Consumer Preferences of Jalapeño Pepper in the Mexican Market

The jalapeño pepper is one of the best-known and most commonly consumed chili peppers in Mexico; its consumption is a tradition that dates to the first migrations of Europeans to the country. With time, its demand has increased, although in recent years its consumption presented a stabilization and stagnation. This work aimed to determine the preferences of Mexican consumers for jalapeño pepper, taking as a reference quality attributes and motivations that influence their purchasing and consumption habits, under the hypothesis that consumers in each region seek a certain type of jalapeño pepper based on specific quality attributes. In total, 1200 surveys were carried out in five regions of the country. The analysis of the information was performed using the ANOVA test, correspondence analysis, and multidimensional scaling. The main results of this study show that although there is a tendency towards frequent consumption, each purchase weighs less than 500 g. In the same way, the physical appearance of the product is fundamental at the time of purchase, in addition to other attributes such as flavor, color, and size, which are highly valued by consumers. Although there are similar consumption patterns, purchasing behaviors change by region, which can serve as a basis and spearhead for the development of differentiated strategies in the production and marketing of the product.