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Changes in Dietary Habits During the Pandemic
39-53Views:403The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the daily lives of the population, primarily due to the disease control measures. The focus has shifted to health protective factors, with a healthy diet playing a key role in increasing the human body's resistance to pathogens. In addition, being overweight has a negative impact on the course of the disease, making the virus an even greater threat to our society. Our aim was to examine how the pandemic has changed our daily diet, with a particular focus on fruit and vegetable consumption. Data collection included both secondary and primary research. With 242 responses, our primary analysis was conducted using an online questionnaire. The results showed, that half of the respondents had changed their eating habits and one third had gained extra weight during the pandemic. A higher percentage regard their fruit and vegetable consumption as sufficient enough, while only 29.6% think they are eating the daily recommended amount. The results showed that there is a lack of awareness among respondents of the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables, which is a fundamental problem in terms of dietary health.
JEL Code: I12
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Consumer Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility
3-14Views:177Several studies have drawn attention to the importance of and the impact on consumer behavior of the corporate efforts in order to promote sustainable consumption in the last decades. The concept and framework of sustainable consumption appear at global, European and national levels. Several studies have examined the possible design and modeling opportunities for sustainable societies. The socially responsible operation of companies and their efforts for sustainable consumption can be the driving force behind social changes. In our study, we examined the consumer’s perception of social responsibility of companies on based on a national representative sample of 1,038 respondents over 15 years of age. In our analysis, opinions and attitudes related to sustainable development are presented, followed by the characterization of the groups that can be separated on the basis of the monitoring of sustainable corporate activities. The research shows that only a minority the consumers do not believe that consumers could make to sustainable development through their decisions. In contrast, nearly a third of domestic consumers is neutral or attaches importance to the efforts of companies for sustainable development, which is average by European standards. The company moves which lead to better opinions of domestic consumers, or which may lead to the rejection of shopping are introduced. Four groups of consumers are separated according to the monitoring of sustainable business activities.
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Investigation of Some Connections Between the Coronavirus Epidemic and “Acquisition Fever” in Győr
89-101Views:188The birth of this publication was generated by the events of today. In the light of the research (and the literature data), it can be stated that the coronavirus epidemic that appeared in Hungary in the spring of 2020 caused panic shopping, and the freedom of choice (abundance of goods) was again replaced by consumer vulnerability like before the years of regime change. The analysis shows that 75 percent of those over the age of 60, while only 62 percent of the members of the youngest age group think it is worth piling up. It is also interesting to note that the main reason for over-buying is the creation of a contingency reserve. Larger store types, mostly with a wide range of goods, were well suited for this. Also, 33,2 % of respondents thought they had bought more to reduce the number of shopping trips (and thus presumably to slow down the spread of the virus).
JEL Classification: M31, H12
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The Actual Questions of the product and the Consumption of Soltvadkert' Wine
125-131Views:47In our work looking for the answer for the next questions: What is the current situation for winemakers nowadays in Soltvadkert. What is the reputation of their wine? What do local habitants think about the wine of their city? What is the opinion about it the tourists? Do the people remember to the counterfeit wine? To know the answers we make qualitative and quantitative survey. We made 5 interviews with viticulturist on Soltvadkert. We asked them about the market-opportunities, the effects of economic crisis, the impact of import wines, the connection between the local winemakers, the trends of Hungarian wine-consumption. The questions for the consumers are the follow: The consumption habits linked to the wine, the knowledge about the winemakers of Soltvadkert, the wine-purchasing habit. We asked 100 local residents and 100 tourists. The result of this survey is the SWOT analysis, which we made and show in this article.
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Analysis of Poultry Consumption and Purcase Habits in Connection with Socio-demographic Factors
57-69Views:314The consumption of poultry is an important source of nutrition, so it is a basic need for everyday food conception. To supply the population is not only a sensitive social question, but also a question of national health. The aim of this study is to reveal the connection between the preference of poultry and the basic socio-demographic factors and highlight the circumstances of purchasing this type of meat. In order to understand the preference of poultry, a large sample quantitative (N=1 023 respondents) study was conducted. The preference of poultry depends on the age and residence of consumers. People over 50 and below 34 living in larger cities have the most favorable preference towards poultry. In order to understand the circumstances of purchasing poultry and other meat products, an observation (N=134) was conducted. Customers typically buy fresh meat in super- and hypermarkets or at butcher’s and they request the product from salespeople. Shoppers prefer to buy poultry than pork or beef. Considering poultry people usually buy pigeon-breast either filet or boned. People pay an average amount of 3 700 HUF for meat, however, the standard deviation is high. The mode are 2 000, 4 000 and 6 000 HUF. In general, the process of purchasing lasts for 10 minutes. Customers usually buy poultry because of hedonism and healthy eating style that is why companies have to sell the advantages and not only the product on the market.
