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Article
Publication date: 14 December 2018

Valérie Hémar-Nicolas and Pascale Ezan

The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of what well-being means to children in the food context and to formulate recommendations about the way food…

543

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of what well-being means to children in the food context and to formulate recommendations about the way food retailers may take actions to promote children’s food well-being (FWB).

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study based on a child-centric perspective is conducted with 25 French children aged 6–11 years. The data collection and analysis use both verbal and graphic data methods including focus groups and drawings in order to help children express their feelings and thoughts.

Findings

The findings put forward that according to children, the concept of FWB relies on five dimensions: sensory taste, health, commensality, empowerment and altruistic behaviours. Their discourses suggest that food practices contributes to objective, hedonic, eudaemonic and social well-being on the short and long term.

Practical implications

Based on children’s intrinsic needs for pleasure and empowerment, our recommendations highlight how food retailers might rethink their own-label offering, retail environment and communication to take into account young consumers’ FWB.

Originality/value

Drawing upon the concept of FWB and positive psychology, the authors do not only examine children’s food representations through a nutritional lens, but enlarge the scope to show how physical, emotional, psychological and social factors, involved in food context, contribute to different aspects of well-being.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 47 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

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Article
Publication date: 7 January 2019

Pascale Ezan, Gaelle Pantin-Sohier and Caroline Lancelot-Miltgen

A product colour plays an important role in consumers’ preferences. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the impact of the three-dimensional character of colour (brightness…

813

Abstract

Purpose

A product colour plays an important role in consumers’ preferences. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the impact of the three-dimensional character of colour (brightness, saturation and vividness) on children’s behaviour towards a food product and as a source of well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

Two experiments were conducted. Study 1 was conducted with 62 children and used four visuals of syrup presenting two colours (red/green) and two variations of vividness (vivid/dim). Study 2 was conducted with 70 children and used four pictures of stewed apples and four pictures of pouches to test the influence of each dimension of colour on children’s preferences for the product and the product packaging.

Findings

Results show that the three-dimensional character of colour plays an important role in children’s gustatory inferences and well-being.

Research limitations/implications

The study is restricted to one food product (in each study) habitually consumed by children. Other products could be investigated to show how colour can contribute to children’s well-being.

Practical implications

The paper addresses the issue of well-being as a potential brand-positioning element.

Social implications

The paper suggests new avenues to use the brightness/saturation or vividness of a product or packaging colour as a potential element to arouse positive sensations that generate children’s well-being even when the product is not a preferred one.

Originality/value

This works initiates creative thinking concerning the impact of a product colour on children consumers.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 47 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 10 October 2016

Isabelle Ulrich and Pascale Ezan

French retailer, Système U, has triggered controversial debates among professionals and parents recently, by inserting images revolutionising gender norms in its Christmas toy…

1495

Abstract

Purpose

French retailer, Système U, has triggered controversial debates among professionals and parents recently, by inserting images revolutionising gender norms in its Christmas toy catalogue. As children’s perceptions did not feature in these debates, the purpose of this paper is to explore their reactions to this catalogue, its gender-incongruent images and their associated toys.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory qualitative study was conducted with 27 children aged five to ten, from middle-upper social class. The methodology combined in one session participant observation, interview with visual stimuli and a collage exercise. First, each child was observed as they browsed freely through the catalogue, commenting it. Second, the interview focussed on four gender-incongruent images inside the catalogue to further explore reactions. Finally, they participated to a collage exercise on a mini-questionnaire, aiming at checking their gender-flexibility.

Findings

First, all children tend to focus on their own-gender pages only, as they have an intuitive understanding of the catalogue’s gendered structure. Second, incongruent images tend not to be noticed, with an exception being girls aged nine to ten. Third, the children’s acceptance of the gender-incongruent images is influenced by the gender-constancy stage, with the rigidity peak about gender norms at five to six; children’s own-gender-flexibility, between eight and ten; and the collective nature of the game.

Originality/value

This paper reveals children’s reactions to a toy catalogue containing gender-incongruent images. It provides new insights into how children notice, understand and appreciate these images and concludes with practical implications for retailers about how to better adapt catalogues.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 44 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

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Article
Publication date: 14 June 2011

Coralie Damay, Pascale Ezan, Mathilde Gollety and Valérie Nicolas‐Hemar

Research on consumer socialisation emphasises the role played by different agents as well as the influence of the context in which socialisation takes place. As part of the fight…

725

Abstract

Purpose

Research on consumer socialisation emphasises the role played by different agents as well as the influence of the context in which socialisation takes place. As part of the fight against obesity, this study on the nutritional learning of children seeks to focus specifically on social interactions in the standardised context of the school cafeteria in France. It aims to show how and through what social interactions children learn the rules related to food consumption to identify levers by which to promote healthy eating.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted in a French school cafeteria among children aged seven to 11. A qualitative methodology was used. It included direct observations of children when selecting and eating their meals and open interviews. A systematic survey of the components of children's food trays completes this work.

