ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is a native plant of Cyprus that comes in two varieties: cultivated carob and wild carob. Because of the high sugar content of the cultivated carob fruit, it is the primary ingredient in syrup, desserts, biscuits, and other processed beverages. However, Wild carob is rarely used in Cyprus, mainly used for animal feed or discarded. As a result, rather than being discarded, the potential nutritional value inherent in wild carob is more beneficial when harnessed for food production. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess the acceptability of wild carob bars in order to improve Cyprus's agricultural income from the waste product. In this study, an online survey was conducted among 388 customers in the 6 biggest cities of Cyprus to determine the acceptability level of purchase intention of wild carob bar. The data were analysed using SPSS Software version 26. The data, which comprises knowledge, subjective norms, sensory characteristics and purchase intention, were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. Generally, Cypriot consumers were knowledgeable and preferred the sensory characteristics of carob over chocolate. Hence, they are willing to purchase wild carob bar rather than chocolate bar if it is available in the market. Regression analysis further revealed that all acceptability dimensions adopted for this study significantly influence the purchase intention of wild carob bars.
Ali, M. H., Ismail, A., Alam, S. S., Makhbul, Z. M., & Omar, N. A. (2018). Exploring the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) in relation to a halal food scandal: The Malaysia Cadbury chocolate case. International Food Research Journal, 25(December), S79–S86.
Ateke, B., & James, D. (2018). Consumer Knowledge and Purchase Intention of Healthcare Product Consumers in Rivers State Relationship marketing studies View project PREDICTORS OF AIRLINE PATRONAGE IN NIGERIA View project. International Journal of Business & Law Research, 1(January), 1–7. www.seahipaj.org
Benchikh, Y., Louaileche, H., George, B., & Merlin, A. (2014). Changes in bioactive phytochemical content and in vitro antioxidant activity of carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) as influenced by fruit ripening. Industrial Crops and Products, 60, 298–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2014.05.048
Biner, B., Gubbuk, H., Karhan, M., Aksu, M., & Pekmezci, M. (2007). Sugar profiles of the pods of cultivated and wild types of carob bean (Ceratonia siliqua L.) in Turkey. Food Chemistry, 100(4), 1453–1455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.11.037
Caliskan, A., Abdullah, N., & Ishak, N. (2022). Physicochemical Properties of Cypriot Wild Carob ( Ceratonia siliqua L .) Powder as Cocoa Powder Substitute Physicochemical Properties of Cypriot Wild Carob ( Ceratonia siliqua L .) Powder as Cocoa Powder Substitute. July.
Chen, M. F. (2007). Consumer attitudes and purchase intentions in relation to organic foods in Taiwan: Moderating effects of food-related personality traits. Food Quality and Preference, 18(7), 1008–1021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2007.04.004
Chin, W. (1998). Issues and Opinion on Stractural Equation Modeling. MIS Quarterly, 7–16.
Christou, C., Poulli, E., Yiannopoulos, S., & Agapiou, A. (2019). GC–MS analysis of D-pinitol in carob: Syrup and fruit (flesh and seed). Journal of Chromatography B: Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical and Life Sciences, 1116(March), 60–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchromb.2019.04.008
Chryssochoidis, G. (2000). Repercussions of consumer confusion for late introduced differentiated products. European Journal of Marketing, 34(5/6), 705–722. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090560010321992
Dean, M., Raats, M. M., & Shepherd, R. (2008). Moral concerns and consumer choice of fresh and processed organic foods. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38(8), 2088–2107. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00382.x
Dermott, M. S., Oliver, M., Svenson, A., Simnadis, T., Beck, E. J., Coltman, T., Iverson, D., Caputi, P., & Sharma, R. (2015). The theory of planned behaviour and discrete food choices: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-015-0324-z
El-Shatnawi, M. K. J., & Ereifej, K. I. (2001). Chemical composition and livestock ingestion of carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) seeds. Journal of Range Management, 54(6), 669–673. https://doi.org/10.2307/4003669
Farhana, S. (2019). Malaysian consumer acceptance and preference towards three types of local honey based on sensory characteristics. Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, Attitude, Intention and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. In Contemporary Sociology (Vol. 6, Issue 2). https://doi.org/10.2307/2065853
Fiszman, B., & Spence, C. (2015). Sensory expectations based on product-extrinsic food cues: An interdisciplinary review of the empirical evidence and theoretical accounts. Food Quality and Preference, 40(PA), 165–179.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2014.09.013
Gakobo, T. W., & Jere, M. G. (2016). An application of the theory of planned behaviour to predict intention to consume African indigenous foods in Kenya. British Food Journal, 118(5), 1268–1280. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-10-2015-0344
Georgiou, A. (2018). The Cyprus Tourism Sector and Its Investment Environment The Cypr us Tour ism Sector and Its Investment Environment. Science Prospects, October.
