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Functional
Consumers’ awareness and dairy products
perceptions regarding functional in Iran

dairy products in Iran

A qualitative research 253

Marjan Bazhan Received 10 July 2016

Revised 5 October 2016
Department of Community Nutrition, Accepted 15 October 2016
National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute,
Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology,
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Nastaran Keshavarz-Mohammadi
Department of Public Health, School of Public Health,
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Hedayat Hosseini
Department of Food Science and Technology,
National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute,
Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology,
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and
Naser Kalantari
Department of Community Nutrition,
National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute,
Faculty of Nutrition Community Nutrition Department,
Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences,
Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Purpose – Functional dairy products market has been growing steadily in Iran. Awareness and perception
related to these products has an important role in consumers’ acceptance and subsequently long-term
marketplace success of these products. The purpose of this paper is to fill the knowledge gap in this regard,
study conducted in Iran.
Design/methodology/approach – The theory of social marketing served as the framework of the study.
Qualitative data were collected via eight semi-structured focus group discussions (FGDs), between May and
September 2014. Participants were 65 women (44 housewives and 21 employed women), aged 23-68 years,
selected by purposive sampling, with a maximum diversity. All FGDs were audio recorded and transcribed
verbatim. Qualitative content analysis of the data was conducted by MAXQDA®.
Findings – Almost all participants were unfamiliar with the term “functional dairy products,” although,
some of them had consumed these products. Apart from perceiving the functional dairy products as
unnecessary by some participants, some women did not trust in health claims of these products for various
reasons such as distrust in food manufacturers, exposure to contradictory information, and fear of unforeseen
and dangerous side effects due to taking them. The participants agreed on the need for more information from
a trusted and credible source such as health professionals or authorities through different communication
channels like television, training classes, shopping center, and so on.

