The Preference for Palm Vitamin E Tocotrienols and The Willingness to Purchase Among Consumers in Peninsular Malaysia
Norhidayu Abdullah, Kamalrudin Mohamed Salleh, Kalsom Zakaria, Nur Nadia Kamil, Zaida Zainal,Siti Mashani Ahmad
Malaysian Palm Oil Board
Ammu K Radhakrishnan
Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia
Abstract
Palm vitamin E tocotrienols, also known as tocotrienol-rich fractions (TRFs), exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. These characteristics have been scientifically demonstrated to be beneficial to human health. Despite the well-known attributes of vitamin E tocotrienols and abundant credible scientific data on their benefits, there has been no research on the consumption of palm vitamin E tocotrienols from an economic standpoint, specifically on consumer preferences, attitudes, and their willingness to pay, especially in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors influencing people’s willingness to pay for palm vitamin E tocotrienols based on their preferences. This study used descriptive statistics and regression analysis with the aid of SPSS version 20.0. The study applied a quota sampling procedure, stratified by the population of states in Peninsular Malaysia. It was discovered that 419 vitamin users in Peninsular Malaysia only have a rudimentary understanding of the palm vitamin E tocotrienols’ health benefits. The study discovered that tocotrienols in a flavoured chewable tablet are worth more to consumers. The likelihood of consumers purchasing tocotrienols would increase by 67.5% if tocotrienols were switched from capsules to flavoured chewable tablets. In addition, they were willing to pay an additional RM23.30 per bottle for tocotrienols in the form of a flavoured chewable tablet, which is 19.0% more than the retail price of tocotrienols in the form of a capsule. Nevertheless, they expected a significant price discount of RM48.89 (41%), if the tocotrienols were sold online. The findings of this study could be used as a source of reference for researchers in identifying future product development for the palm vitamin E tocotrienols that are appropriate to consumers’ needs and preferences.
Keywords: Consumers’ preference, Consumers’ willingness to pay, Palm vitamin E tocotrienols, Tocotrienols
