Mental Associations With Different Origins of Olive Oil: A Case Study With Brazilian Consumers

ABSTRACT This study investigated Brazilians' mental associations with olive oil from different origins and identified motivations, barriers, and individual factors influencing the purchase of Brazilian olive oil. In the word association task, respondents were randomly assigned to one of five stimuli (“Olive oil,” “Brazilian olive oil,” “Spanish olive oil,” “Portuguese olive oil,” or “Italian olive oil”). In the completion task, they completed the sentence “I would buy a Brazilian olive oil if….” Olive oil is widely associated with health and well‐being, regardless of origin. However, Mediterranean oils were more strongly linked to quality and perceived value than Brazilian products. Price was the main barrier to purchasing Brazilian olive oil, while quality and hedonic attributes acted as the principal motivators. Younger participants showed greater price sensitivity, whereas higher‐income individuals valued quality, and women valued hedonic aspects. These findings highlight the importance of improving communication, trust, and accessibility to strengthen the market position of Brazilian olive oil.