Savouring the unfamiliar: Consumer trends in exotic fruit consumption in Kerala

Introduction

Kerala is a state in South-Western India, situated on the Indian peninsula. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western Ghats to the east. Kerala has a tropical climate with high humidity, abundant rainfall, and moderate temperatures throughout the year, making it ideal for diverse agricultural activities. These conditions, along with fertile soil, create a favourable environment for cultivating exotic fruits like rambutan, dragon fruit, and mangosteen. Exotic fruits are those that are not indigenous to a specific region but are grown in this area for consumption. Among these, dragon fruit, lychee, kiwi, avocado, mangosteen, etc., have already affirmed their way to the global as well as the local markets. The market size of exotic fruits is expected to reach $18.03 billion in 2024, to around $19.3 billion in 2025 at an average rate of 7.1% (The Business Research Company, 2025) [32] . Due to its marketing potential, the farmlands in Kerala are finding space for these imports (The Hindu, 2022) [33] , while the native consumers have already adopted them in their consumption pattern (Times of India, 2014) [34] . The outlook of Kerala has shifted towards highvalue commodities (Shinoj, 2015) [27] , recognizing the underlying health benefits (Sajeev et al., 2021) [24] price, quality, etc. (Stephen and Rajan, 2022) [30] . Keeping track of the consumer preferences has been practiced since time immemorial as a thoughtful way to sustain the market. It is essential to know the pattern of consumption, ongoing trends, mode of expenditure etc., to update the existing markets in balance with the timely needs of consumers.

Consumer behaviour and preferences

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals or groups to understand the way they choose, buy, use and discard products, services, concepts, or experiences, while satisfying their wants and needs (Kotler and Keller, 2006) [9] . The marketing behaviour of consumers is affected by personal, psychological, social, as well as the economic factors with numerous underlying attributes (Qazzafi, 2020) [22] . Studies on consumer behaviour towards numerous commodities have mostly exhibited a direct relationship with the demographic factors like gender, age, occupation, level of awareness, monthly income, family status, etc. (Velmurugan et al., 2013) [36] . Recent studies align with the fact that consumers' tastes lean more towards the pleasure of their taste buds, in the purchase of local as well as imported fruits (Timban et al.2024) [35] Yet the role of sensory attributes in consumerism is highly spotted among women and those below 25 years of age (Moor et al., 2014) [18] . The purchase decisions of rural consumers mostly revolve around common factors like price, quality, brand, packaging, advertisement, recommendations from friends and family, etc. (Lakshmi, 2021) [10] . The concern for price of the product influences the consumer in contradicting ways; they might turn away from the products due to www.extensionjournal.com premium prices (Lami et al., 2024) [11] or even pay more for better nutrition, quality, taste and the freshness of the product (Jefferson-Moore et al., 2014) [7] . When it comes specifically to exotic fruits, studies are meagre, which calls off for more focus to obtain the consumer voice and opinions. From the existing literature, Dharanikumar et al. (2023) [4] revealed that the health and nutritional value are the major factors influencing the purchase of exotic fruits, while taste and family preferences shows up next. But some studies argues that taste matters above the health benefits of exotic fruit consumption (Vidigal et al., 2011) [37] . A study from Australia pointed out that, the teenagers favoured mangosteen due to its sweet flavour, while dragon fruit and carambola were less appealing due to their sour tastes (Smyth et al., 2008) [29] . Sweetness and aroma go hand-in-hand in case of some consumers, motivating them towards exotic fruit consumption (Latocha and Jankowski, 2011) [12] . The factors influencing the consumption of exotic fruits have shown some strange trends, such as among the Italians, where the frequency of consumption of Avocado was negatively influenced by traditional fruit consumption but positively correlated with tropical fruit consumption (Migliore et al., 2017) [16] .