JEL code: M31
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The Online Marketing Activity of German Farmer Shops
73-91Views:302The importance of digital marketing is increasing significantly. During the current pandemic situation, its shortcomings are even more easily noticeable. Due to the German consumers' green purchasing behaviour, the poor online performance of German farmer shops appeared. The aim of this paper was to analyse the usage of digital marketing tools in this field. A representative database was applied for the descriptive statistics and the principal component analysis as well. Five clusters were defined by the K-mean method. The research of 375 farmer shops highlighted shortcomings in the usage of the website and social media. More than 70% of the farmer shops did not operate any website or did not provide on it all the required information, while only 20% of the shops were available online as a webshop. The low share of digitally well-managed farmer shops (less than 3%) was revealed by the clustering method. These focus mostly on the sale of alcoholic beverages. The social media surfaces meant in the case of many shops the only contact to the consumers, however, the application of these platforms was not common according to the applied method. For the farmer shops, the lack of digital marketing could mean a disadvantage in a short period, however, the increasing importance of online appearance could cause the decrease of interest and sales for a longer period.
JEL Codes: M31, O13, E21 -
Impact of Personal Values on the Change of Health Behaviour and the Conscious Food Purchase
57-71Views:245Major aim of the examination is to reveal relationships between personal values, the switch to the health conscious nutrition method, and the food consumer behaviour based on the value list by Kahle (LOV). In order to attain this goal a nationwide representative survey was conducted in Hungary with the participation of 1000 persons. According to the results the most important value for the population is safety that is followed by the need for fun and enjoyment in life. During the analysis of the value list a factor structure – different from the standard – was revealed that formed the base of the segmentation. Four consumer segments were identified, the Value oriented, the Moderately value driven, the Safety seeker, and the Disappointed segments.
The Value oriented segment can be considered as the primary target group of health protecting foods as members of this group moved to the direction of more health conscious consumption and in parallel of more health conscious food purchase to the greatest extent (18.5%). The second group showing significant changes is the Safety seekers that suggests that the extent of the value orientation significantly affects the behavior, i.e. food purchase and food consumption independently of its content. The value content provides information to the development of the content elements of the marketing strategy and the marketing message for the producers of health protecting foods. -
Situation Analysis of the Hungarian Beekeeping Sector (Production, Trade)
21-34Views:485From year to year, the global production of honey is continuously growing, but the honey producers and other stakeholders around the world and in Europe face similar processes and difficulties that are destroying the honey market. It would be necessary to reduce counterfeiting, improve the bee health situation, operate a comprehensive database and monitoring system, and provide extensive support to beekeepers. In order to ensure the sustainability of the beekeeping sector, it is necessary to develop and apply good agricultural practices, and in order to preserve biodiversity, related rural development programs and measures are needed. If the sector stabilizes (in Hungary, in EU-28 and worldwide), the long-term sustainability of beekeeping can be achieved; its ecological significance can be protected, and the rural retention role of the countryside may be strengthened in honey-producing countries. The aim of the study is to map the EU and Hungary honey production and trade with the help of relevant literature and statistics, and to present the current situation, difficulties and challenges of the honey market. After analyzing the market situation and sectoral processes, a SWOT matrix has been created including the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the beekeeping sector. Then we made recommendations to improve the current situation in the beekeeping sector.
JEL Code: M31 -
The Role of Sweet Corn Quality in a Healthy Diet
39-48Views:113The importance of sweet corn as a healthy food is constantly increasing worldwide. The research and comparative analysis of super sweet sweet corn hybrids suitable for fresh consumption and canning is of particular importance in the food industry. In our studies, we compared the carotenoid content of three supersweet sweet corn hybrids to collect data for its healthy conditions. A novel result in our tests that sweet corn contains the highest amount of lutein and contains zeaxanthin. We found that the amount of zeaxanthin and lutein is determined by its genotype. We found that carotenoids are influenced by the environmental conditions. The concentration of lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, β-carotene did not decrease with the growth of the crop, which confirms the importance of sweet corn hybrid selection for healthy nutrition. In our studies, the amount of lutein and zeaxanthin was higher than the amount of beta cryptoxanthin and beta carotene. Carotene consumption has many positive effects on the human body, it can reduce the incidence of cancer, vascular diseases, or wolf blindness resulting from a lack of vitamin A.
JEL Codes: I1, L15 -
Attitudes of Alternative Diet Followers Towards Purchasing Local Products
3-15Views:469Earth’s population has been growing steadily over the last centuries, with increasing demand for food production. For this reason, despite the current technological progress, even more and more cultivated lands are needed. The purpose of our research is to examine the proportion of local products that are being used by those who follow different alternative diets, which can also be used to test the behaviour towards sustainability. In order to reach our goals, we have developed a national survey including 504 Hungarian consumers. The survey consists of several questions about alternative diets, food-oriented lifestyle, and local products. The answers were weighted in order to properly represent the gender distribution of the population and were analysed using descriptive statistics and factor analysis. According to the results, environmental conscious behaviour appears among the alternative diet followers, but for sustainability this is not a sufficient condition. Local products are bought by 82.9% of the respondents. The biggest incentives of buying local products are the origin, the support of local producers / merchants, the reduction of food kilometres, the healthy and natural characteristics of the products, and the positive experiences with local products. In contrast, the reasons why local products are mostly refused by consumers are the facts that they are time consuming and difficult to obtain.
