Title: Sensory properties, purchase attributes and usages of date-syrup by expatriate consumers in Oman

Authors: Shahid N. Bhuian; Irfan Butt; Maha K. Al Balushi; Amanat Ali

Addresses: Aborton Limited, Dental and Medical Instruments Trading, Dhaka, 1216, Bangladesh ' Faculty of Business Administration, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada ' Marketing Department, College of Economics and Political Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 20, P.C. 123, Al Khoud, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman ' Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 34, P.C. 123, Al Khoud, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Abstract: In general, the research on consumer's preferences for date-syrup is scarce. Knowing and incorporating consumer's preferences in the development and promotion of date syrup is crucial for developing a world market for date syrup. The present study was conducted to investigate the sensory properties, purchase attributes and usages of date-syrup among the expatriate consumers in Oman. A total of 140 expatriate consumers, from various ethnical and regional backgrounds, participated in this study. The results showed that the preferred sensory properties among expatriate consumers were the best tasting, least thick and moderately sweet date-syrup. The main uses of date-syrup included as toppings on ice cream, toast, bagel, waffle and pancake. The purchase attributes were mainly based on taste, no added sugar, reasonable price and good packaging. The results indicated that the consumers of different ethnical backgrounds and coming from different regions of the world had different preferences for purchase-related attributes.

Keywords: date syrup; sensory properties; purchase attributes; expatriate consumers; Oman.

DOI: 10.1504/MEJM.2020.107104

Middle East Journal of Management, 2020 Vol.7 No.3, pp.264 - 281

Received: 22 Nov 2018
Accepted: 01 Mar 2019
Published online: 04 May 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article