Importance of exotic fruits in Kerala

The surge in the consumer preferences for exotic fruits is highly linked to the remunerative effect obtained from them. Native farmers had already initiated the cultivation of these exotics in their backyards or fields, foreseeing the increasing demand, while it also reduces the reliance on a small number of fruits for nutritional security (Nath et al., 2018) [19] . Kerala, being located in the westernmost entrance to the Indo-Malay biological zone, the soil and climate provides a perfect blend for growing these exotics (Bose, 2019) [2] . Sethunath et al. (2023) [26] have studied on the favourable phenological aspects of cultivating exotic fruits, which highly resembles the climate of Kerala. The crops are well suited to the tropical climate with evenly distributed annual rainfall of 100 to 150 cm and can be grown up to an altitude of 1500 m. It can thrive in any kind of soil with good drainage and pH ranging from 5.5 to 6.5. Among the exotic fruits, dragon fruits are found to be highly remunerative due to its high price and quick returns in the immediate year after planting (Karunakaran et al., 2019) [8] . Interestingly, Sesha et al. (2019) [25] revealed that the rambutan selections from Kerala excels even above the best-known cultivars in the world. However, the lack of awareness about exotic fruits among the consumers (Liu, 2015) [14] is surprisingly a realistic problem to be tackled on. The current study focuses on gathering timely and relevant insights into consumer preferences for exotic fruits, while analysing the influence of demographic factors, consumption trends, consumer perceptions, levels of awareness, influencing factors, etc. This may be the first study on consumer preferences for exotic fruits in Kerala, which holds a huge potential for growth and marketability. Since the study deals with a much less explored topic; the findings will be valuable contributions to the existing literature, along with an enriched discussion on consumer preferences. At the same time, it will have a foreseen impact on the marketing world comprising the producers, wholesalers, and retailers of exotic fruits, who could pick up the specific fruits, customize the factors thereof and reap the benefits aligning with the specificities.

Methodology Study Area

The study was conducted in the state of Kerala in South India, renowned for its high literacy rate and widely known as a "consumer state." Respondents were selected from three districts: Idukki, Thrissur, and Trivandrum.

• Idukki is known for its agricultural prominence and high altitudes, which are highly favourable for fruit cultivation. • Thrissur, the cultural hub of Kerala, holds a significant consumer diversity. • Trivandrum, the state capital, encompasses both urban and peri-urban consumer bases.

These districts collectively ensure a fair representation of the diverse socio-economic and geographical conditions (Table 1) relevant to study the consumer preferences for exotic fruits

Sample Size and Sampling Strategy

The study was conducted in November 2024, with a total sample size of 120 respondents. The sample size was reduced to 104 respondents to reject incomplete and inconsistent responses. The sampling strategy adopted was the quota sampling technique. The respondents were chosen out among the consumers from the markets till the required quota of the sample was attained.

Data Analysis

The data were coded to finally obtain a limited set of attributes for the variable composition of primary data (Babbie and Mouton, 2001) [1] . During the coding process, a list of responses was created, groups identified and then numbers were assigned to these groups to ease the statistical interpretation of the data. However, some data were used in the descriptive form itself and hence not coded. The analysis of data was done by using SPSS 11.0 for Windows and the Microsoft Excel.

Results and Discussion

Demography of respondents

The demographic analysis (Figure 1) of the respondents (n=104) indicated that majority of the consumers (70.2%) were female. Most of the participants resided in rural areas (64.4%), while 35.6 percent were from urban locations. The respondents were categorized into five age groups: under 18 years (1%), 19-28 years (54.8%), 29-39 years (16.3%), 40-60 years (26%), and above 60 years (1.9%). About half of the respondents were young adults, while the other half was above 28 years of age. Educational qualifications varied, with 8.7 percent having higher secondary education, 56.8 percent holding a college degree, 28 percent having a master's degree, and 4.8 percent possessing Ph. D or higher. An analysis of this component shows that more than 90 percent were highly educated.

