A grocery shopper picks up an imperfect piece of fruit, examines it and puts it down. What made them decide not to purchase it?
Another shopper has no problem paying a premium price for a box of imperfect chocolate chip cookies after reading on the package about the grandmother who started the company in her home.
New research from The School of Business at Portland State University explores the reasons behind consumer preferences and company’ decision-making process with aesthetic imperfections in both processed and unprocessed foods.
Assistant Professor of Marketing Jacob Suher and colleagues discovered consumers felt imperfections with processed foods indicated a high level of human care, while imperfections with produce show a lack of human care. The study, "When Imperfect is Preferred: The Differential Effect of Aesthetic Imperfections on Choice of Processed and Unprocessed Foods" was published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and co-authored by Courtney Szocs from Louisiana State University and Koert van Ittersum from the University of Groningen. The researchers found that highlighting the human element of food production and handling can increase consumer purchasing of imperfect foods.
Food waste contributes to food insecurity
Food waste has been a hot topic for the last decade, and for good reason: United States retailers and consumers waste on average 30-40% of the food supply, which contributes to food insecurity, financial loss and climate change.
More than 35 million people across the country suffer from food insecurity. Industry leaders were puzzled by the question: Why is there so much food waste when people are going hungry?
Previous studies pointed to consumers’ aversions to the imperfections of unprocessed foods (like fruits and vegetables) leading to food waste. This motivated the fresh food industry to produce the most aesthetically perfect fruits and vegetables possible, often causing foods with imperfections to still be wasted.
The processed foods industry found itself down a different rabbit hole: consumers appeared to prefer imperfections in their processed foods, which led to many companies intentionally designing foods with uneven borders, shapes and colors.
PSU food study has implications for industry
In an interview with Suher, he discussed his findings and the implications they have for the food industry and beyond.
Q. How has your research added to the body of knowledge in the food industry?
A. We believe and suggest that aesthetic imperfections may cue human care for processed foods because they signal the absence of mass production and machine manufacturing, whereas aesthetic perfection may cue human care for whole foods because it signals attention to prevent and remove imperfect products.
Q. In your research findings, you discovered both unprocessed and processed foods had a common factor: consumers want to know people have handled their food with care during the production process. Did that surprise you or confirm what you had expected?
A. While we expected imperfections to have negative effects on people’s preferences for whole fruits and vegetables, we were surprised to find that there was an opposite effect for processed foods. Most interesting, the same psychological mechanism operated in different directions for whole versus processed foods, leading to surprising and important findings. In other words, while non-uniformity in shape, color and texture can lead to negative consumer reactions for produce, the same types of imperfections can lead to positive reactions for processed foods like snacks and sauces.
Q. How has the brand, Imperfect Foods, shifted this perspective, if at all?
A. Imperfect Foods, along with many other brands and retailers, are increasing consumer access to imperfect fruits and vegetables, which helps prevent the waste of safe-to-eat foods. While we are unsure if these new business models change perceptions about the product itself, they create a compelling offer through price, place and promotion tactics to sell imperfect foods and reduce food waste.
Q. How can your research findings help businesses reduce waste?
A. Our research demonstrates how to tell the story of human care in the production of their products to increase the sale of unprocessed fruits and vegetables. For example, grocery stores may use signs and labels such as “Grown with care” or “Made with care” to communicate to the consumer that human care was involved in the production process.
In addition, processing imperfect whole foods into imperfect processed foods is another route to reducing food waste. Taken together, we hope increasing consumer preferences for imperfect foods will reduce waste in the supply chain because more food will reach and leave the grocery store.
Q. Does the indication of human care and consumer shopping trends apply to other industries?
A. Yes, the positive effects of human care were originally developed in information systems research, to make telecommunications more effective. Now, there is evidence human care can increase preference for a variety of products and services, from art and furniture to customer service. Our findings apply directly to food service and restaurants in addition to grocery retailing, and we contribute methods for other industries to understand and influence consumer perceptions of human care.