High-Value Nutrition Chinese consumer insights: White paper

We need to understand Chinese consumers’ beliefs, attitudes and perceptions regarding the relationship between food and health. This report presents consumer insights gathered through Tranche I funding and draws together information from focus groups, in-home interviews, online surveys, and posts extracted from social media.

The aim of this report is to present an overview of what the data represent when considered as a whole and, in particular, to highlight those issues that are only apparent from this more holistic perspective. The themes that are covered include: (1) who are the consumers targets, (2) what do they mean when they talk about health, (3) what are the combinations of food-related health issues that affect these consumers, (5) what do they consider to be the causes of these illnesses, (6) what do they see as the consequences of these food-related illnesses for themselves and their families, (7) what are the perceptions and barriers that affect healthy eating, (8) what knowledge do they hold about the nutritional value of food, (9) who do they trust to provide information about food, (10) how best can New Zealand companies communicate about the benefits of these new foods and beverages, and (11) what opportunities are there for New Zealand companies to develop scientifically proven foods for health.