This study was funded by the National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute of Iran. British Food Journal
Vol. 119 No. 2, 2017
Furthermore, this paper was a part of PhD dissertation at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical pp. 253-266
Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran. The authors would like to thank all participants who made this © Emerald Publishing Limited
0007-070X
study possible. DOI 10.1108/BFJ-06-2016-0270
BFJ Originality/value – This study provides a unique insight into consumers’ awareness and perceptions
concerning functional dairy products in Iran. To the best of the knowledge, this study is the first study in this
119,2 regard in Iran. Given the novelty of these products in the market, the findings could provide information for the
dairy industry to expand its market and improve its profitability and reliability, as well as public health sector to
design and implement intervention programs to promote functional dairy products consumption in the population.
Keywords Perception, Awareness, Functional food, Qualitative research
Paper type Research paper
254
1. Introduction
Non-communicable diseases are a major public health and socio-economic problem in
developing countries in the twenty-first century (World Health Organization, 2014). Studies
have revealed that there is a nutritional link in a range of chronic non-communicable
diseases such as coronary heart disease, various cancers, diabetes mellitus and various bone
and joint diseases (World Health Organization, 1990). Knowledge of this relationship is
known as one of the main reasons for shifting consumers toward the potential health
benefits of specific foods and food ingredients (American Dietetic Association (ADA), 2009).
During the last decades, the number of consumers believing food can directly contribute to the
health and well-being is increasing around the world (Mollet and Rowland, 2002). An increased
interest in diet and nutrition has resulted in an increased interest in new kinds of foods,
so-called functional foods (Wansink et al., 2005). Functional foods are a variety of natural foods
or foods that have been modified to have a functional influence on the health and well-being of
the consumer through the elimination, addition, or modification of specific components by
using technology or biotechnology (Diplock et al., 1999; Roberfroid, 2000). It is claimed that they
are able to affect one or more target functions in the body, beyond basic nutritional effects, in
order to improve health and reduce the risk of disease (Diplock et al., 1999). Several categories
of functional foods are conquering the market worldwide. One of the most important types of
these foods are functional dairy products, including low-fat/skim dairy (Ozen et al., 2012),
probiotic dairy (Granato et al., 2010), dairy fortified with vitamins/minerals/or omega-3 fatty
acids, and low-lactose/lactose free milk (ADA, 2009). There are some evidences indicating
numerous health benefits of these products. For example, studies have found low-fat dairy
consumption to be related to a lower risk of hypertension (Alonso et al., 2005; Toledo et al.,
2009), type 2 diabetes (Liu et al., 2006), and coronary heart disease (Hu et al., 1999). Also,
probiotic dairy including yoghurt and other fermented dairy products have been reported to
have beneficial effects including improving the immune function, lowering cholesterol,
treating alcoholic liver disease, improving lactose intolerance, preventing and controlling
cancer especially colon cancer, lowering urinary tract infection, gastric ulcer, diarrhea and
gastrointestinal diseases (Arunachalam et al., 2000; Kirpich et al., 2008; Pereira et al., 2003;
Rampengan et al., 2010; Uehara et al., 2006; Zhao et al., 2007).
Although the demand for functional food is steadily increasing in the world (Siró et al.,
2008), a number of factors such as demographic and socio-economic characteristics (Bholah
and Neergheen-Bhujun, 2013; Carrillo et al., 2013; Maynard and Franklin, 2003; Urala and
Lähteenmäki, 2007; Verbeke, 2005), awareness and perception related to functional foods
(Annunziata and Vecchio, 2011; Siegrist et al., 2008; Siró et al., 2008; Verbeke, 2005) have
been identified as possibly constraining the consumers’ acceptance and subsequently the
development of the functional food market. However, some researchers believe that factors
such as familiarity with the product, knowledge, and attitude are more effective on