Source: field survey 2024 In terms of income, most respondents belonged to the middle class, with decreasing number of individuals belonging to the higher income groups. The levels of annual income of the consumers were: below ₹2,00,000 (37.5%), ₹2,00,000-₹5,00,000 (26.9%), ₹5,00,000-₹10,00,000 (21.2%), and above ₹10,00,000 (14.4%). The income levels would have an impact on purchasing preferences, as affordability may significantly influence the fruit selection. And it is evident here that majority belonged to the lower income groups, who might prefer low-cost commodities. In a study by Terano et al. (2016) [31] , demographic profiles had significantly influenced purchasing behaviour of consumers while choosing between locally grown or imported fruits.

Consumer Preferences and Purchase Behaviour

The respondents were asked to specify the indigenous and exotic fruits they consumed. The majority of the respondents (95.2%) reported that bananas were their most frequently consumed fruit. Other commonly consumed fruits included oranges (58.7%), apples (56.7%) and mangoes (46.2%). Notably, 84.6 percent of the respondents were having awareness on exotic fruits, while 15.4 percent were unaware of exotic fruits. In case of exotic fruits, a substantial 88.5 percent had tried or purchased rambutan, followed by passion fruit (79.8%), dragon fruit (74%), avocado (53.8%), mangosteen (52.9%), kiwi (49%), litchi (44.2%), star fruit (27.9%), durian (3.8%) and others (6%). The responses were pooled to identify the most preferred fruits and they were ranked on the basis of those with the highest to the lowest frequencies (Table 2). There are similar studies as done by Moombe et al, (2014) [17] to know the market demand for the local fruits, which could improve the marketing strategies of fruit sellers. www.extensionjournal.com The frequency (Figure 2) of exotic fruit consumption was recorded, with a significant percent (42.3%) of the respondents consuming exotic fruits only once in a month. Others consumed them once in a week (4.8%), once in every two weeks (7.7%), a few times per year (11.5%), and very rarely-about once a year (34.7%). Thus, the study revealed that majority of the consumers purchased exotic fruits occasionally, which aligns with the study on exotic vegetables by Navya, (2020) [20] .

Source: field survey 2024 Respondents' interest in consumption of exotic fruits varied as shown in Figure 3. Among them, majority (48.1%) were moderately interested, while about 3.8 percent were extremely interested, 35.6 percent were very interested, 9.6 percent were slightly interested, and 2.9 percent were not interested at all in the consumption of exotic fruits. It can be summarised that more than 85 percent were showing moderate to extreme interest in exotic fruits.

Most respondents purchased exotic fruits from local markets (59.6%) and supermarkets (56.7%), while smaller percentages bought from farm markets (9.6%), online stores (4.8%), specialty stores (2.9%), homegrown (2.9%) and other small sources. This highlights a need for the value chain analysis of exotic fruits, which could enhance the potential benefits to both farmers and marketers.

Determinants of consumer choice

The choice of exotic fruits was determined by the attributes of the fruit itself, market environment, curiosity and the recommendation by people around them. As revealed by the consumers, more than half of them initially decided to purchase exotic fruits out of curiosity for trying something new (56.7%). They were influenced by multiple factors in the beginning, which also included flavour (54.8%), health benefits (46.2%), recommendations from family and friends (15.4%), and medical recommendations (3.8%) (Figure 4). www.extensionjournal.com Flavour is a very important factor in deciding consumer preference for fruits (Leonardy and Ayu, 2020) [13] . Two different studies on consumer preferences for fruits in Brazil (Rodrigues et al., 2018) [23] and Turkey (Cinar, 2018) [3] had shown flavour and nutritional information as the most influential factors. Findings by Dissanayake et al. (2024) [5] had shown the importance of family preference for the buying of some products. The most important factors considered by consumers while they purchase exotic fruit were price (75%), taste (73.1%) and freshness (67.3%). Other factors under consideration includes nutritional value (45.2%), organic product (24%), and packaging (5.8%) (Figure 5). This aligns with the study by Singla and Sharma, (2022) [28] in which nutritional value, price and packaging significantly influenced the consumption of fruit juices. There are also former studies that emphasises taste as a major factor for consumer preferences (Lusk and Briggeman, 2009) [15] . However, high price remains the biggest barrier to purchase (56.7%), followed by limited availability (38.5%), lack of knowledge (2.9%), and lack of interest (1.9%) (Table 3). This align with a similar finding by Dissanayake et al. (2024) [5] in which consumers who were willing to purchase procured fruits and vegetables, refrained from it due to high prices. When asked about their willingness to pay a premium for exotic fruits, only 11.5 percent were willing, while 59.6 percent were unsure, and 28.8 percent were unwilling. Despite limited knowledge about the health benefits of exotic fruits (7.2%), 92.3 percent of the respondents expressed their interest in learning more about their nutritional value. Correlation Analysis was done to analyse the relationship between independent variables and their awareness on exotic fruits. From Table 4, it is clear that gender, location, educational qualification and interest in consumption has no significant relation with the extent of awareness on exotic fruits and its benefits. But it is clear that different age groups are likely to have slightly different extent of awareness on exotic fruits. The extent of awareness is more in case of older individuals than among the youth. A study by Nguyen et al. (2008) [21] revealed that gender, income and educational level do not influence much on the consumption behaviour, while age groups had a significant influence.

