate hygienic conditions at the point of sale, food price, the appearance, taste and smell of the product, the condition of the product packaging, and general information appearing on the food product packaging – country of origin, energy/nutritional value of the food product, product weight/volume, product composition, nutrient content (e.g. proteins, carbohydrates), shelf life/date of minimum durability, the ecological origin of the product, manufacturer, and brand.

A 5-point scale was likewise used in subsequent questions in the questionnaire: a score of 1 meant that the respondent “completely disagrees’ with a given statement, 2 – “generally disagrees’; 3 – “neither agrees nor disagrees’, 4 – “generally agrees’, and a score of 5 – “completely agrees’.

Factor and cluster analyses, common in consumer research, were applied to analyse the resulting data. First, factor analysis was used to identify the relationship between the factors, applying the varimax rotation method. The number of factors was determined based on the following criteria: a scree plot test, components with an eigenvalue of 1, and the interpretability of the factors. Factors with loadings above 0.40 were considered. Data factorability was confirmed with the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) (with a cut-off value of 0.60) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (p ≤ 0.05).

In the second step of analysis, non-hierarchical clustering was performed to obtain segments of respondents, using the k-means clustering method. Clusters are formed by evaluating dissimilarities and similarities of intrinsic characteristics between different cases. We calculated the correlation ratio (CR) for each variable applied in our cluster analysis and conducted cross-tabulation with Chi2-statistics to profile the clusters. SPSS for Windows statistical software (9.0 version) was used for statistical analysis.

The questionnaire also included questions about the respondents’ demographic characteristics, such as gender, labour market status, number of people in the household, self-assessment of the household’s financial status, and place of residence. These detailed characteristics of the respondents are presented in Table 1.

The study involved 702 student participants, all between 18 and 25 years old, 63.4% women and 36.6% men. Most often, respondents lived in households of 4 or 3 people (31.5% and 21.5%, respectively). The respondents were least likely to declare that they lived in single-person households and those with 6 or more people (7.7% and 8.4%, respectively). Two-fifths of respondents (42.9%) were gainfully employed, 57.1% were not employed. At the same time, almost half of the respondents (48.1%) described the financial situation of their household as good, while one-third (34.9%) described it as average. The respondents represented places of residence of various sizes, most often declaring that they lived in a city with a population of over 100,000 inhabitants (36.9%) and rural areas (35.5%).

3. Results

The most respondents declared that when shopping for food, they pay attention primarily to the price (mean score 4.43) and the use-by date / date of minimum durability (mean 4.42). Factors such as the ‘taste and aroma’ of a food product (mean 4.37), ‘condition of packaging’ (mean 4.35), ‘appearance’ (4.34), and ‘hygienic conditions’ (4.24) also achieved an average above four (Table 2).

The factor ‘information on the packaging’ obtained a mean score of 3.86. The respondents least often indicated such factors as ‘organic origin’ (2.86) and ‘country of origin’ (2.76) (Table 2).

3.1. Factors influencing food choice

Exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine the relationship between the observed variables. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin value was 0.808. The result indicated that the choice of analysis and the number of factors were correct. The result of Bartlett’s test of sphericity x2 = 3985.855, p ≤ 0.01, indicated that correlations between items were high enough to perform the analysis.

EFA was conducted using maximum likelihood extraction with varimax rotation (Table 3), extracting four factors. It was assumed that the components of the coefficient are those variables that, after rounding, obtain absolute values equal to 0.4 or greater. All factors were identified with an eigenvalue higher than the Kaiser criterion 1. The first factor’s eigenvalue is 4.665, which explains 27.44% of the variance. The second factor’s eigenvalue equals 2.343, which explains 13.78% of the variance. The third factor’s eigenvalue equals 1.630, which explains 9.59% of the variance. The fourth factor`s eigenvalue equals 1.214, which explains 7.14% of the variance. All four factors taken together explained 57.95% of the total variance.

The first factor, summarizing five variables, was positively correlated with the tendency of respondents to read food labels and pay attention to product composition, hence it was named ‘Information’. The second factor, summarizing four variables, was positively related to variables expressing interest in the conditions associated with storing food at the point of sale and paying attention to the use-by date/date of minimum durability on the food product packaging. For this reason, this factor was labelled ‘Hygiene and food safety’. The third factor explains four variables and was named ‘Product appearance and price’. Lastly, the fourth factor summarizes four variables, relating to respondents’ interest in the purchased food brand, its origin, and information about organic production, hence it was named ‘Origin’ (Table 3).

3.2. The influence of food choice factors on the respondents’ profile

For the whole surveyed population, 5 clusters were identified, each representing from 5.98% to 30.77% of the surveyed population (Table 4). Cluster 2 represents 27.92% of all respondents. In Cluster 2, the highest average value was obtained for 15 of the 17 variables. Only in the case of three factors, ‘price’, ‘appearance’, and ‘energy value’, were higher average values recorded in other clusters (‘price’ in Cluster 5; ‘appearance’ in Cluster 3; ‘energy value’ in Cluster 4). Cluster 1 had the lowest mean values for 14 factors out of 17. The reported averages range from 1.33 ‘storage conditions’ to 2.25 ‘nutrient content’. The largest spreads in average values were recorded for Cluster 5, representing 13.82% of all respondents. They ranged from 1.56 for the variable ‘energy value’ to 4.55 for the value ‘price’. Cluster 3 represents 30.77% of the surveyed population, and Cluster 4 represents 21.52%. In Cluster 3, the highest average value (4.54) was recorded for the factor ‘use-by date/date of minimum durability’. In turn, the lowest average value (2.29) was exhibited by the factor ‘nutrient content’. In Cluster 4, the lowest average was recorded for the factors ‘manufacturer’ and ‘organic origin’ (2.23) (Table 4).

