Consumers' perception of beef burgers with different healthy attributes

Although the demand for healthy foods has increased, the desire for convenience prevails. Thus, there is an opportunity to popularize convenient yet healthy food. Despite efforts investigating the technical feasibility of achieving healthy attributes in meat products, few studies have addressed consumer perceptions regarding these products. Projective techniques have been used to better understand consumer attitudes towards foods and beverages. For these reasons, the objective of this study was to evaluate the suitability of the projective technique of word association to obtain inferences about consumer perceptions regarding four types of frozen burgers: traditional, reduced-sodium, reduced-fat and with antioxidants. The projective technique of word association was employed with cluster analysis based on an attitudinal questionnaire. Fifty-six consumers participated. Healthiness, Good Flavor, Quality/Flavor Apprehension and Fat/Calories were the most mentioned categories and therefore deserve the industry's attention. Different types of burgers revealed distinct associations, suggesting that marketing efforts could consider these particular attributes. Consumers with different attitudes towards health might have different perceptions of these meat products, which could be further explored. In general, all products considered in this study merit further investigation in quantitative and qualitative consumer studies, and the projective technique of word association deserves to be increasingly used. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.