functional foods consumption compared to demographic characteristics (Landström et al.,
2009; Verbeke, 2005). Ares et al. (2008) found that Uruguayan consumers had a low level of
knowledge about functional ingredients such as fiber and antioxidants and consequently,
this could lead to a low interest in functional foods enriched with these ingredients, as they
were not aware of their health benefit. Similarly, lack of knowledge about functional food
properties was identified as the most important reason for lack of consumption of these Functional
products among Italian consumers (Annunziata and Vecchio, 2011). It seems that products dairy products
containing functional compounds will be more successful in the market, if the consumer is in Iran
aware of them (Chen, 2011; Del Giudice and Pascucci, 2010; Vassallo et al., 2009). It should be
noted that apart from the potential impact of awareness and knowledge, beliefs clearly play
a crucial role in the process of accepting product. Studies in western countries have reported
different results from the perceptions and attitudes of consumers to functional foods. 255
For example, Bech-Larsen and Grunert (2003) found that Finns have a more positive attitude
toward functional foods than Danes or Americans. Another study by Dean et al. (2007),
which examined the perceived benefits of functional cereal products in four European
countries, showed that Germans and Finns perceived significantly less benefits compared to
Italian and English consumers. According to Peng et al. (2006), a positive attitude and a strong
belief increase the likelihood to purchase functional foods in the future. In this regard, a study
in Australia (Patch et al., 2005a) reported that attitudes toward food and claim accounted for 56
percent of the variance in purchase intentions. In general, studies have shown that belief in the
health benefits of functional foods (Verbeke, 2006), perceived rewards from using these
products (Bholah and Neergheen-Bhujun, 2013; Urala and Lähteenmäki, 2007), and trust in
functional foods (Urala and Lahteenmaki, 2004) play an important role in their acceptance.
Unlike sensory characteristics of a product, consumers need to understand the health benefits
of functional foods, as they cannot directly perceive these benefits by consuming them. It is
important to note that the method used in communicating health benefits of functional foods
and the source of this information are also core factors in their acceptance (Annunziata and
Vecchio, 2011; Frewer et al., 2003; Urala et al., 2003). Previous consumer researches have
reported health professionals as the most perceived credible source of nutrition information
(Lalor et al., 2011; Landström et al., 2009; Nolan-Clark et al., 2011). Family or friends
recommendations have also been identified to be important in exposing consumers to new food
products (Korzen-Bohr and O’Doherty Jensen, 2006; Lalor et al., 2011; Patch et al., 2005b).
Currently, functional dairy products market is rapidly growing in Iran. Given the novelty
of these products in the market, and considering the majority of functional food and beverage
products fail in the marketplace (Mellentin, 2014); it is essential to gain a better understanding
of consumers of these products. These surveys are extremely important to the food industry,
particularly when launching a new product, as it might provide valuable information about
the level of consumer knowledge on a determined product and attitude toward such product to
ensure that this new product and idea fulfill consumer expectations. Moreover, this
information could be useful to public health experts, in order to design and implement
intervention programs to change lifestyle behavior that results in health benefits in a
community. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first study aiming to explore the
awareness and perceptions concerning functional dairy products and to identify current and
preferred information sources on these products among Iranian. This qualitative research is
part of a broader mixed method study, which aimed to identify the determinants of functional
dairy products consumption in a group of Iranian adults. As determinants of functional food
consumption goes beyond consumers’ individual factors and includes environmental factors
such as market, promotional advertisements, and education, social marketing framework was
chosen to guide this study. Social marketing has been frequently used in behavior change
studies in various areas including public health for more than three decades (Smith, 2006).

