Coffee, Country-of-Origin and China – A closer look at Chinese consumption and perception of foreign and domestic coffee in Kunming
Author: Johan Wickström
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Abstract
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Being one of
the most valuable commodities in the world, coffee is of great importance to
the world economy, producing countries and the daily lives of millions of
people. China is one of the largest and fastest growing consumer markets in the
world and is experiencing an increasing demand for coffee.
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Very little
research has been carried out concerning China’s growing appreciation for the
commodity but also in its role as a producer of coffee. This thesis was
intended to contribute to the existing knowledge by examining Chinese consumers’
coffee-buying behavior, and especially, how important the country-of-origin of
coffee is for the perceived quality of a coffee product. This was done using an
online-survey, a focus group discussion and two interviews where the
interviewees both had their own company in the coffee business. The results
showed, among other things, that Chinese coffee consumers do appear to be
influenced by country-of-origin and that this influence differs between groups
of people.
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