Consumers' Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Personalised Nutrition

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Science
• Behavioral Economics
• Public Health

Background:

• Personalised nutrition (PN) holds significant potential for disease prevention, especially when integrated with mobile technology.
• User adoption is crucial for the success of PN interventions, necessitating an understanding of perceived value.
• Heterogeneity in user perceptions of PN value requires investigation to guide intervention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors influencing potential users' perceived value of personalised nutrition.
• To identify different user segments based on their willingness to engage with PN services.
• To inform the design and targeting of effective PN interventions.

Main Methods:

• A discrete choice experiment was conducted with a representative sample (N=429) of the adult population in Spain.
• Analysis employed McFadden's Random Utility Theory, utilizing conditional, mixed, and latent class logit models.
• Data analysis focused on preference and willingness to pay for varying levels of PN personalization.

Main Results:

• Significant preference and willingness to pay for PN were identified, though the impact of high personalization was moderate.
• Latent class analysis revealed four distinct user segments: willing to pay, requiring subsidy, basic service users, and unwilling to engage.
• Over half of adults perceive individual benefits from high levels of PN.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest a notable perceived individual benefit in high levels of PN among adults.
• The identified user segments provide valuable insights for tailoring PN service offerings.
• Results support potential public subsidy for PN investment and delivery, given perceived benefits.