Consumer Interest in Alternative Grains, Especially Sorghum: A Qualitative Investigation

The market for niche and novelty products in the food industry is growing. However, breaking into the market is tough and reaching the modern-day consumer is harder than ever before. Sorghum, a so-called "ancient grain," has a chance to be able to compete, but its introduction to human food products needs to be done properly if it is to become a mainstream ingredient. Ten focus groups, with at least two in each of the United States (U.S.) census regions, were conducted to better understand the perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes for introducing new grain products to the market and specifically regarding grain sorghum. Participants were unfamiliar with sorghum. The few who had heard of sorghum before had difficulty recalling anything about it. When shown a fact sheet on a "new grain" and the nutrition information about the grain, the majority of responses were quite positive. Most consumers were interested in trying products made with the grain and provided various ways the grain (i.e., sorghum) could be introduced to consumers in the United States. A number of terms with potential positive connotations were mentioned by participants that could be used in future research to determine the specific marketability of the grain as an ingredient or in finished products. This qualitative market research demonstrates the open slate that groups such as sorghum commissions, industry, government, and consumer groups have related to sorghum use for consumer food products. It is important to give manufacturers ideas on how best to introduce this "new" grain and to determine which products people would like to see it in. It also is important to understand the marketing options people want to see for a food they have not tried before. Finally, what food advertising options consumers say they pay attention to and which they tend not to focus on is a focus of this research.