Findings

This work demonstrated the existence of various types of rules and social interactions. Adults appear to be the guarantors of institutional rules (related to the composition of the plates) and cultural rules (not to waste). Peers were marginally involved in the selection of products. The standards of taste and individual preferences indeed appear to be the background to the choices.

Originality/value

From an academic point of view, the paper supports consumer socialisation studies and emphasizes the importance of a systemic approach to human development. In particular, it enriches the research on food learning by showing how social interactions are involved in compliance with institutional rules and cultural norms.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

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Article
Publication date: 8 March 2013

Valérie Hemar‐Nicolas, Pascale Ezan, Mathilde Gollety, Nathalie Guichard and Julie Leroy

Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, this research aims to investigate the interweaving of the socialization systems within which children learn eating practices, in…

1689

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, this research aims to investigate the interweaving of the socialization systems within which children learn eating practices, in order to open up new paths to build prevention and care programs against childhood obesity.

Design/methodology/approach

Children were interviewed using semi‐structured interviews, including projective methods. The data were analyzed by both a manual content analysis and the use of qualitative analysis software Nvivo. Nvivo enables to cross verbatim and contributes to highlight the joint effects of socialization agents in terms of children's eating learning.

Findings

The study clarifies the interrelationships between social contexts in which children learn food practices. It points out that the different social spheres may sometimes exert contradictory influences and that food learning cannot be limited to the transmission of nutritional information, but also involves emotional and social experiences.

Social implications

By showing that eating habits stem from complex processes, the research suggests measures against children's obesity that take into account the interrelationships between social contexts. It invites the policymakers and the food companies to implement actions based on social relationships involved in food learning.

Originality/value

Whereas the traditional consumer socialization models focus on interactions between child and one socialization agent, this research's findings shed light on the entanglement of social spheres concerning eating socialization. They show that using a social‐ecological approach is useful to policymakers, researchers, marketers, and other constituencies involved in developing solutions to the obesity problem.

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Article
Publication date: 17 August 2015

Valérie Hemar-Nicolas, Mathilde Gollety, Coralie Damay and Pascale Ezan

– This paper aims to explore the role played by food brands within children’s peer groups when they have a meal together.

1617

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the role played by food brands within children’s peer groups when they have a meal together.

Design/methodology/approach

Sixty-four elementary-aged children participated in one of ten organized snack times (five with unbranded products, five with branded products). Based on a qualitative methodology, data collection methods comprise observations and focus groups with the children.

Findings

Children mostly select the products according to their taste preference regardless of the brand name. They make individual decisions and are hardly influenced by their peers. Children use food brands as a common language to designate products, but they do not use them to convey their self-identity and enhance social integration.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to a better understanding of the way children use food brands within peer group, and may be helpful when considering the future of children’s food marketing and tackling the issue of childhood obesity.

Originality/value

Whereas prior research has mostly studied the social value allocated by children to durable goods’ brands, such as clothing and electronic items, very few previous studies have focused on food brands.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 28 August 2009

Pascale Ezan and Joëlle Lagier

The objective of this research is to understand how children develop their aesthetic sensibility. This question will be examined using modern art pictures and logos.

1112

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this research is to understand how children develop their aesthetic sensibility. This question will be examined using modern art pictures and logos.

Design/methodology/approach

The study refers to a qualitative method based on interviews with children aged 7 to 12. A total of 24 children were questioned. In order to reinforce the corpus, the authors tried to even out the proportion of girls and boys and to vary their social origins. The study was conducted during the summer of 2007 in three activity centers situated in the west of France.

Findings

The paper indicates clearly a strong aesthetic sensibility in children. Visual beauty is the first criterion used for ranking in the scale of preference. The research also brings to light three individual characteristics that can be taken into account to understand how children develop their aesthetic judgment: involvement, age, and gender.

Research limitations/implications

The study confirms the need to combine the methods of gathering data when dealing with children. The interviews raised a number of interesting points. However, an obstacle presented itself in the shape of the silence of a few children who were apparently troubled by the difficulty of the questions they were asked or by their lack of verbal skills to formulate their preferences clearly.

Practical implications

Concerning the managerial aspect, the three individual characteristics of a child aesthetic sensibility (involvement, age, and sex) could bring important indications to manufacturers who trade on the markets for children.

Originality/value

Regarding the academic aspect, it is the first research that deals with the influence of aesthetic judgment of a child on the choice of products.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 28 August 2009

Brian Young

412

Abstract

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

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