Sensory Quality Attributes Affecting Consumers’ GarlicPurchase Patterns: Case of TRA1 Region

The core attributes of food products being

among the main components of people’ healthy and balanced nutrition are one of

the most important attributes for their purchase patterns/consumption

preferences in recent years. Especially, the food products’ consumption with

protected designation of origin and geographical indications, and traditional

specialty guaranteed has a great importance due to contribution to both human

healthy and the firms at the production and supply chain. The consumers, therefore,

have shaped their purchase patterns with their orientation towards healthier

and more reliable food products under influence of both information technology

and communication mix. The aim of the study was to determine the impact sensory

quality properties of garlic purchesed by homogeneous consumer masses. For

these aims, the main material of this study consisted of the primary data

obtained from 600 households residing in TRA1 region in 2018. PCA and cluster analyses were used to

determine the sensory quality properties affecting the consumers’ garlic

consumption, and to segment the target consumer masses according to their

purchase frequencies, respectively. The results of the study indicated that

heavy, medium and light users consuming garlic attributed great importance to

its taste perception, its bulb’s morphologic and visual quality attributes,

respectively. At retail level, therefore, the positioning of garlic carrying

high taste perception, the morphological properties of satisfying garlic bulbs,

and their visual quality attributes for the heavy, medium and light users,

respectively, could provide positive effects on both total utility of the

consumers and total income of the firms at supply chain.<o:p></o:p>