Functional Food Market Development in Serbia: Motivations and Barriers

• Main Authors: Žaklina Stojanović, Radmila Dragutinović-Mitrović, Galjina Ognjanov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Economics institute, Belgrade 2013-11-01
• Series: Industrija
• Subjects: Product; Motivation; Market; Food market; Demand; Consumers
• Online Access: http://aseestant.ceon.rs/index.php/industrija/article/view/3900

<p><em>The aim of this paper is to present main findings obtained from the empirical analysis of the functional food market in Serbia. The analysis is based on the in-depth interviews with relevant processors and retailers present on the market. The following set of topics are considered: (1) motivations (driving forces) and barriers to offer products with nutrition and health (N&amp;H) claim and (2) perception of consumer demand toward N&amp;H claimed products. Differences between Serbia and other Western Balkan Countries (WBC) are explored by using nonparametric techniques based on the independent samples.</em><em> </em><em>Results support overall conclusion that this market segment in Serbia is underdeveloped and rather producer than consumer driven compared to more developed WBC markets. </em></p>