Ready-to-Eat Innovative Legumes Snack: The Influence of Nutritional Ingredients and Labelling Claims in Italian Consumers’ Choice and Willingness-to-Pay

The global offer of legume-based snacks has sharply increased in recent years. However, to date, few studies have focused on the relationship between product supply and demand concerning the importance of attributes of such innovative foods. In this research, we identified the key internal and external determinants that affect legumes snack (LS) price and choice by Italian industries and consumers, respectively. In parallel, we investigated their preferences and perceptions towards these foods. We used the hedonic price model (HPM) and the discrete choice experiment (DCE) approach for these purposes, respectively. HPM revealed that the monetary value of LS was determined to greater significance by the: (i) size of the package; (ii) presence of rice, presence of lentils; (iii) presence of the nutritional information; and (iv) the discount shops as site of purchase. DCE revealed that the: (i) origin certification, (ii) recyclability of the package, and (iii) use of extra virgin olive oil of LS provided Italian consumers a high utility, for which they were willing to pay an average price premium of EUR 3.85, 3.64, and 1.87, respectively. On the contrary, the sunflower oil induced a decrease in their function utility. As such, this paper contributes to define potent market-segmentation strategies and to deliver effective private and public nutrition interventions for healthy eating.