Impacto del aspecto de las mandarinas en la elección del consumidor mediante Análisis Conjunto

[ES] El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar cómo influyen distintas características del aspecto de las mandarinas (defectos y mejoras) en la elección del consumidor. Para ello se realizarán dos diseños experimentales, en el que se contemplarán distintas variables del aspecto de las mandarinas. En cuanto a defectos se considerarán tres posibles factores: el cáliz (normal, negro o sin cáliz), el estado de la piel (urgente o deshidratada) y la cera (presencia o ausencia). En cuanto a las mejoras, se estudiará el efecto de la presencia de hoja (sin hoja, hoja fresca y hoja deshidratada). Se tomarán fotografías de las mandarinas (todas las posibles combinaciones del diseño). A cada consumidor se le presentará uno a uno ocho sets, cada uno con las imágenes de tres mandarinas y se le pedirá que marque la que elegiría. Las encuestas se realizarán telemáticamente y los datos se analizarán para determinar el efecto de cada una de las características y sus combinaciones en la probabilidad de compra por parte del consumidor.
[EN] Consumer perception of the food appearance plays a fundamental role in their choice. This is especially relevant in the case of fruits, due to their perishable nature. In addition, it must be borne in mind that the fruit sector is one of the key engines of the Valencian economy, and within it, citrus fruits stand out due to production volume. The research carried out in this work aimed to evaluate the effect of different characteristics of the appearance of the mandarin on the consumer's choice. The three factors studied were the state of the calyx (normal, blackened or without calyx), the waxing of the skin (with wax or without wax) and the condition of the skin (turgid or dehydrated). The consumers¿ choice was evaluated by the consumers. (two hundred and eighty consumers) through a questionnaire based on the Conjoint Analysis. The results show that consumers preferred mandarins that had been waxed and had a shine. The blackening and detachment of the calyx had a negative effect mainly when the consumers chose between waxed fruits, while the dehydration of the skin had a negative effect during the selection between fruits that had not been waxed. The information collected in this study can be very useful for the citrus industry since it can predict the expected costs and benefits based on the appearance of the fruits.