Measuring consumer acceptance of instant fortified millet products using affective tests and auctions in Dakar, Senegal

Hugo De Groote¹

Bernard Munyua¹

Djibril Traore²

John R. N. Taylor³

Mario Ferruzzi⁴

Cheikh Ndiayeb Isiguzoro O. Onyeoziri³

Bruce R. Hamaker⁵

¹International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT)
²Institut de Technologie Alimentaire
³University of Pretoria
⁴North Carolina State University
⁵Purdue University

Introduction

The emergence of small-scale affordable extruders creates new opportunities for food processors in Africa, in particular formulation of nutritionally enhanced products, fortification with micro-nutrients and an opportunity for small enterprises to enter the market. Before producing new extruded products, however, consumer interest needs to be assessed.

Methods

In this study, 296 randomly selected consumers (men and women) participated, all from Dakar, Senegal. They tasted and evaluated porridge from instant and fortified pearl millet flour, produced using a mini extrusion cooker, in comparison to plain conventional sifted pearl millet. The evaluation was for all major sensory characteristics: appearance, aroma, taste texture, as well as overall. The major product traits under evaluation were instant versus conventionally cooked cereal, sifted vs whole cereal and fortification from a commercial premix vs food-to-food fortification. Participants received a show-up fee of 7000 FCFA. They were asked some socioeconomic questions, followed by affective tests with cooked products to determine consumers’ acceptance, and finally participated in the economic experiment to determine their willingness to pay (WTP) for the packed finished products (flours). To estimate the effect of information on the content of the products on WTP, the auctions were conducted either with or without that information.

Findings

The results of the affective tests indicate that consumers were able to distinguish whole flour porridge and porridges fortified with commercial premix or food-to-food fortification from conventional porridge. However, consumers did not distinguish between instant and conventional flour. Further, none of the new products scored better than the conventional product on sensory characteristics. The experimental auctions showed no differences in WTP for the different traits without information. However, analysis with pooled data showed a strong information effect on WTP for different traits. The WTP for food-to-food fortification changed from a 63% discount without information to a 47% premium with information. WTP for instant trait was not significantly different from that of conventional products, either with or without information, indicating that the cost of extrusion is an important consideration for this population. With information, further, consumers were only willing to buy whole four at a discount of 14%. The cost benefit analysis for extrusion showed that it is the costs of ingredients used and not the cost of extrusion that have the largest effect on the expected retail price of instant products. While food-to-food fortification was highly appreciated, its cost of production was substantially higher than the premium in WTP.

Conclusion

Consumers did not distinguish between instant and conventional flours, so there is an opportunity for ready-to-eat instant cereals. Further, with proper information, consumers were willing to pay a premium for nutritional enhancement and compromise on instant and whole pearl millet products. There is a market for extruded fortified products especially where consumers are informed on their benefits. However, food-to-food fortification was more expensive than WTP for the trait. Therefore the amounts of food-to-food fortification need to be balanced with the costs, likely in combination with premix to produce acceptable products within the acceptable retail price for low-income groups.

References

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