Factors Related to Quinoa Consumption in Peru during the covid-19 Pandemic
| Autor | Angie Higuchi, Rocío Maehara & Luz De Los Ángeles Sánchez-Pérez |
| Cargo | Ph. D. in Agricultural Economics Universidad del Pacífico Lima, Peru/Ph. D. in Statistics Universidad del Pacífico Lima, Peru/M. Sc. in Sociology Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú Lima, Peru |
27
INNOVAR
FACTORES REL ACIONADOS CON EL CONSUM O DE QUINUA EN PERÚ
DURANTE L A PANDEMIA DE COVID -19
RESUMEN: la quinua es un grano alime nticio tradicional or iginario de la
región andina per uana. Las Naciones Unidas decla raron 2013 como el
Año Internaci onal de la Quinua (AIQ). Est a conmemoración of icial tuvo un
gran impacto en t odo el mundo, aunque su influe ncia sobre el consumo
de quinua en Perú fue m oderada, pues est e se mantuvo relat ivamente es-
table en los años si guientes. Sin em bargo, la pandemia de C OVID-19 generó
preocupacio nes sobre la nutri ción y la salud entr e los consumidore s. Por lo
tanto, este e studio busc a analizar el con sumo de quinua en el Per ú durante
la pandemia de COVID -19. Los datos primario s se recolectaron en tre sep-
tiembre de 2020 y agos to de 2021 en el Área Metr opolitana de L ima, Perú.
Se realizó un anális is factorial explor atorio con rotación v arimax para el
análisis de datos , y luego se realizó u n análisis binomial lo gístico para c on-
solidar la hipóte sis de este estu dio. Los principa les resultado s señalan que
(i) los consumidor es actuales de qui nua en Perú se abast ecían de este pro -
ducto incluso a ntes del AIQ; (ii) lo s consumidores q ue mostraron int erés por
sus necesidade s en términos de salu d y nutrición aument aron el consumo
de quinua durante la pan demia; (iii) las mujere s mostraron una may or ten-
dencia al consumo d e quinua; y (iv) las personas con may ores ingresos
mostraron una ma yor probabilidad para la adquisic ión de alimentos en
almacenes de ca dena y supermercados , en comparación con aqu ellos de
menores ingresos. Los resultados de esta investigación proporcionan infor-
mación valiosa s obre las expect ativas y perc epciones de los co nsumidores
frente al consu mo de quinua durante la ep idemia de COVID-19 .
PALABRAS CLAVE: COVID-19, Perú, quinua, soc ioeconomía, t eoría del com-
portamiento planificado.
FATORES RELACI ONADOS AO CONSUMO D E QUINOA NO PERU
DURANTE A PAND EMIA DA COVID-19
RESUMO: a quinoa é um grão tradic ional originário da regi ão andina pe-
ruana usado na alimen tação. As Nações Un idas declararam 2013 como
o Ano Internaci onal da Quinoa (IYQ, por sua sigla e m inglês). Esse lança-
mento oficial t eve um grande impac to em todo o mundo. Po r sua vez, teve
um impacto menor n o consumo de quinoa no Per u, que permaneceu re la-
tivamente es tável nos anos seg uintes ao lançament o. No entanto, a pan-
demia da covid-19 susci tou preocupaçõ es sobre nutriç ão e saúde entre os
consumidores . Portanto, es te estudo busca a nalisar o consumo de quino a
no Peru durante a pa ndemia da covid-19. Os dados primár ios foram co-
letados entr e setembro de 2020 e agosto de 2021 na Reg ião Metropo-
litana de Lima, no P eru. A análise de fatores e xploratórios com rot ação
Varimax foi reali zada para a análise de dado s, sendo então reali zadas as
análises binomiai s logísticas para co nsolidar a hipótese de ste estudo. Os
principais resu ltados ident ificados f oram que 1) os atuais cons umidores de
quinoa no Peru cons umiam o grão mesmo ant es do IYQ; 2) os consum idores
preocupados c om sua saúde e necessidade s nutricionais aumentara m o
consumo de quinoa dur ante a pandemia; 3) as mulheres apres entaram
maior probabilidad e de tendência de consumo de quinoa d iária ou se-
manalmente, e 4) pes soas com maior renda têm mais pro babilidade de
comprar aliment os em supermerc ados do que outras c om menor renda. Os
resultados deste estudo podem esclarecer as expectativas e percepções
dos consumidore s com respeito a o comportam ento de consumo de qui noa
durante a covid -19.
PALAVR AS-CH AVE: covid-19, Peru, q uinoa, socio economia, te oria do com-
portamento planejado.