2. Method
2.1 Participants and data collection
Qualitative data were collected via eight focus group interviews, between May and
September 2014. The participants were 65 women (44 housewives and 21 employed women),
aged 23-68 years, selected by purposive sampling with a maximum diversity. Focus group
BFJ discussions (FGDs) were separately conducted for housewives and employed women.
119,2 To achieve high diversity of participants, FGDs was conducted at five geographic areas
including north, east, west, south, and central part of Tehran, the capital of Iran. For housewives,
one neighborhood’s house in one of the districts from one geographical region belonging to
Tehran Municipality’s Social and Cultural Department was randomly chosen. Housewives were
invited to join the study by telephone and conducting FGDs continued until data saturation was
256 achieved. Finally, by five FGDs data were saturated. For employed women, three focus groups
were conducted at three government organizations including one university, one department of
education, and one municipality council, randomly chosen from different geographic areas of the
city. Employed women interested in participating in the study were invited to join the study.
Groups were formed based on an average of eight women per each focus group (range ¼ 7-9).
Finally, data saturation was achieved by eight FGDs. Six focus groups were conducted to collect
data and two more were considered to ensure about no new codes and data saturation.
At the beginning of each focus group session, the purpose of the meeting was explained.
After ensuring the participants’ satisfaction for attending the meeting, all participants were
asked to complete a short socio-demographic survey. All of the focus groups, conducted by
the first author (M.B.) and assisted by an assistant moderator, lasted between 90 and
120 min, and were conducted in a private room using a semi-structured guide consisting of
open-ended questions. Any participant, who changed her mind, could leave the focus group
at any stage. No one of the participants left the focus groups.
The study protocol was approved by the university ethics committee, No. 053555.
Participants provided written informed consent before the beginning of FGDs and explicit
permission was sought before audiotaping.

2.2 Data analysis

Focus group interviews were transcribed verbatim and then imported into MAXQDA®,
a software package for managing and analyzing qualitative research data. Thematic
analysis (Guest et al., 2012) was used to analyze the data.

2.3 Data trustworthiness

Confirmability and credibility of the data were established through maximum variation
of sampling, taking enough time to collect data, in-depth prolonged engagement with
participants and data. In addition, some participants were contacted after the analysis and
were given a full transcript of their coded interviews to determine whether the codes
matched their point of view. To establish dependability, colleagues and members of the
group conducted a second review. Inter-rater reliability was calculated using percent
agreement (inter-rater reliability r ¼ 0.92). This agreement indicated that the coding list was
reliable. Disagreements were discussed and new or adjusted coding categories applied to
all transcript.

