IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i7p3916-d780015.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Public’s Understanding of Superfoods

Author

Listed:
  • Fabian Kirsch

    (Department Risk Communication, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), 10589 Berlin, Germany)

  • Mark Lohmann

    (Department Risk Communication, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), 10589 Berlin, Germany)

  • Gaby-Fleur Böl

    (Department Risk Communication, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), 10589 Berlin, Germany)

Abstract

The term “superfood” is linked to food that is beneficial to health. However, there is no legal or clear scientific definition, and little is known about individual perceptions of this food group. Therefore, an online survey was conducted ( n = 1006 respondents) to assess the public’s understanding of superfoods in Germany, including (a) the conceptual understanding of the term “superfood”, (b) corresponding consumption behavior, and (c) the risk–benefit appraisal. In total, 70% of respondents were aware of the term “superfood”, and 33% reported consuming superfoods at least once a week. The term was mainly associated with positive food properties, such as “healthy” and “contains vitamins”. Health benefits were rated to be much higher than potential health risks. In addition, imported foods were more likely to be labelled as superfoods, compared to domestic equivalents. In further analyses, we found women, younger people, and organic buyers to have an even more positive impression. That is, specific parts of the population may be particularly attracted to superfood products. Therefore, target-group specific information campaigns can be a useful tool to increase the population’s awareness of the potential health risks of superfood consumption and to highlight the presence of equivalent “domestic superfoods” in Germany.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabian Kirsch & Mark Lohmann & Gaby-Fleur Böl, 2022. "The Public’s Understanding of Superfoods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-12, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:3916-:d:780015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/7/3916/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/7/3916/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Angelo Corallo & Maria Elena Latino & Marta Menegoli & Alessandra Spennato, 2019. "A Survey to Discover Current Food Choice Behaviors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Stephan G.H. Meyerding & Annemone Kürzdörfer & Birgit Gassler, 2018. "Consumer Preferences for Superfood Ingredients—the Case of Bread in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Peter Onneken, 2018. "Salvia Hispanica L (Chia Seeds) as Brain Superfood – How Seeds Increase Intelligence," Global Journal of Health Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(7), pages 1-69, July.
    4. Bedoya-Perales, Noelia S. & Pumi, Guilherme & Talamini, Edson & Padula, Antonio Domingos, 2018. "The quinoa boom in Peru: Will land competition threaten sustainability in one of the cradles of agriculture?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 475-480.
    5. Yash D. Jagdale & Saurabh V. Mahale & Beenish Zohra & Gulzar Ahmad Nayik & Aamir Hussain Dar & Khalid Ali Khan & Gholamreza Abdi & Ioannis K. Karabagias, 2021. "Nutritional Profile and Potential Health Benefits of Super Foods: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-27, August.
    6. Liu, Hongfei & Meng-Lewis, Yue & Ibrahim, Fahad & Zhu, Xia, 2021. "Superfoods, super healthy: Myth or reality? Examining consumers’ repurchase and WOM intention regarding superfoods: A theory of consumption values perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 69-88.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maurizio Vrenna & Pier Paolo Peruccio & Xin Liu & Fang Zhong & Yuchi Sun, 2021. "Microalgae as Future Superfoods: Fostering Adoption through Practice-Based Design Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-26, March.
    2. Rim Lassoued & Janet Music & Sylvain Charlebois & Stuart J. Smyth, 2023. "Canadian Consumers’ Perceptions of Sustainability of Food Innovations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-22, April.
    3. Kamil Czwartkowski & Arkadiusz Wierzbic & Wojciech Golimowski, 2022. "Awareness and Expectations of Polish Consumers Regarding Edible Niche Oils as a Food Product," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, October.
    4. Yash D. Jagdale & Saurabh V. Mahale & Beenish Zohra & Gulzar Ahmad Nayik & Aamir Hussain Dar & Khalid Ali Khan & Gholamreza Abdi & Ioannis K. Karabagias, 2021. "Nutritional Profile and Potential Health Benefits of Super Foods: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-27, August.
    5. Luis Cruces & Eduardo de la Peña & Patrick De Clercq, 2020. "Seasonal Phenology of the Major Insect Pests of Quinoa ( Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) and Their Natural Enemies in a Traditional Zone and Two New Production Zones of Peru," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, December.
    6. Megawati Simanjuntak & Nidya Luthfi Nafila & Lilik Noor Yuliati & Irni Rahmayani Johan & Mukhamad Najib & Mohamad Fazli Sabri, 2023. "Environmental Care Attitudes and Intention to Purchase Green Products: Impact of Environmental Knowledge, Word of Mouth, and Green Marketing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.
    7. Carlos Eduardo Lourenco & Nadine Marques Nunes-Galbes & Riccardo Borgheresi & Luciana Oranges Cezarino & Flavio Pinheiro Martins & Lara Bartocci Liboni, 2022. "Psychological Barriers to Sustainable Dietary Patterns: Findings from Meat Intake Behaviour," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, February.
    8. Gratiela Dana Boca, 2021. "Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior in Sustainable Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Maramures County, Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, February.
    9. Kalisri Logeswaran Aravindan & Thurasamy Ramayah & Munusamy Thavanethen & Murali Raman & Narinasamy Ilhavenil & Sanmugam Annamalah & Yap Voon Choong, 2023. "Modeling Positive Electronic Word of Mouth and Purchase Intention Using Theory of Consumption Value," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    10. Jessica Müller-Pérez & Viridiana Sarahí Garza-Muñiz & Ángel Acevedo-Duque & Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas & Jorge Alberto Esponda-Pérez & Rina Álvarez-Becerra, 2022. "The Future of Tamaulipas MSMEs after COVID-19: Intention to Adopt Inbound Marketing Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, October.
    11. Noelia S. Bedoya-Perales & Glenio Piran Dal’ Magro, 2021. "Quantification of Food Losses and Waste in Peru: A Mass Flow Analysis along the Food Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, March.
    12. Abdelhalim R. Doeim & Thowayeb H. Hassan & Mohamed Y. Helal & Mahmoud I. Saleh & Amany E. Salem & Mohamed A. S. Elsayed, 2022. "Service Value and Repurchase Intention in the Egyptian Fast-Food Restaurants: Toward a New Measurement Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-17, November.
    13. Anita Silvana Ilak Peršurić & Ana Težak Damijanić, 2021. "Connections between Healthy Behaviour, Perception of Olive Oil Health Benefits, and Olive Oil Consumption Motives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-12, July.
    14. Gilal, Faheem Gul & Gilal, Naeem Gul & Shahid, Shadma & Gilal, Rukhsana Gul & Shah, Syed Mir Muhammad, 2022. "The role of product design in shaping masstige brand passion: A masstige theory perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 487-504.
    15. Li Jiang & Mei Zhao & Hao Lin & Lvyu Yang, 2022. "How Do Consumer Innovation Characteristics and Consumption Value Shape Users’ Willingness to Buy Innovative Car Safety Seats?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-28, December.
    16. Mengmeng Wang & Wenjie Yang, 2021. "What Drives Rural Consumers to Change E-Commerce Attitude and Adopt E-Commerce through the Moderating Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in an Emerging Market? An Empirical Investigation in the C," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-22, November.
    17. Georgiana-Raluca Lădaru & Marian Siminică & Maria Claudia Diaconeasa & Diana Maria Ilie & Carmen-Elena Dobrotă & Marian Motofeanu, 2021. "Influencing Factors and Social Media Reflections of Bakery Products Consumption in Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-17, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:3916-:d:780015. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.