Consumer preferences for visually presented meals

The aim of the study was to investigate consumers' preferences for variations of a visually presented meal. The study was conducted in three middle-sized Danish towns, including 768 respondents who were presented with a computerized questionnaire that initially displayed four consecutive series of photos. The series each consisted of eight unique photos of randomized food dishes arranged around the center square in a 3 x 3 array. Five meal components, each with two levels, were investigated. One level of each component was used for each photo, in total 25 = 32 combinations. The respondents were asked to select the meal they preferred the most, the second most and the least, respectively. Significant interactions were found between meal components and background variables such as, gender, age, geographic variables, purchase store and level of education. The current procedure can be applied to help solve a number of problems involving consumer choices. © 2009, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.