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PurposeThe present paper explores Generation Z university students' clusters based on the consumption of daily fruits and vegetables in an emerging market economy, indicating young people's reasons to adopt a healthy diet.Design/methodology/approachUsing cluster theory, the authors analyse Generation Z university students who consume fresh fruits and vegetables, highlighting aspects of a healthy diet, in compliance with the WHO recommendations and challenges.FindingsData collected from over 459 Generation Z university students point out the possibility of typologizing them into nine clusters: three consuming fresh fruit and six consuming fresh vegetables. Most cluster members are aware of the value of regular fresh fruit and vegetable consumption in order to maintain health and overall well-being, but the authors also identified a cluster called “urban, but sick humanists at the beginning of their professional careers”, for whom a healthy diet based on fruits and vegetables is not a priority.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this research only refers to consumers in the emergent economy Romania, it also allows the delimitation of specific categories which can be utilized by sector stakeholders, in order to identify issues addressed by each cluster member and to find the most appropriate solutions for encouraging/promoting a healthy diet.Social implicationsThe paper also raises awareness of the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption in other emerging economies, given the advancement of processed food and reduction of time available to cook healthy dishes.Originality/valueThe results contribute to extending studies conducted on emerging markets concerning fruit and vegetable consumption among Generation Z university students, highlighting the importance of a healthy diet, and the proper targeting of these consumer clusters by fresh fruit and vegetable producers and distributors.

The trend towards health and environmental protection has led to an increase in the consumption of medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP) products. The market for MAP products is influenced by consumer behaviour and therefore the aim of this study was to identify consumer segments that use MAP products for phytotherapeutic, cosmetic and personal care purposes according to their perceptions, attitudes and consumption habits and possible correlations between consumption of MAP products and interest in a healthy lifestyle and sustainable behaviour. Data collection was performed by administering a questionnaire to Cluj-Napoca residents. The final sample consisted of two groups of MAP consumers: the first with 231 respondents who use these products for phytotherapeutic purposes, the second group—with 297 respondents who use them as cosmetic and personal care products. The collected data were statistically analysed using the k-means clustering model, resulting in two distinct clusters in both consumer groups: cluster 1, the “Curious”, and Cluster 2, the “Knowledgeable”. For the consumers of the second cluster, consumption was positively correlated with healthcare and environmental protection, while they exhibited a growing interest in environmentally certified MAP products. The results obtained contribute to a better understanding of the MAP products consumption behaviour while tackling the practical implications for stakeholders in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry through the development and innovation of products tailored to consumer needs.

Romanian beekeeping faces a lot of challenges nowadays due to the problems related to climate change, the use of pesticides in agriculture, but also to the pandemic crisis. In this context, organic beekeeping represents an important alternative to traditional apicultural practices. The purpose of the study was to present the current situation of organic beekeeping in Romania, but also to identify some aspects related to sustainability. The research methodology was based on secondary and primary data. An online survey was conducted in 2020 on a sample of 433 Romanian beekeepers. The main findings showed that the majority of participants were aware of organic principles and were familiar with the concept of sustainability in beekeeping. However, only a small percentage of beekeepers were certified in the organic system. The evaluation of the concept of sustainability showed that the most important factor for the surveyed beekeepers was the environmental aspect, followed by the economic and social components. The pandemic crisis has negatively impacted the beekeepers’ activities due to travel restrictions and the limited access to the apiaries. If, in economic terms, they were affected by the sales drop in the first months of the crisis, there were also some positive effects such as the increase in demand for health-related products.

The importance of studying the aspects related to the sustainable food consumption behaviour of students lies in the fact that, at this age, they begin to develop certain consumption patterns that will have long-term effects. The study aimed to identify the type of eating behaviour—sustainable vs. unsustainable—and the socio-demographic factors that influence it, among students in Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova. The research method was a survey based on a questionnaire administered to a sample of 2378 subjects in the 2017–2018 period. The ANOVA test and simple linear regression were used to identify the correlation between the various variables analysed. The results indicate both positive aspects, which characterise a sustainable diet—high consumption of fruits and vegetables, and negative—the adoption of a mixed diet, which will have a long-term impact on the environment. Age is a good predictor of unhealthy eating habits among students, as this behaviour leads to weight gain. Gender, number of household members, rural/urban and country residence are also influencing factors for food consumption behaviour. Eating while standing and having the last meal of the day after 23:00 are practices that also have negative consequences for health. Conducting campaigns to educate students on the adoption of sustainable food consumption is necessary for all three countries to empower them to choose a healthy lifestyle.

Lack of products and brands left deep scars in the collective memory of Romanians, especially when we take into consideration their access to objects, products and even brands, before the revolution of 1989. After this moment in Romanian economical history, the scarcity or the lack of access to goods had to be reinvented in a different world, an abundant one. All of these because the market was perceived as a place filled with copiousness in terms of products, goods, brands, services and other opportunities. But, even if the load of scarcity was important, back in 1989, Romanians spoiled themselves with certain products (brands) before revolution, not necessarily better than those which are present on the shelves today, but rarer than those they were used to. With all these things in mind, the present study aims to explore how nostalgia actually is influenced by the complete moment experience of those who are old enough to experience both 1989 consumption and nowadays consumption. Focus group discussions were conducted in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara, because these are the main cities where the revolution took part back in 1989. So, in order to contact those who were directly involved in changing the political regime, I have chosen to call them around the table of discussions. The information obtained through the focus group discussions and in-depth interviews is exploratory and even if the data are rich and valuable, these do not entail any form of statistical analysis in the sense of a quantitative research study. These results suggest that the complete moment experience, received by interacting with specific objects or brands both before and after 1989 and until now, intensely affects nostalgia felt by consumers / users of those items.