UNDERSTANDING OLIVE OIL CONSUMPTION IN BRAZIL: HABITS, MOTIVATIONS, KNOWLEDGE, AND CONSUMPTION FREQUENCY

Introduction: Olive oil has been increasingly incorporated into the diets of consumers in non-traditional countries, such as Brazil. Understanding olive oil consumption and purchasing patterns is essential for developing communication strategies aligned with their preferences and supporting the development of the domestic olive oil market. Objective: This study aimed to investigate olive oil purchasing and consumption habits among Brazilian consumers. Specifically, it examined consumers’ motivations for olive oil consumption, as well as their objective and subjective knowledge, and explored the associations between olive oil consumption frequency and sociodemographic characteristics, consumption motivations, and knowledge. Methodology: An online questionnaire was administered to 953 Brazilians adults (53% women). Participants reported their olive oil consumption frequency, purchasing and consumption habits, motivations, sociodemographic characteristics, and subjective and objective knowledge. Descriptive statistics, inductive content analysis, and ordinal logistic regression were performed to examine associations between consumption frequency, knowledge, motivations, and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: The results showed that 82% of participants identified olive oil as the most frequently consumed vegetable oil, with 46% reporting daily consumption. Health benefits were the main motivation, followed by positive hedonic aspects, while quality was considered the most important attribute in purchasing decisions. Consumption frequency was associated with gender, age, educational level, and both subjective and objective knowledge. Although participants demonstrated a high level of knowledge regarding the health effects of olive oil, limited technical knowledge and confidence in evaluating product quality were observed. This gap suggests that consumers may rely on readily available information and extrinsic quality cues, reflecting information asymmetry and the need for clearer communication on technical quality aspects. Conclusion: These findings highlight the need for clearer and more accessible communication of technical quality aspects, such as acidity, olive oil type, extraction method, and origin, to support more informed purchasing decisions and increase confidence in evaluating olive oil quality.