Preferences of Czech Households when Shopping for Vegetables

Abstract

Czech consumers are quite conservative in the area of eating, and they change their eating habits with difficulties. Experts warn that the typical Czech food is not rational, and they call attention e.g. to the necessity of integrating vegetables into the diet more often. Vegetable producers and sellers should know the behaviour of consumers when shopping for food, their requirements and preferences. This paper aims to present the outcomes of a primary survey focussed on shopping for vegetables in Czech households from the point of view preferred kinds of vegetables, preferred parameters of their supply, and purchased quantity. Quantitative research was performed in 2016 in the form of personal interviews with 350 households in the region of East Bohemia, selected by means of random multilevel choice. Rate of return was 78 percentages. Czech households consume on average 10.5kg of vegetables per week. An overwhelming majority of them already consider vegetables as an essential part of their diet because they are a source of vitamins, fibre, and minerals. Three quarters of them consider them as the basis of a healthy life style. They are aware of the fact that consumption of vegetables improves digestion and provides the body, apart from the nutrients, with energy. More than a half of the households consider consumption of vegetables as an integral part of a reduction diet. Czech households mainly prefer fruit vegetables, which they eat every day, potatoes, root vegetables, and bulbous plants, which they eat on average 5-6 times per week, 2-3 time per week they eat leafy and stalk vegetables, less than 1 time a week they buy and eat pod vegetables, i.e. the traditional kind of vegetables grown in the Czech Republic. The research showed that Czech consumers are demanding consumers preferring a wide range of quality vegetables, preferably of the Czech origin, which they like to choose, pack, and prepare by themselves.