Changing tastes: the adoption of new food choices in post-reform China

In developing nations throughout the world, consumers are being assailed by new products and services, many of which can alter or supplant time-honored consumption customs. Based on a yearlong field study in Nanjing, People's Republic of China, this research investigates the factors that influence the extent to which individuals are willing to alter their traditional consumption patterns when offered new choices. Results suggest that, as household production theories would predict, adoption of time-saving processed food items by contemporary Chinese consumers is influenced by increased income and increased demands on time. A number of other important influences, however, are equally important, including loyalty to a long tradition of buying fresh food, the need to be “in control,” and a desire to maintain identity and traditional family relationships. The study indicates that an interplay of factors motivates consumers to resist or embrace new consumption choices.