Attributes of consumer preferences for black garlic

Food consumption trends in Korea are becoming more health-oriented, and consumers have become interested in high-quality foods that are also beneficial to health. The goals of this study are to examine consumers' impressions of black garlic and to investigate the preferred optimal attribute combinations related to black garlic. To do this, a survey of 352 consumers was used to analyze the current status of consumer purchases of black garlic. A conjoint analysis was conducted to analyze certain aspects of consumer preferences, such as price, health functional food certification status, processing type, and taste. Consumers' purchase experiences with black garlic were relatively few, but those with purchase experience reported that they consumed it mainly for their health. The results show that consumers are not satisfied with the taste and flavor of black garlic despite their perceiving it as a beneficial food for health. Despite the fact that consumers' purchase intentions were found to be low, it can greatly increase if improvements in price, flavor, and taste can be realized and if offering substantial benefits. The results of the conjoint analysis of the preference attributes of black garlic products are as follows. Consumers considered price among the four attributes as most important. The taste of black garlic and the processing style were similar in terms of importance, and health functional food certification was less important. Finally, the results suggest that continuous improvements in price and flavor are needed to spread the consumption of black garlic.