The baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) is an important source of non-timber forest products in sub-Saharan Africa. Its fruits contain high amounts of vitamin C, calcium, and dietary fibre. In addition, other parts of the tree are traditionally used for human consumption, particularly during lean seasons. In line with the increasing demand for natural, healthy, and nutritious food products, the baobab has great potential to contribute to human nutrition and rural livelihoods. In Malawi, where demand for baobab has substantially increased within the last decade, baobab fruits are being processed into a variety of food and non-food products, such as fruit juice, ice-lollies, sweets, and cosmetics. Yet, information on the sociodemographic background and quality preferences of baobab consumers is scanty. The current study, therefore, aimed to (1) map the diversity of baobab products available in Malawi; (2) determine consumer segments and their preferences for the most common baobab food products; and (3) examine the contribution of major attributes of processed baobab food products on their price. We employed a mixed-methods approach including the analysis of 132 baobab products and a survey of 141 consumers in formal and informal retail outlets, adopting multistage and purposive sampling. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using cluster analysis, cross tabulation, and hedonic regression. Results pointed to two distinct consumer segments for baobab food products, largely following the formal–informal product divide currently existing in Malawi. Both segments clearly differed with regard to preferred product attributes. We also showed that extrinsic product attributes such as packaging quality, labelling, conformity with food standards, or health claims provided distinct differentiation potential for baobab food manufacturers. In addition to providing empirical evidence for the transition of baobab food products into higher-value market segments, our results can help food processing enterprises to improve the composition and marketing of their baobab products.

中文翻译：

---

马拉维加工的猴面包树（猴面包树）食品：从劣质男士食品到特级特色食品？

猴面包树（猴面包树digitata是非洲撒哈拉以南地区非木材林产品的重要来源。其果实含有大量的维生素C，钙和膳食纤维。另外，传统上将树的其他部分用于人类消费，特别是在干旱季节。随着人们对天然，健康和营养食品的需求不断增长，猴面包树在促进人类营养和农村生计方面具有巨大潜力。在过去的十年中，对猴面包树的需求已大大增加的马拉维，猴面包树果实被加工成各种食品和非食品产品，例如果汁，冰棍，糖果和化妆品。然而，关于猴面包树消费者的社会人口统计学背景和质量偏好的信息很少。因此，当前的研究 目的是（1）绘制马拉维现有的猴面包树产品的多样性；（2）确定消费者群及其对最常见的猴面包树食品的偏好；（3）研究加工猴面包食品的主要属性对其价格的贡献。我们采用了一种混合方法，包括对132种猴面包树产品的分析以及对正式和非正式零售店中141个消费者的调查，采用了多阶段和有目的的抽样方法。使用聚类分析，交叉制表和享乐回归分析定性和定量数据。结果表明，猴面包食品的两个不同的消费者细分市场，很大程度上是由于马拉维目前存在正式的非正式产品差异。这两个细分市场在首选产品属性方面明显不同。我们还表明，包装产品质量，标签，符合食品标准或健康声明等外部产品属性为猴面包树食品制造商提供了独特的差异化潜力。除了为猴面包食品向更高价值市场细分的过渡提供经验证据外，我们的结果还可以帮助食品加工企业改善猴面包产品的成分和营销。