Determination of consumer behaviors related to industrial and natural gum

Chewing gum is a foodstuff that prepared with gum mace, flavor and additives, in accordance with the technique which has different forms such as sugared sugar-free and sweetening and can be enriched by the addition of minerals and vitamins if desired. The chewing gum has a long and impressive history and is a product that almost consumed by people of all ages. It is known that the first chewing gum varieties used by the Mayans and the Greeks, especially the ancient Egyptians. The aim of this research is to determine consumers'gum consumption habits, knowledge and attitudes about natural gums. A simple randomized sampling method was used to conduct a questionnaire survey with a total of 681 people, 370 female and 311 male. The questionnaire prepared to determine consumer behaviors related to industrial and natural gums was answered by the participants who consumed one or more of the gum varieties. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed with the SPSS 21 program. Reliability coefficient was calculated with Cronbach's Alpha, and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test was applied to measure the suitability of sample size in factor analysis. As a result of the study it was determined that participants were affected by demographic and environmental factors during the gum purchasing process and positive aspects of natural gums were positive.