3. Results
The characteristics of participants are shown in Table I.

3.1 Awareness about the term “functional dairy products”

Almost all participants, both housewives and employed women, mentioned that they had
not heard about it before, but among few people familiar with the term, a few of them also
had misconceptions:
I think some foods such as regular milk contain compounds that are incompatible with some
people; these factors can be removed to useable for them (33-year-old housewife).
 Housewives (n ¼ 44) Employed women (n ¼ 21)
Functional
n (%) n (%) dairy products
in Iran
Age (year)
20-29 5 (11.4) 2 (9.5)
30-39 15 (34.1) 8 (38.1)
40-49 13 (29.5) 7 (33.3)
50-59 7 (15.9) 4 (19.1) 257
60+ 4 (9.1) –
Education
Under diploma 4 (9.1) –
Diploma 29 (65.9) 5 (23.8)
University 11 (25) 16 (76.2)
Marital status
Married 42 (95.5) 19 (90.5)
Unmarried 2 (4.5) 2 (9.5)
Responsible for household food shopping
Yes, always 21 (47.7) 11 (52.4)
Yes, sometimes 5 (11.4) 6 (28.6)
No 18 (40.9) 4 (19.0)
Table I.
Childreno18 years The study
Yes 22 (50) 12 (57.1) participants’
No 22 (50) 9 (42.9) characteristics

A small number of housewives guessed that functional dairy products should be useful
more than the conventional ones just for their name. Only four participants, two housewives
and two employed women, noted probiotics and stated that functional dairy products
certainly refers to probiotics:
The probiotic yoghurt, I think they are functional due to bacterial content or added vitamins.
Definitely, these are called functional (58-year-old housewife).
Considering the lack of familiarity with the term “functional dairy products” among
participants, the researcher, as below, provided a definition of these products: “Functional
dairy products are a variety of dairy products that have been modified to have a
functional influence on the health and well-being of the consumer through the elimination,
addition, or modification of specific components by using technology or biotechnology.
These products are included low-fat/skim dairy, probiotic dairy, dairy fortified with
vitamins/minerals/or omega-3 fatty acids, and low-lactose/lactose free milk. There are
some evidences indicating numerous health benefits of these products, including lower
risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and coronary heart disease; improving the immune
function; improving lactose intolerance; preventing and controlling cancer especially
colon cancer; and so on.”
After reading the definition of functional dairy products and their examples, almost half
of the employed women and one-third of the housewives stated that they had consumed
them without knowing they were called functional dairy products.

3.2 Perceptions about functional dairy products

Two main themes emerged from the data analysis on participants’ perception about
functional dairy products: “Lack of belief in product necessity” and “distrust in the
product” (Table II).
BFJ 3.2.1 Lack of belief in the product necessity. In the study, some participants perceived
119,2 functional dairy products as unnecessary. In this regard, some housewives stated that milk
is a complete food and it is not necessary to be fortified by different nutrients:
I think if milk is correctly and completely supplied, if it be really milk, there’s no need to add
something to it (50-year-old housewife).
In addition, a number of employed women stated that they only want to buy dairy products
258 and it is not important to them whether it is functional or not.
3.2.2 Distrust in the product. Both groups of participants discussed a lack of trust in
functional dairy products. Several factors contributed to their distrust. One of the most important
factors was exposure to conflicting opinions and information about these products. There was a
general belief among the housewives that the information provided about food products
including functional dairy products were inconsistent, confusing, and probably biased. Employed
women participating in this study also had a similar perception. According to one of them, the
information presented in media including television, radio, newspapers, etc., were different from
day to day, so that they were confused and helpless in choosing a suitable dairy product:
I think it is due to uncertainty, for example about milk, when you go shopping, you may hear ten
comments. I went to conferences with some my friends several times; one says you do that, and
another one says you do not do that. Therefore, I don’t know what to do. However, I sometimes do
what I think is right (47-year-old housewife).
In general, there was apparent distrust in food manufacturers and their advertising among
participants in both groups. Majority of the housewives perceived functional dairy products
as an advertising claim and concerned that they might not contain functional ingredients
that was claimed. In this respect, some of them believed that nutrient content and nutritional
values mentioned on functional dairy products packaging are unrealistic and unreliable.
One housewife also believed that some good ingredients of dairy products are removed and
then they are added to name them functional foods:
Why do they remove some of its ingredients and add other things to it, to cheat me and make me
believe that they have added something to it, beyond what it has (50-year-old housewife).
What you have just said is true, or it’s merely for publicity? I think it’s somewhat fraud. That’s why
I don’t use probiotic or fortified dairy products (53-year-old housewife).
Data analysis indicated that some housewives were highly resistant to low-fat milk.
Moreover, there was a high degree of skepticism toward sterilized milk. The idea that low-
fat milk had no nutritional value or sterilized milk contained preservatives, were cited as key
factors which would impede consumption of these items for this participants, even if they
had been fortified with nutrients.

