Analysis of Swedish consumers’ attitude to Chinese food

Sammanfattning: The aim of this research is to find out what’s attitude Swedish consumers have to Chinese food. The questionnaires based on the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) are handed out to 100 Swedish respondents in order to investigate their motivation on Chinese food choice. 78 questionnaires which were filled completely were selected for this study. Eleven factors involved in the questionnaire are labeled health, mood, convenience, sensory appeal, natural content, price, weight control, familiarity, image of China, culture and safety. The information from two semi-structured interviews with Chinese food suppliers showed Swedish consumers’ attitude to Chinese food in another angles. The ABC model and Balance Theory are seen as the theoretical basis for empirical research analysis. The eating habits of Swedish and Chinese are compared to show their difference which influence consumers on food choice more or less. According to the result of the questionnaire survey, Swedish consumers have positive attitude to Chinese food on factors of health, sensory appeal, natural content, safety, price and mood and relative negative attitude on factors of convenience, familiarity and image of China. This outcome is confirmed by the information collected from interviews. Most Swedish consumers choose Chinese food from information processing perspectives; few of them are from behavioral learning processing; some of them are from hedonic consumption perspective. The relationship among Swedes, Chinese food and China is unstable at present time. Swedes do not know much about China and they are not familiar with Chinese food either. Competitors of Chinese food in Sweden such as Thai food, Japanese sushi and west fast food are important aspects which disperse people’s attention and enlarge their food choice range.