Determination of consumers perception on environmentally friendly concepts in the marketing of various food products (A case of Tekirdağ/Süleymanpaşa)

This research is environmentally friendly concepts used in food marketing in Turkey (organic products, natural products and good agricultural practices) and other concepts (conventional products, cooperative products and local producers of products) has been prepared for the purpose of examining consumer perceptions. In the research, the literature review and the survey method, which is a quantitative data method, were used. In the application part of the study, data was collected through face-to-face questionnaire with 171 consumers who were determined by the sampling method from the specific population of the consumer population living in the central neighbourhoods of Süleymanpaşa district of Tekirdağ province. Descriptive statistics, Cross-tabs, Factor Analysis, Principal Components Analysis and Correspondence Analysis were used in the study. As a result of descriptive statistics, it was determined that 48.5% of the participants were female and 51.5% were male, and the average age was 36.41. It has been found that consumer perception differs for the concepts used in the marketing of products and that consumers position food products sold under different concepts differently in terms of product characteristics such as price, taste, advertising, accessibility, health and trust. Organic products, natural products and good agricultural products which also known as environmentally-friendly are perceived by consumers as both the most environmentally sensitive and the most harmless food products for human health. In addition, there is a perception that they find these products better in terms of taste, health and safety features, but their prices are expensive, and their availability is insufficient. It has been determined that natural (producer) products and cooperative branded products are better (adequate) than other products. It has been determined that there is a relationship between food products and purchasing places. In addition, it has been determined that consumers' environmental awareness is affected by demographic characteristics. The promotion of environmentally friendly food products, especially price and availability, is recommended. It is thought that the results obtained from this study will benefit many stakeholders, especially manufacturers and product marketers, in developing products and strategies. Key words: Consumer perception, Environmental awareness, Eco-friendly foods, Purchasing behaviors