A Segmentation of Greek Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Consumers and Suggestions for Target Cooperative Product Concepts

This is the first empirical study which has segmented consumers based on cooperative product concepts and perceived the barriers in purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables. From this research, we analyzed specific factors of satisfaction and beliefs on cooperative movement, through segmentation with hierarchical cluster analysis. An empirical study was conducted via personal interviews with a questionnaire on a sample of 400 Helenian food consumers. In such a way, we identified three consumer segments: (1) Moderately Satisfied (C1), (2) Dissatisfied (C2), (3) Satisfied (C3). The Satisfied consumers are characterized with the highest mean of satisfaction for “Taste-Safety” in purchasing cooperative fresh fruits and vegetables compared to the other segments. Also, they are the unique consumers of other clusters, who believe that cooperative producers enjoy fair prices for their agricultural products. The moderately satisfied consumers are more satisfied with the quality control which exercised by agricultural cooperatives and they are prone to being influenced by similar products of the competition market. The Dissatisfied consumers appear to be very low satisfied with price-availability of cooperative fresh fruits and vegetables and they are available to pay the “proper” price for cooperative fruits and vegetables, if and only if agricultural cooperatives change their commercial policy for better quality and safety. This empirical study fills the research gap in cooperative products regarding: (a) specific factors of satisfaction, (b) demographic characteristics of sample and (c) beliefs for agricultural cooperatives.