Agricultural fruits and vegetables consumption with consumer segmentation with pearson's correlation and cluster analysis

With increasing emphasis on the nutritional intake across the different sections of the society, the importance of fruit and vegetable as part of consumers' food basket has also gained importance. The present work aims to study the motives underlying food choice behavior of the urban consumers in Delhi towards the consumption of fruits and vegetables. A sample of 385 respondents was surveyed from the three most populated urban districts of Delhi, namely, north-west, south and west. The study used the Food Choice questionnaire framework to analyze the motivations. Data was analyzed using multivariable techniques of confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis and chi-square analysis. Against the original nine factors of the original food choice questionnaire, the exploratory factor analysis maintained eight factors. Of these, health concerns, sensory appeal, natural content and convenience were rated as the most important factors by the people while familiarity was the least important. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified three clusters according to health, appearance and price. While this study provides significant inputs for the planning of more efficient public policy interventions for influencing healthier eating habits according to the specific target groups, the study may also be useful for businesses in planning production and sales of high-value agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables which are growing significantly in urban consumption baskets.