Source: field survey 2024

Source: field survey 2024

Relationship between independent variables and awareness of exotic fruits www.extensionjournal.com

Consumer insights on market trends

The consumers were aware of the fact that a lot of farmers are shifting towards exotic fruit cultivation. The increasing demand for exotic fruits is driven by higher market demand (83.7%) and better profit margins compared to traditional crops (54.8%). Other reasons include increasing consumer preference for novelty and health benefits (42.3%), improved shelf life and export potential (26.9%), climate suitability (24%), improved farming techniques (16.3%), pest and disease resistance (9.6%) and government/ private sector support (7.7%). Some studies confirm that exotic fruits could address the modern health challenges through improved immunity, healthy heart, relieving oxidative stress and improved digestive health, which is inclining more consumers for a balanced and healthy lifestyle (Zaid et al., 2024) [38] . Our findings also align with those by Jamnadass et al. (2011) [6] , who emphasized the need for selecting tree species that are well-adapted to the evolving environmental conditions caused by climate change in specific locations.

Conclusion

The study provides significant insights into the demographic characteristics and behaviour of consumers regarding exotic fruits. It was evident that the majority of the consumers are highly educated, and predominantly belong to the middleincome group. The socio-economic factors of consumers can be emphasized by marketers due to their potential influence on the accessibility and affordability of exotic fruits. The majority of consumers had tried exotic fruits at least once and had strong awareness on them. Rambutan, passion fruit, dragon fruit, and avocado were among the most consumed exotic fruits, while banana, orange, apple, and mango were commonly consumed fruits. However, the frequency of exotic fruit consumption remained low, with most consumers purchasing them occasionally. Curiosity, flavour, and health benefits triggered their initial consumption, while they prioritized price, taste, and freshness when purchasing exotic fruits. High prices significantly limited their consumption. The role of external factors, including recommendations from family and friends, the market environment, and nutritional awareness, was effectively highlighted in the study. A majority of the consumers expressed interest in learning more about exotic fruits, indicating potential for increased consumption. The rising demand for exotic fruits has led to a shift in agricultural trends, mainly due to higher profitability and better profit margins compared to traditional crops. Marketing strategies for exotic fruits should focus on consumer preferences and target demographic groups with a higher affinity for these fruits. Enhancing methods to attract consumers is essential. To increase consumption and marketability, it is strongly suggested to raise awareness regarding health benefits and consider price reductions. Many consumers also prefer organic options, standardized packaging, and improved availability of these fruits. This study addresses a less-explored topic, making its findings relevant to filling gaps in existing literature. Additionally, discussions on consumer preferences offer practical implications for industry stakeholders, enabling them to strengthen and strategize the marketing of exotic fruits. Further research with a larger sample size is recommended to enhance the external validity of the results. Incorporating different variables in future studies will provide a better understanding of consumer behaviour, complementing the present findings.

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