• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.7
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• pp.876-885
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• 2017

This study aimed to identify the characteristics of Home Meal Replacement (HMR) product purchases and the need for HMR product development for Hong Kong consumers in order to suggest market segmentation strategies according to consumers' dietary lifestyle. For this, an online survey was conducted on a panel of 521 Hong Kong consumers with HMR purchase experience registered at a specialized organization. Data analysis was performed using SPSS (ver. 23.0). HMR purchase characteristics of Hong Kong consumers according to dietary lifestyle showed significant differences in all items, including 'number of purchases', 'purchase location', 'cost of single purchase', and 'reason for purchase'. According to dietary lifestyle, participants were divided into three clusters: 'High interest', 'normal interest', and 'low interest'. In the case of 'high interest in dietary life group', 'low-sodium food' was the most common, followed by 'heating food', 'low sugar food', and 'low calorie food'. In the case of 'moderate interest in dietary life group', 'low-sodium food' was the most common, followed by 'low sugar food', 'low calorie food', and 'nutritious meal'. In the case of 'low interest in dietary life group', 'low sugar food' was the most common, followed by 'low-sodium food', 'various new menu', and 'easy-to-carry dehydrated food'. For the 'high interest' group, the highest proportion of consumers were male in between the ages of 20 to 29, married, and worked in an office job. The 'high interest' consumers also showed a tendency to pay '15,000 to 20,000 KRW' per single purchase. The 'normal interest' group consisted of an even proportion of male and female consumers, with the most common age range being from 30 to 39 years, and most were married. These consumers preferred to spend 'less than 10,000 KRW' or '10,000 KRW to 15,000 KRW' per single purchase, which is in the lower price range for HMR purchases. The 'low interest in dietary life group' had more females gender-wise, were unmarried, and worked in an office job, For a single purchase, the 'low interest' group chose to pay less than 10,000 KRW, which is relatively lower than the other two clusters. The results of this study can be used as baseline data for building marketing strategies for HMR product development. It can also provide basic data and directions for new HMR export products that reflect consumer needs in order to create a market segmentation strategy for industrial applications.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.156-167
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to examine the structural elements of HMR in Korea foods and explore the way HMR products using Korean foods can be developed at this time of increased interest. Through an investigation of its importance by attributes and their partial values, hypothetical HMR products using Korean foods were estimated. In order to develop the optimal HMR goods of Korean food, a preference survey was conducted after selecting 9 profiles using conjoint analysis with orthogonal design, and 4 holdout sets were generated and used for cross-validity authorization and reliability of the model. The results of this study showed that customers put cooking levels, menu price, and the location of purchase into importance when selecting HMR products of Korean foods. They preferred to eat the products after sufficiently heating them and buy the products sold online and through home shopping programs, with the price range of 10,000 won and over. It was concluded that more customers can be attracted if a variety of HMR products using Korean foods which can be prepared readily anywhere and at any time are developed.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.23 no.3 s.99
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• pp.388-400
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of consumers who purchase home meal replacements (HMR) and to analyze the differences for frequency of use, preference, satisfaction, and repurchase intention based on HMR product categories. The subjects were adults in their twenties or older, who had used HMRs and lived in Seoul and the Gyeonggi Province of Korea. Five-hundred and fifty subjects were chosen by random sampling, and questionnaires were distributed from March 12 to 30, 2005. A total of 451 questionnaires were returned (the rate of return was 82%). The primary results of the study are as follows. First, by analyzing for differences based on the demographical characteristics of the HMR consumers, men had higher 'frequencies of use' and preference, whereas women had higher satisfaction and 'intentions to purchase again.' This implies that HMRs assist women who are usually in charge of home food preparation, based on time and cooking effort; hence a higher satisfaction among the women. Second, by analyzing for differences based on the characteristics of HMR consumers who ate the products, 'frequency of use' (p<.001), preference (p<.01), satisfaction (p<.001), and 'intention to repurchase' (p<.001) for the 'ready to eat' HMR category, by the person who prepared the food, were significantly higher for those subjects in their 20s than for those in other age groups. As for persons influenced by the meal, the teen age group had significantly lower 'frequency of use'(p<.001), preference (p<.05), satisfaction (p<.01) and 'intention to repurchase' (p<.01) than other age groups. 'Frequency of use' (p<.001) and preference (p<.05) were lower if the person influenced by the meal was one's spouse or child than if the person influenced by the meal was oneself. Third, regarding the preference for eating at home or eating out, 'frequency of use' was significantly higher than the other analyzed factors for the 'ready to eat,' 'ready to heat,' and 'ready to end-cook' HMR categories. In short, the 'frequency of use' for HMRs was higher for those who preferred to eat at home versus eating out, simply as a result of being bored with eating out, which is essentially the reason for the origin of HMR.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.344-351
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• 2007

The purposes of this study were to analyze the consumer inclination to convenience towards HMR in order to verify the structural correlation of the actual state of consumption, and to analyze consequently, the direct or indirect effects among 'frequency of using,' 'preference', 'satisfaction', and 'intention to repurchase'. The subjects were adults in their twenties or older who had used HMRs and lived in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province in Korea. Random sampling of 550 subjects, who were distributed a questionnaire from March 12 to 30, 2005. A total of 451 questionnaires were returned (the return rates were 82%). The main results of this study were as follows : Regarding the types of HMR, 'Ready to eat' had higher preference (3.31), satisfaction (3.33) and 'intention to purchase it again' (3.38) than those of 'Ready to heat' and 'Ready to end-cook.' Consumer inclination to convenience towards HMR was analyzed in order to verify the structural correlation of the actual state of consumption, and consequently, the direct or indirect effects among 'frequency of using,' 'preference', 'satisfaction', and 'intention to repurchase' were analyzed. The gross effect of 'frequency of using' on 'intention to repurchase' was 0.435, the gross effect of preference on 'intention to purchase it again' was 0.659, and the gross effect of satisfaction on 'intention to purchase it again' was 0.772 for 'Ready to eat.' The gross effect of 'frequency of using' on 'intention to repurchase' was 0.448, the gross effect of preference on 'intention to repurchase' was 0.556, and the gross effect of satisfaction on 'intention to repurchase' was 0.654 for 'Ready to heat.' The gross effect of 'frequency of using' on 'intention to repurchase' was 0.432, the gross effect of preference on 'intention to repurchase' was 0.494, and the gross effect of satisfaction on 'intention to repurchase' was 0.608 for 'Ready to end-cook.' To summerize the above results, there was a difference of the structural correlation among component concepts of the actual state of consuming according to the criteria of HMR. Thus, it implied that differentiated sales strategies were needed according to the criteria of HMR.