title: Understanding consumers' perception of lamb meat using free word association.
abstract: The aims of the present study were to gather information about Brazilian consumers' perception of lamb meat and to study whether the perception is affected by the consumption frequency of this type of meat. A total of 1025 Brazilian consumers completed word association task with lamb meat. The elicited words were analyzed using inductive coding. Participants' associations with lamb meat were mainly related to sensory characteristics and hedonic attitudes and feelings, indicating that they might be the main motivations for consuming this product. Participants strongly associated lamb meat with special consumption occasions, which suggests that lack of perceived appropriateness for everyday consumption situations might be a barrier for increasing lamb meat consumption. Conceptualization of lamb meat was strongly affected by frequency of consumption of this product. Results from the present work provide a comprehensive insight on Brazilian consumers' perception of lamb meat, which can be used to develop strategies to increase its consumption and improve profitability.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Athos da Silveira Ramos, 149 - bloco A, CEP 21.941-909, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil. Electronic address: jucunhadeandrade@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Juliana Cunha
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: de Andrade
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Athos da Silveira Ramos, 149 - bloco A, CEP 21.941-909, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Aguiar Sobral
authors.affiliation: Sensometrics & Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República. By Pass de Rutas 8 y 101 s/n. Pando, Canelones, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Gastón
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ares
authors.affiliation: Embrapa Food Technology, Avenida das Américas, 29501, CEP 23.020-470 Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosires
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Deliza
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003625:Data Collection; D005608:Free Association; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D012756:Sheep; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Brazil; Consumer studies; Consumption frequency; Lamb meat; Qualitative techniques