Food pleasure across nations: A comparison of the drivers between Chinese and Danish populations

Abstract

Cross-cultural research with a focus on understanding food consumer behaviour is becoming increasingly relevant and important, not least because of the globalization of food markets. A better understanding of the relative importance of factors contributing to food pleasure could advance our understanding of different food behaviours. Two identical consumer surveys were conducted with a Chinese (n = 306) and a Danish sample (n = 280) to explore the importance of several drivers to food pleasure in each sample. Exploratory factor analyses were utilized for investigating underlying constructs of drivers of food pleasure. Most important drivers of food pleasure for each sample were investigated and a cross-cultural comparative analysis of main drivers of food pleasure was performed. Both samples found ‘Sensory-driven Pleasure’ to be most important for experienced food pleasure. In addition, the Danish sample had two secondary drivers of food-related pleasure; ‘Exploratory-driven Pleasure’ and ‘Confirming-driven Pleasure’. The Chinese sample had three secondary drivers of food pleasure: ‘Cognition-driven Pleasure’, ‘Curiosity-driven Pleasure’ and ‘Symbolic-driven Pleasure’. Thereby, the sensory-driven pleasure could be regarded the primary driver of food pleasure on a cross-cultural level, whereas secondary drivers seem to distinguish food-related pleasure in different cultures. These findings are relevant in several areas, as they provide new insights and knowledge of cultural differences in food choice and eating behaviour between China and Denmark, as well as contribute to the important field of cross-cultural research. This knowledge can support food researchers and food industry for a better understanding of what drives food pleasure, and ultimately food choice too.