Determining the target groups of Hungarian short food supply chains based on consumer attitude and socio-demographic factors

Consistent with the trend witnessed in other European countries, in recent years there has been an increasing demand among Hungarian consumers for products purchased directly from farmers. However, no research has been published on the determination of clusters of consumers of short food supply chain (SFSC) products in Hungary. This study describes which groups of consumers are more likely to purchase such products, and their reasons for doing so. In the summer of 2013, 1,015 randomly-sampled adults were asked to complete questionnaires during face-to-face, on-street meetings with trained staff. The survey explored their willingness to support direct sales and production of local foods, their perceptions of product reliability, and their attitudes toward global supply-driven systems. As it was not possible to identify a clear structure of factors determining opinions, perceptions and attitudes directly from the results of the questionnaires, principal component analysis was performed, and K-mean cluster analysis was used to partition the respondents into five clusters. These were labelled ‘Favouring imports and large farms, ‘Favouring small farms’, ‘Informed and empowered consumers group in favour of local farms’, ‘Universally positive’ and ‘Unconcerneď. This method was effective in identifying groups of potential target consumers. The level of support for local foods rises with increasing age, and is higher among women, the more highly educated, those that are economically active or retired, and those that consider themselves as having an average income. The results can be used to promote the demand for SFSC products in Hungary through more effective targeting of marketing activities by farmers involved in direct selling, and their organisations.