Ghalandari, K., & Norouzi, A. (2012). The Effect of Country of Origin on Purchase Intention?: The Role of Product Knowledge. Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, 4(9), 1166–1171.
Goulas, V., Stylos, E., Chatziathanasiadou, M. V., Mavromoustakos, T., & Tzakos, A. G. (2016). Functional components of carob fruit: Linking the chemical and biological space. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 17(11).
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms17111875
Gracia, A., & De Magistris, T. (2007). Organic food product purchase behaviour: A pilot study for urban consumers in the South of Italy. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 5(4), 439–451. https://doi.org/10.5424/sjar/2007054-5356
Hair, Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. In Springer (Handbook o, Vol. 63, Issue 1).
https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Haro, A. (2016). Understanding TPB model, availability, and information on consumer purchase intention for halal food. International Journal of Business and Commerce, 5(8), 47–56. www.ijbcnet.comwww.ijbcnet.com
Ibrahim, M. A., Fisol, W. N. M., & Haji-Othman, Y. (2017). Customer Intention on Islamic Home Financing Products: An Application of Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 8(2), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2017.v8n2p77
Kim, H. Y., & Chung, J. E. (2011). Consumer purchase intention for organic personal care products. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28(1), 40–47.
https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761111101930
Maina, J. W. (2018). Analysis of the factors that determine food acceptability. The Pharma Innovation, 7(5), 253. www.thepharmajournal.com
Mceachern, M. G., & Warnaby, G. (2008). Exploring the relationship between consumer knowledge and purchase behaviour of value-based labels. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 32(1), 414–426. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2008.00712.x
Nursalwani, M., & Zulariff, L. A. (2017). The Effect of Attitude, Subjective Norm and Perceived Behaviour Control Towards Intention of Muslim Youth at Public Universities in Kelantan to Consume Halal Labelled Chocolate Bar Product. Canadian Social Science, 13(2), 43–48. https://doi.org/10.3968/9278
Ortega, N., Macia, A., Romero, M. P., Trullols, E., Morello, J. R., Angles, N., & Motilva, M. J. (2009). Rapid determination of phenolic compounds and alkaloids of carob flour by improved liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 57(16), 7239–7244. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf901635s
Plecher, H. (2021). Distribution of gross domestic product (GDP) across economic sectors Cyprus 2019. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/382070/cyprus-gdp-distribution-across-economic-sectors/#statisticContainer
Prete, M., & Samoggia, A. (2020). Chocolate consumption and purchasing behaviour review: Research issues and insights for future research. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145586
Bhuiyan, R. F. (2015). Consumer's Sensory Perception of Food Attributes: A Survey on Flavor. Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 3(1), 157.
https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.s.2015030102.40
Rezvani, S., Rahman, M. S., & Dehkordi, G. J. (2013). Consumers' perceptual differences in buying cosmetic products: Malaysian perspective. Middle East Journal of Scientific Research, 16(11), 1488–1496. https://doi.org/10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2013.16.11.12034
Salem, E. M., & Fahad, A. O. A. (2012). Substituting of cacao by carob pod powder in milk chocolate manufacturing. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 6(3), 572–578.
Shaaban, S., & Nguyen, T. B. (2014). Consumer Attitude and Purchase Intention towards Organic Food A quantitative study of China Linnaeus University. In Journal of Consumer Behaviour (Vol. 6, Issue 2).
Sinesio, F., Saba, A., Peparaio, M., Civitelli, S. E., Paoletti, F., & Moneta, E. (2018). Capturing consumer perception of vegetable freshness in a simulated real-life taste situation. Food Research International, 105(November 2017), 764–771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2017.11.073
Tarkiainen, A., & Sundqvist, S. (2005). Subjective norms, attitudes and intentions of Finnish consumers in buying organic food. British Food Journal, 107(11), 808–822. https://doi.org/10.1108/00070700510629760
Thøgersen, J. (2009). Consumer decision-making with regard to organic food products. In T. de N. Vaz, N. Peter, & J.-L. Rastoin (Eds.), Traditional Food Production and Rural Sustainable Development?: A European Challenge (pp. 173–192). Ashgate.
Yeung, R. M. W., & Morris, J. (2006). An empirical study of the impact of consumer perceived risk on purchase likelihood?: a modelling approach. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 30(3), 294–305. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2006.00493.x
In-Text Citation: (Caliskan et al., 2023)
To Cite this Article: Caliskan, A., Abdullah, N., & Ishak, N. (2023). Do Consumers Accept it? Wild Carob Bar as Chocolate Bar Substitute. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(1), 286 – 298.
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non0-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode