Purpose: The aim of this paper is to study the consumer perception of functional foods and to identify determinants of functional foods consumption in Slovakia.Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on primary data obtained by conducting an online questionnaire survey in 2021 using the snowball sampling method (n = 1,138 Slovak respondents). By applying inferential and multivariate statistics, several segments of functional food consumers were identified.Findings: Research identified three segments of functional food consumers in Slovakia differing in the agreement scores of the four dimensions of beliefs about functional foods. The “Skeptic” is the largest segment, comprising 52% of the sample. Consumers have higher agreement on the risk beliefs and lower agreement on the benefit, trend and interest beliefs. These consumers do not consume functional food regularly. The segment “Less interested”, comprising 35% of the sample, has average agreement scores, and consumers consume functional food occasionally or regularly. The “Enthusiastic” is the smallest segment, comprising only 12% of the sample. Consumers have high agreement on the benefits and interest beliefs and low agreement on the risk beliefs. Most consumers consume functional food regularly and are focusing on functional product features.Originality/value: The results provide essential information for both the academic and commercial field. Obtained information can be used by producers of functional foods to better understand their customers as well as to improve their marketing strategies on the Slovak market.

» Articles | Agricultural Journals

This paper aims to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on small family farms in Visegrad countries and to provide evidence of how they have responded and coped with the crisis. We conducted our investigation using an exploratory qua...

» Articles | Agricultural Journals

» Articles | Agricultural Journals

The European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been reformed several times since its launch in the early 1960s. It has evolved from a price support policy into a mechanism for supporting agricultural income and investment. At the same time, increasing concern has been given to environmental issues, in line with the paradigm of sustainable development. Part of this approach is the concern for the viability of family farms, including smallholder ones. The question that arises here is whether today's EU agricultural policy is really adapted to the needs of smallholder farms. The aim of this publication is to find an answer to the above question. Therefore, the study was conducted to assess the opinions of small family farms owners on the financial support within the EU common agricultural policy. Three European countries - Poland, Romania and Lithuania - were included in the analysis due to the relatively high share of small-scale farms. The research was organised in two stages. In the first, a synthetic measure of sustainability of smallholder farms was created among the holdings surveyed. The second stage included in-depth interviews with 20 – in each country - most sustainable farms. As a result, it was proved that financial support, especially in the form of the simplified direct payment, is necessary to ensure the viability of small farms, but the owners also expect greater price stability and equal conditions of competition within the food supply chain.