Consumers’ attitudes towards novel foods as illustrated by the example of ethnic food

The purpose of this study was to investigate the consumers’ attitudes towards selected ethnic cuisines. Accordingly, a quantitative assessment (based on a survey questionnaire) and a qualitative assessment (FGI) were carried out. The quantitative assessment was conducted with 500 respondents selected using quota-sampling, taking their gender and age into consideration. This allowed to determine the frequency of eating selected ethnic cuisines (Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and American), hear the respondents’ opinions on the characteristics of specific cuisines, and develop the profiles of consumers moderately or strongly interested in the consumption of the relevant products (referred to as “light users” and “heavy users”). In 2016, focus group interviews were conducted with the two consumer groups (2 interviews for each cuisine). As a result, the interviews provided information about the respondents’ motivation to eat ethnic food, their views on the market offering and sources of information about this type of products. Also, it enabled outlining the image of ethnic meal eaters. As shown by this study, Polish consumers differ in their interest in ethnic food which is driven by product availability, moderate prices and access to information. Also, differences were discovered in their attitudes towards specific cuisines, depending on the demographic, economic and social characteristics of the respondents.