Analysis of the socio-demographic characteristics showed that Cluster 1 consists most predominantly of females and unemployed people. Of all the clusters, the percentage of unemployed people was the highest in this cluster (Table 5).

None of the respondents in Cluster 1 described their financial situation as ‘very good’, and 16.7% stated that their financial situation was ‘bad’. The highest percentages of men and employed individuals are found in Cluster 4; the percentage of respondents living in the largest cities was also the highest in this cluster. The respondents in Cluster 3 most often declared that they lived in rural areas and had a very good financial situation. Cluster 2 includes mainly respondents living in households of 5 or more people. Compared to other clusters, we note the highest percentage of respondents declaring a very bad financial situation in this cluster. Cluster 5 consists predominantly of women, respondents with good financial situations and those living in four-person households (Table 5).

4. Discussion

Food selection is a complex process affecting food production systems and consumer nutrient intake, as it determines what foods consumers buy and eat (Furst et al., 1996). As such, understanding what motivates basic food choices is essential from the perspective of food development and marketing efforts. In our study, factors such as packaging information, hygiene, and food safety emerged as significant determinants of food purchasing decisions among young Polish consumers, giving some insight into what drives their food choices.

Su et al.’s (2019) study of Gen Z consumers in the United States found them to be much more knowledgeable about sustainable lifestyles than previous generations, typically prioritising their health when making food choices. Our findings similarly suggest that young Polish consumers are increasingly attentive to health-related aspects like hygiene and the nutritional content displayed on packaging, indicating a shift towards health consciousness in their purchasing behaviour. This moreover parallels Kumar & Kapoor’s (2017) findings that young consumers in India place considerable importance on food labels, mirroring the behaviour observed in our study where information on packaging plays a crucial role.

On the other hand, Allman-Farinelli et al. (2016) found that young people prefer and overconsume unhealthy foods because they are tastier than their healthier alternatives. The present study, on the contrary, suggests a more balanced consideration involving both health and sensory attributes like taste and appearance. This could indicate a cultural variation or an evolving trend among younger demographics who are seeking to balance taste with health considerations.

Moreover, such differences in the findings reported by studies on food choice priorities may reflect gender-related differences or broader regional consumer behaviour trends. Alibabić et al. (2011), for instance, found that product packaging, manufacturer, and product quality were the main determinants for Bosnian male consumers when deciding whether to buy food. Studies such as those by Lawlor et al. (2001) and Wardle & Griffith (2001) suggest that men may prioritize taste and convenience – a trend not strongly evidenced in our study’s young Polish demographic, which displayed a more balanced set of priorities encompassing price, hygiene, and information.

The place where consumers live also has an impact on their food choices. This factor may also be linked to economic status and affect food availability (Samaniego-Vaesken et al., 2018; Grande Covián et al., 2014). On the other hand, other studies show that a globalised market, which includes the distribution of a wide range of staple foods, regardless of their origin, reduces the gap in food purchases and consumption between urban and rural areas (Martín et al., 2014; Naska et al., 2006).

In our study, the origin of products was found to be the least important factor in food choices for young Polish consumers. This contrasts with findings from Turčínková and Kalábová (2011), who concluded that the origin of food plays a vital role in Czech consumers’ purchasing decisions. They found a moderately strong relationship between the age and education of respondents and their tendency to choose local food. Similarly, Brown (2003) noted that the attitude towards local food depends on the origin of the respondents. Additionally, Bimbo et al. (2021) showed that age, education, and professional status positively correlate with high frequency of local food purchases. These differences, again, may reflect varying cultural values or economic conditions that influence consumer priorities in different regions.

5. Conclusions

This study successfully identified several critical determinants influencing food choices among young Polish consumers, achieving the article’s aims as demonstrated by the results. The analyses revealed that consumer choices are influenced by a blend of economic, informational, and aesthetic factors including information on the packaging of food products, hygiene and food safety, the appearance of the product, and its price. Notably, the lessened importance of food origin and the high priority given to product appearance and hygiene suggest a unique profile of young Polish consumers that may differ from global trends. Significant differences were also observed based on gender and place of residence among the clusters identified in the study, emphasizing the complexity of decision-making processes in food purchases.

The selection of a sample consisting only of people aged 18–25 carries limitations regarding representativeness and generalization of research results to a broader population. People aged 18–25 are at a stage of life often related to higher education, the beginning of their professional career, greater mobility, and life changes. They usually have limited professional and financial experience, which may influence their economic decisions and attitudes. People of this age are also often heavy social media and technology users, which may also influence their behaviour. To obtain more universal conclusions, future studies should consider a broader demographic range, including different age groups, to better reflect society’s diversity.

Additionally, food marketers and producers should consider these preferences when designing and marketing their products to the young Polish market, potentially adjusting marketing strategies to emphasize the factors of highest consumer sensitivity, such as packaging information and hygienic conditions.

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