JEL codes: C38, D70, I12, M31, Q56
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Analysis of Energy Drink Consumption Habits and Motivations among University Students
67-79Views:717Young adults tend to consume energy drinks, even if they know exactly what they contain and what their health effects might be, even in the long term. The purpose of our research is to find out what motivates young people to consume energy drinks. In the quantitative research, a focus group-oriented online questionnaire was held out to assess the energy drink consumption habits of university students as well as their motivations for consumption using the TEMS model (N=897). The TEMS model was adapted for energy drinks. The qualitative research involved an eye-camera study with advertisements of the most popular energy drink brands and the existence of cognitive dissonance among students consuming energy drinks was also investigated. In summary, the majority of students were aware of the ingredients of energy drinks and their negative effects on health. The main motivations for consuming the product were that it tastes good, gives energy, is a pleasure to drink and that they simply like the product. Cognitive dissonance is also present in the purchase and consumption of energy drinks, therefore advertising has a strong influence on brand evaluations.
JEL-Codes: M31, M3 -
The Qualification of the Pálinka in the XXI. Century
39-52Views:182The issue of food quality came to prominence in the last decade. If we talk about sensory evaluation most of people mean the scoring method by that when in fact several evaluation methods are known. The amendment of the Excise tax in 2010 introduced the notion of the previously unknown distillate. The article clarify the difference between pálinka and distillate. The terms of pálinka tasing and the award criteria will be intoduced. How does the non-professional customer know that he buys a high quality product? The Pálinka trademark which was introduced in the autumn of 2012 and the brochure called Pálinkas of excellence can be a stronghold for them. For the pálinka strict quality requirements are in place in which the instrumental analysis can help. The article presented the pálinka-faults aroma wheel made by the author.
JEL code: D12
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Sour Cherry Seed Extract – An Emerging Functional Food
31-34Views:123Advanced analytical techniques have recently revealed powerful health-promoting properties in components of some plants, which had remained obscure until present days because they were not typically consumed as food by humans. A particularly fascinating example is the seed kernel of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus). Chemical analysis of the seed kernel revealed that the solid flavonoid-rich fraction, comprising approximately 64–68% of the kernel, contains several health-enhancing polyphenolic compunds including catechins, stillbenes, anthocyanidins and resveratrol. The remaining 32–36% is an oil fraction rich in tocopherols and related compounds, including tocotrienols, oleic acid and triglycerides. Previous studies demonstrated that oral administration of sour cherry seed extract to animals strongly stabilizes healthy tissue homeostasis and suppresses ischemia-reperfusion injury by augmenting expression of heme oxygenase-1, a major endogenous cytoprotective enzyme. The sour cherry fruit is a major export of several nations, including Hungary, however the seed is currently considered an agricultural by-product and discarded. The better understanding of health protective effects of the seed extract would open new avenues for the Hungarian agriculture and food industry in the future.
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Analysis of the Health – Environment – Nutrition Nexus: A Review
3-24Views:885The fastest improvement of the wealth and quality of life was witnessed in last decades by the humanity globally. Economic and social development, however, influenced the state and processes of the natural environment at the same time significantly. Food supply is one of the major interfaces between the society and the natural resources, as we highlight in our literature review; approximately one-third of the resource use and pollution is originated in nutritional needs. Also, health effects of western diet are remarkable. Consequently, debate on ‘healthy diet’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ food supply chain became complementary and reinforcing topics recently, at least in the scientific communication.
JEL Codes: F64, I12, O13, Q4, Q5
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Analysis of the Affective and Conative Components of Consumer Attitude in the Image of the Pálinka
21-32Views:257The research aim is to explore the potential role of consumer attitude components in image development related to a traditional Hungarian alcoholic beverage, the pálinka. This study focuses on the effect of the affective and conative components of attitude on image of the pálinka. The relevance of this research is the expansion of the pálinka market in recent years and the change of the regulatory environment about homemade spirits. Distillate made at home, which product improperly called homemade pálinka, is very popular in Hungary. This study was supported by the data from a nationwide, representative consumer survey carried out in 2019 and 2020. A total of 626 subjects participated in this survey, the sample is representative for the Hungarian adult population according to gender, age group and region. To understand the effect of the affective and conative attitude components, we used Likert scales and graphically illustrate the consumer feeling and behavior about the homemade spirit and the “in-store” pálinka. The study confirmed the advantage of homemade spirit image over in-store pálinka, and points out the importance of education and information in the case of the affective and conative components of consumer attitude. The reconsidering of the marketing communication of the in-store pálinka producers is timely and very important; however, this task requires a comprehensive marketing strategy covering all three attitude components, and this is the only way for them to remain competitive.
JEL Codes: M31