FACTEURS LIÉS À L A CONSOMMATI ON DE QUINOA AU PÉROU
PENDANT LA PAND ÉMIE DE COVID-19
RÉSUMÉ : Le quinoa es t une céréale alimenta ire traditionnelle or iginaire
de la région andine pé ruvienne. Les Nat ions Unies ont déclaré que 2013
était l'Année int ernationale du quino a (AIC). Ce lancement o fficiel a eu un
grand impact dans l e monde entier. En rev anche, il a eu un impact mi neur
sur la consommati on de quinoa au Pérou , qui est resté e relativem ent stable
au cours des anné es suivantes . Cependant, la pa ndémie de COVID -19 a sus-
cité des inquiét udes sur la nutrition e t la santé chez les cons ommateurs.
Par conséquen t, cette étude vis e à analyser la consommat ion de quinoa
au Pérou pendant la pa ndémie de COVID-19. On a re cueilli des donnée s pri-
maires entre sep tembre 2020 et août 2021 dans la rég ion métropolitai ne
de Lima, au Pérou. On a e ffectué une an alyse facto rielle explorat oire avec
rotation Varim ax pour l'analyse des do nnées, puis une analys e binomiale
logistique pou r consolider l' hypothèse d e cette étu de. Les princ ipaux résul-
tats identi fiés sont les suiv ants : (i) les consomma teurs actuels de q uinoa
au Pérou mangeaie nt du quinoa même avant l'A IC ; (ii) les consomm ateurs
qui se préoccup ent de leur santé et d e leurs besoins nu tritionnels on t aug-
menté leur cons ommation de quino a pendant la pandé mie ; (iii) les femme s
ont montré une plus gr ande probabilit é de tendance quot idienne à hebdo -
madaire dans la cons ommation de quinoa ; et (iv) l es personnes aya nt les
revenus les plus él evés ont plus de probabilit é d'acheter de la nourri ture
dans les supermar chés que les autres aya nt des revenus plus faible s. Les
résultats d e cette étu de peuvent écl airer les att entes et les pe rceptions de s
consommateurs concernant le comportement de consommation de quinoa
pendant le COVID -19.
MOTS-CLÉ : C OVID-19, Pérou, quinoa , socio-économ ie, théorie du compor-
tement planifié.
SUGGESTED CITATION: Higuchi, A., Sánchez, L., & Maehara,
R. (2022). Factors of Peruvian quinoa consumption during
the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovar, 32(86), 27-42. https://
doi.org/10.15446/innovar.v32n86.104659
JEL CLASSIFICATION: D12, L66, M31.
RECEIVED: 28/02/2022 APPROVED: 13/07/2022.
Esta obra se publica bajo una licencia Creative Commons Atribución-No_Co-
mercial-Sin_Derivadas 4.0 Internacional (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Marketing
Factors Related to Quinoa
Consumption in Peru during
the COVID-19 Pandemic
Angie Higuchi
Ph. D. in Agricultural Economics
Universidad del Pacífico
Lima, Peru
Author’s role: intellectual and experimental
a.higuchi@up.edu.pe
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9603-1471
Rocío Maehara
Ph. D. in Statistics
Universidad del Pacífico
Lima, Peru
Author’s role: intellectual and experimental
rp.maeharaa@up.edu.pe
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2621-2602
Luz de los Ángeles Sánchez-Pérez
M. Sc. in Sociology
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Lima, Peru
GIFS Research Group
Author’s role: intellectual and experimental
a20154101@pucp.pe
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7908-8970
ABSTRACT: Quinoa is a traditional food grain that originated in the Peruvian Andean region. The
United Nations declared 2013 to be the International Year of Quinoa (IYQ). This official launch
had a great impact around the world. On the contrary, it had minor impact on the consumption
of quinoa in Peru, which remained relatively steady in the following years. However, the COVID-19
pandemic raised concerns about nutrition and health among consumers. Therefore, this study seeks
to analyze quinoa consumption in Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary data were collected
between September 2020 and August 2021 in Lima Metropolitan Area, Peru. Exploratory factor
analysis with varimax rotation was performed for data analysis, and logistic binomial analysis was
then conducted to consolidate the hypothesis of this study. The main outcomes identified were that
(i) current quinoa consumers in Peru ate this food even before the IYQ; (ii) consumers who are con-
cerned about their health and nutrition needs increased quinoa consumption during the pandemic;
(iii) women showed a higher probability of daily to weekly trend in quinoa consumption; and (iv)
people with the highest income have more probability of purchasing food at supermarkets than
others with less income. The findings of this study can shed some light on consumers’ expectations
and perceptions regarding quinoa consumption behavior during COVID-19.
KEYWORDS: COVID-19, Peru, quinoa, socioeconomics, theory of planned behavior.
