Consumption of Health Foods: Through the Investigation of the Cereal Grain Industry

Abstract

This paper investigates who consume health products, by focusing on the cereal grain industry. We, in particular, examine which demographic characteristic of consumers accounts for their healthy lifestyle habits and how the exposure to the media information affects their choices on mixed grains. We find that the media affects the long-term consumption of mixed grain. However, the influence of the media is not uniform but varying according to the education level of consumers. More specifically, those who attain higher education are less sensitive to the media. Among the consumers’ socio-demographic characteristics, the number of family members is the most important in determining the consumption of mixed grain, while the other factors such as household incomes or ages of housewives are not crucial. Our findings contribute to not only the literature but also provide the implications on health products and agriculture for policy-makers and marketers. For example, positioning mixed grain as the premium goods might be helpful to enhance the consumption of mixed grain, thereby improves public health level.