The role of emotions in food-related decision-making: A choice-based conjoint analysis of yogurt preferences

A strong link between emotions and eating behavior has been previously found, however there is a lack of research investigating how emotions influence food product choice in a retail setting. An online questionnaire including a choice-based conjoint analysis and self-reported consumer emotions was used to assess the importance of different product attributes to yogurt consumers in Germany in 2021. The analysis consisted of a Hierarchical Bayes approach and a cluster analysis. The results revealed that yogurt consumers placed most importance on ingredients, followed by price, Nutri-Score, flavour, and finally production method. Based on the self-reported consumer emotions, a positive, a rather positive and an indifferent emotion cluster was found. The positive cluster preferred the highest quality in terms of ecological and health values and was willing to pay more for such a yogurt. The rather positive cluster preferred these options as well, however was not always willing to pay more for them. The indifferent cluster was more driven by lower prices and was more willing to trade other qualities for the cheapest option. These findings are insightful for food marketing and health interventions as shopping experience, as well as product choice could be enhanced through emotion induction.