Introduction
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a food native to the Andean region
of South America that has become popular worldwide due to its healthy
attributes (IICA, 2015). Quinoa proteins contain all the essential amino acids
for human nutrition (Fotschki et al., 2020; Vega-Galvez et al., 2010), which
28 INNOVAR VOL. 32, NÚM. 86, OCTUBRE-DICIEMBRE DEL 2022
Marketing
is why it is considered a complete food (Maradini-Filho,
2017). Quinoa grain is comparable to milk protein (Hus-
sain et al., 2021) as it contains amino acids such as lysine,
threonine and methionine (MINAGRI, 2017), in addition to
fiber, minerals, phenolics, saponins, phytosterols (Li et al.,
2018) and vitamins (Hussain et al., 2021; Tang et al., 2015).
This food is also effecti ve in reducing total cholesterol (Yao
et al., 2014). Data published by FAOSTAT (2019) indicate
that Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador are the main quinoa pro-
ducing countries, accounting for 80% of the total world
production.
In the first half of the 2010s, Peru registered a gastronomic
boom amidst a context of economic growth. Additionally,
the United Nations (UN) declared 2013 to be the Interna-
tional Year of Quinoa (IYQ) in order to promote this nutri-
tious grain and increase global consumption (FAO, 2013),
stating that quinoa was an ally in the fight against hunger
and food insecurity (MINAGRI, 2017). This combination of
events led to greater visibility of Andean products. In-
deed, during this period, there were strong effort s to boost
Peruvian quinoa consumption internationally. Once
Western countries began promoting the consumption of
this “superfood” because of its high nutritional values,
the price of quinoa increased. Gamboa et al. (2020) found
that while traditional quinoa farm-households in the cen-
tral highlands of Peru increased quinoa production as a re-
sponse to the new price, they did not necessarily increase
consumption.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the perceived impor-
tance of a healthy and balanced diet as a shield against
current and future diseases (Borsellino et al., 2020; Eftimov
et al., 2020; Encalada-Añazco et al., 2021; WHO, 2021).
Thus, eight out of ten Ibero-American consumers now
spend more on healthy food than before the pandemic
(Financial Food, 2021). Specifically, in Spain, health was
the main concern of 19% of the population by the end
of 2019, a percentage that reached 50% by the middle of
2020 (pandemic time) (Reason Why, 2020). Peruvians are
not far behind this trend. In one survey, more than 70% of
Peruvians stated that they are now more conscious of the
food they consume as a result of the pandemic (El Peruano,
2020). Current knowledge encourages the use of quinoa
among all people, especially those who are more vulner-
able to COVID-19, like children and the elderly (Hussain et
al., 2021).
According to Higuchi and Maehara (2021), studies related
to food choice reveal that non-sensor y aspects have an im-
pact over consumption decisions, which is similar to Carrillo
et al. (2011) and Rozin (1996) findings. The decision-
making process, for instance, also considers the frequency
of consumption of a product, or even where to buy a cer-
tain kind of food. During such a process, consumers con-
sider other intrinsic and extrinsic factors before opting for
a product (Ragaert et al., 2004). Many of these factors are
associated with trends in consumption patterns ( Verbeke
& Vackier, 2005) that are based on variables such as
greater health consciousness. For example, some studies
have found that consumers with a greater concern for the
effect of diet on health are eating more foods that promise
to extend their life and improve its quality (Rojas-Rivas et
al., 2019). Moreover, many review studies have revealed
significant influences of the socioeconomic characteristic s
and consumers’ behavior towards food (Encalada-Añazco
et al., 2021; Rivaroli et al., 2020). For instance, attitudes
of urban dwellers are highly dependent on nutritional as-
pects, which is prompting demand for better health ser-
vices (Muziri et al., 2021).
In an attempt to explain the consumer decision-making pro-
cess with regard to quinoa, this research follows a theoret-
ical and quantitative approach, inserted within the contex t
of the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. In order to design appro-
priate policies to expand domestic demand, it is important
to identify the range of motivations, at titudes, reasons, be-
haviors and demographics of Peruvian quinoa consumption
(Higuchi & Maehara, 2021). Moreover, studying the con-
sumption of domestic quinoa and identifying factors that
impact on the propensity to purchase this product during
the pandemic is considered relevant for the current litera-
ture, even more so in a country where this is considered a
traditional food. Therefore, the objective of this study is to
analyze the factors involved in quinoa consumption in Peru
during the COVID-19 pandemic. To our knowledge, this is
the first study conducted in Peru that combines the health
factor, concepts from the theor y of planned behavior (TPB),
and socioeconomic characteristics of Peruvian quinoa con-
sumption decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This em-
pirical approach contributes to a better understanding of
consumers’ expectations and perceptions of their behav-
iors regarding quinoa consumption during pandemic times.
The remainder of this article is organized as follows: the
second section presents a literature review on the subject,
the third section explains the methodological approach
adopted, section four describes the results and discus-
sion points, and the last section includes the main conclu-
sions and policy recommendations derived from our main
findings.
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