Categories Codes

Lack of belief in the product necessity Belief in no need to fortify milk

Not caring about the type of product consumed
Distrust in the product Exposure to conflicting information about the product
Belief in lack of nutritional value for low-fat milk
Belief in adding preservatives to sterilized milks
Table II. Fear of unforeseen and dangerous side effects
Consumers’ perception Distrust in advertisements
about functional Distrust in nutritional information printed on the package
dairy products Believing that functional dairy is an advertising claim
Some employed women reported feeling highly skeptical of anything that is advertised, Functional
including functional foods, what had led to distrust in these products: dairy products
Honestly, advertising does not affect me too much. This means that I do not accept them. In other in Iran
words, I think anyone who cannot sell his products, advertises them (46-year-old employed woman).
In addition, the fear of unforeseen and dangerous side effects was shared by some employed
women as another reason for the distrust in such products: 259
People fear to consume probiotic or fortified dairy products. For example, I think that a substance
may be added to the products that may not be compatible with the body. This has caused fear in me
(46-year-old employed woman).

3.3 Motivation for consumption of functional dairy products

Participants in this study explained their various reasons for consuming functional dairy
products such as awareness and information on the benefits of these products through various
channels such as media or training classes, recommendations by physicians, nutritionists, friends
or relatives, having health problems, and presence of children growing up in the family (Table III):
I bought probiotic yogurt and cheese. Apparently, it didn’t taste as good as the conventional one.
Nevertheless, I asked one of my relatives who know more about dairy products; he said that these
products have produced in the natural manner rather than the conventional ones and lower values
additives have been added to them. So I bought them (58-year-old housewife).
I also bought probiotic yogurt because of the properties and benefits that I had heard (35-year-old
employed woman).

3.4 Current and preferred information sources on functional dairy products

The majority of participants stated that very little information has been provided about these
products to people. However, the current information sources most frequently mentioned by

Functional
dairy products Housewives Employed women

Low-fat dairy Physician recommendation due to presence of health Awareness about harmful
problems in a family member (e.g. high blood pressure effects of high-fat dairy
and hyperlipidemia)
Belief in the risk of weight gain and hyperlipidemia Informing about the benefits of
resulting from the consumption of high-fat dairy low-fat dairy on TV
Belief in the greater calcium absorption of low-fat dairy Believing that low-fat dairy is
healthier than high-fat dairy
Belief in the possibility of adding palm oil to high-fat dairy Having health problems such as
diabetes or hyperlipidemia
Probiotic dairy Physician or nutritionist recommendations due to health Awareness about the benefits of
problems in a family member (e.g. stomach pain after probiotic yogurt
eating regular yogurt, gastro-esophageal reflux disease in
children)
Presence of children growing up in the family Curiosity to know what
Recommendations by friends or relatives probiotic yogurt tastes like
Informing through the media
Reading the information on the product label
Interest in creating variety in food consumption
Low-lactose Feeling uncomfortable after eating regular milk
milk Recommendation by a family member Table III.
Getting information on the product in training classes Women’s reasons for
Milk fortified – Reading the information on the consuming functional
with vitamin D product label dairy products
BFJ both groups were television, newspapers, magazines, the internet, friends, relatives, and
119,2 children. Besides, some employed women got the information from physicians, academic
conferences, or previous experience with the product. On the contrary, some housewives got it
from books, training classes, radio, other people’s experiences, or retailers.
The majority of participants in both groups cited television as the most important
communication channel, due to the availability and interest of all people in it. Majority
260 believed that broadcasting scientific programs through popular television channels,
especially by physicians/nutritionists/or those who were accepted by people, as well as
television advertising would be very impressive to people and hence were best strategy:
It is possible I don’t read the magazine, but my TV is turned on every day, whether I look at it or
not. It’s more effective than I pay for the magazine or I don’t have time to read it. However, the TV is
on. It can present functional dairy products to the people (68-year-old housewife).
Some of the employed women preferred TV programs especially in form of attractive
animations prepared by the official organizations such as Ministry of Health.
The participants in both groups noted a high degree of public confidence in the
information provided by physicians or nutritionists. Moreover, some housewives mentioned
advices by either a friend or a family member to be important source of information
regarding the benefits of these products.
In addition to the above, informing in other different ways, such as holding training classes
especially by nutritionists in different places like neighborhood homes, kindergartens and
schools, the internet, health centers, retailers, and providing information on the product
packaging were among the information sources cited by some housewives to be effective in
raising public awareness about functional dairy products.
Some participants in both groups stated that many people look for information about the
products before making a purchase. Hence, they believed that putting the information on the
walls or windows in shops or informing by experts in stores and crowded shopping centers
would help them make informed purchasing decisions:
The dairy products that you say (functional dairy products), the sellers themselves don’t know enough
about these products to inform buyers. I think if there is a store in each neighborhood and there is a
person at the places to guide people when choosing a product is better (45-year-old housewife).

