Factors affecting purchasing process of functional foods

In this paper we examined the correlations between willingness to pay (WTP) for functional foods and subjective beliefs associated with food values. We conducted a non-hypothetical economic experiment through a second price sealed bid experimental auction (Vickrey auction) to estimate the willingness to pay for buying a new functional snack made with white lupine and citrus fiber, which are ingredients with high fiber content. A sample of 156 consumers was surveyed in Catania, Sicily (Italy) in July 2015. Beyond the intrinsic healthy properties of functional foods, the findings of this paper showed that the premium price in favor of functional foods also depends on subjective beliefs related to certain food values like origin, safety, naturalness, price etc. These findings could have important implications for the industry of food sector that should design appropriate initiatives to promote the consumption of functional foods combining both healthiness and other food values. Despite the findings of this study should be interpreted with a certain caution, this paper represents a further step in the research area aimed at identifying factors affecting consumption of functional foods by proposing a new methodological approach not yet used in the previous studies on consumption of functional foods.