Credibility and trust attributes valued by functional dairy consumers in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

This research aimed to identify the main sources of information and the credibility and trust attributes valued by functional dairy consumers in the state of Rio Grande do Sul -Brasil. A internet survey was conducted with 423 consumers. The sample was characterized as mainly females respondents (57,9%); aged among 25 and 44 years old (68,6%), having a family income between 3 and 10 national minimum wage (48%) either graduate (29,8%) or postgraduate (70,2%). The results indicate that family members, doctors and nutricians are the main reference groups to enhance the credibility and consumers' confidence on functional dairy products. In addition, both the company's tradition (and their brands prestige), the "quality of packaging," an the government certification are relevant factors in the formation of trust / credibility of benefits accessed by the consumption of functional dairy products. Finally, the results indicate that consumers use, primarily, the product labels to keep themselves informed about the features and benefits of functional foods.