EVALUATION OF NEW PACKAGING FORMATS FOR DRY-CURED MEAT PRODUCTS USING CONJOINT ANALYSIS: AN APPLICATION TO DRY-CURED IBERIAN HAM

Dry-cured Iberian pork products have long been a traditional and highly appreciated delicacy in Spain, and because of their excellent sensorial and nutritional qualities, their market is now growing rapidly worldwide. They are usually marketed in a whole-piece format or sliced in vacuum-packed trays, but both of these formats present problems for the consumer (difficulty of slicing the whole piece, loss of sensory properties once the vacuum-packed tray is opened …). This paper uses conjoint analysis to examine a new packaging format (called “slice slab”) for dry-cured meat products that aims to overcome these problems. The product selected for analysis was Iberian dry-cured ham, as it is the most frequently consumed Iberian pork product. Data were collected by means of a survey conducted with 320 Spanish consumers from January to May 2010. Overall, the consumers preferred Iberian mast-fed ham, conventionally sliced and at the lowest price (5 €/100 g). Three well-defined preference-based clusters were identified: traditional consumers (n = 114), price-insensitive consumers (n = 113) and innovative consumers (n = 93). Analysis of the clusters indicated that sliced slab ham may be an interesting alternative for the most innovative consumers, who are willing to pay a premium for this packaging format. Practical Applications This study has presented a methodological guideline to analyze the importance of packaging in shaping consumers' preferences. In this context, the use of conjoint analysis may have a great potential for testing and evaluating both the acceptance and the economic feasibility of new packaging formats in the food market. Its results can also be used for a preference-based segmentation, which would allow target markets to be identified in which consumers' willingness-to-pay can be evaluated beforehand. The present work may therefore constitute a starting point in the search for new forms of presentation for both cured meat products and other foodstuffs that will be well accepted by the consumer. In particular, it opens the way for further research into sensory analysis in the context of testing and improving in the presentation of new foodstuff formats.