4. Discussion
The results of the present study showed that participants were unfamiliar with the term
“functional dairy products” and confused because of the ambiguity of what these products
are and what they contain. It is interesting to note that some of them consumed such foods
without realizing that those are called functional dairy products. This shows that the
term “functional dairy products” in Iran is specifically a techno-jargon that has not been
communicated to the consumers. This result is in agreement with previous studies
that reported a low familiarity with the term “functional food” among consumers (Annunziata
and Vecchio, 2011; Carrillo et al., 2013; Krygier, 2007). In contrast, a study of Swedish
consumers showed that most respondents were familiar with the concept of “functional food”;
however, the study population was likely to be representative of a more health informed
segment of the Swedish population than the general population (Landstrom et al., 2007).
It is known that knowledge and familiarity with the functional foods (Ares et al., 2008;
de Morais et al., 2010; Landstrom et al., 2007; Verbeke, 2005; Wansink et al., 2005),
healthiness perceptions of these products (Bech-Larsen and Grunert, 2003; Verbeke, 2005),
health professionals recommendations (Eddy et al., 1999; Nolan-Clark et al., 2011; Patch et al.,
2005b), presence of children in household (Peng et al., 2006; Verbeke et al., 2009), and family
or friends recommendations (Patch et al., 2005b) all influence the willingness to use
functional foods, as noted in the present study. In addition to the above-mentioned, some
participants in both groups pointed to the presence of diet-related problems like Functional
hyperlipidemia and high blood pressure as another reason for consumption of functional dairy products
dairy products, a finding that has been frequently reported in other studies (Anttolainen in Iran
et al., 2001; de Almeida et al., 2006; Landstrom et al., 2007).
Functional dairy products were perceived by some participants to be unnecessary,
as reported earlier by Landström et al. (2009) and Urala and Lähteenmäki (2007). Also, there
were generally distrustful attitudes and skepticism about these products, probably due to 261
lack of knowledge about the contents and potential health benefits. Various issues were
discussed in connection with the distrust in the functional dairy products, both in regard to
the manufacturer and the consumer. One of them was apparent distrust of advertising and
food labels. In agreement with the findings of this study, studies in Australia have shown that
even though participants acknowledged the need for information about new food innovations
through advertising, but they were very skeptical of advertising (Patch et al., 2005b) and due to
the high uncertainty in food industry, it was impossible to buy functional dairy products based
on advertising messages (Vella et al., 2014). In connection with the information on food labels,
studies have reported different results from the impact of this information on the acceptance of
functional foods. Some of them have shown that nutritional information and health claims on
functional foods has a positive effect on consumers’ intention to purchase and use these
products (Aschemann-Witzel and Hamm, 2010; Vella et al., 2014; Vidigal et al., 2011).
In contrast, some others, similar to the study, have reported a lack of trust in the accuracy of the
food label information among consumers (Annunziata et al., 2015; Korzen-Bohr and O’Doherty
Jensen, 2006; Patch et al., 2005b). Given the obvious consumers distrust to producers, it seems
that one of the most important things manufacturers of functional foods should consider is to
inform the health effects of these products reliably to the final consumers.
The results are consistent with another study conducted by Niva (2007), where it was
shown that consumers were concerned about the safety of functional foods, especially due to
the potential adverse and unknown effects. Considering the influence of the consumers’
perception of functional foods in their willingness to consume these products, the present
study confirms previous findings in some studies suggesting that the perceived risks and
suspicious of possible harmful effects of functional food products can be a strong barrier not
to consume such products (Annunziata and Vecchio, 2011; Backstrom et al., 2003;
Frewer et al., 2003). However, the perceived nutritional risks did not affect the reported
willingness to use functional foods among Finnish consumers (Urala and Lähteenmäki,
2007). Some participants also expressed concerns regarding the consumption of low-fat milk
and sterilized milk, because the former was perceived as lacking nutritional value, and the
latter as containing preservatives. Considering the effect of the type of product enriched on
the consumers’ attitudes to functional food products (Poulsen, 1999), it seems that first this
attitude must be corrected. Generally, studies have shown that if consumers perceived
functional foods as healthier than conventional ones, it is more likely to consume them
(Frewer et al., 2003; Urala et al., 2003; Urala and Lahteenmaki, 2004).
The health benefits of food products, unlike sensory properties, cannot be directly
perceived by consumers (Peng et al., 2006; Urala and Lahteenmaki, 2004). Hence, given that
consumers have limited knowledge and awareness of the health effects of new functional
compounds introduced to the market, as was observed in the present study, special
attention should be paid to communication and information activities information activities
in this field (Biacs, 2007; Salminen, 2007). In this study, a source of information about
functional dairy products was media like television, newspapers, magazines, and the
internet as the most important sources, followed by family, friends, and/or relatives, and
physician. In contrast, a Canadian population study found that food labels, printed materials
(such as newspapers, magazines, and/or books), family, and/or friends were among the most
common sources of information about functional foods (Vella et al., 2014). However, it is
BFJ important to mention that, as a study conducted in Australia (Patch et al., 2005b), informing
119,2 about functional dairy products was perceived as inconsistent and confusing. Accordingly,
participants in the study, in line with many other studies (Annunziata and Vecchio, 2011;
Bholah and Neergheen-Bhujun, 2013; Grunert, 2005), wanted more information about these
products from physicians, health professionals, and public authorities, indicating a high
degree of consumer confidence to the information provided by them. Consumer confidence
262 and trust in information sources is considered to be an important factor affecting the
acceptance of functional foods (Frewer et al., 2003; Hailu et al., 2009; Urala et al., 2003).
If consumers do not trust the information sources, they will follow their experiences with
diet to regain control over their nutrition and body condition (Lupton and Chapman, 1995).
Given the importance of this issue, reliable sources of information listed above should be
more involved in educational efforts and programs.
This study clearly showed that term “functional dairy products” is a strange term among
Iranian women. In addition, there is significant lack of knowledge regarding benefits of such
products accompanied by false beliefs and perceptions as well as skepticism and distrust
about limited information available about health benefits claims of such products.
Hence, there is a great need to more valid and trustable information about these products to fill
of the knowledge gap, and modify attitudes and beliefs. It may be concluded that to increase
the consumption of such products, among the first and most important steps is awareness
raising. Any educational plan and program should be implemented according to consumers’
preferred sources and channels. The results of the current study provide valuable information
regarding the way forward for public health and food industry decision makers for their
future efforts in increasing consumption of functional dairy products in Iranian population.

5. Strengths and limitations

To mention the study strength and limitations, this was a qualitative research and the findings
can provide a better understanding of Iranian women’s awareness and perceptions regarding
functional dairy products, as well as preferred channels to raise awareness about these
products. Variety in sampling including different socio-economic backgrounds and different
occupation groups of participants was an advantage of the current study. One limitation,
i.e. voluntary participation, however, could have led to exclusion of the experiences of those
who did not participate in the study. Also, all participants were selected from a sample
of Tehranian women, so our findings might not reflect views of the general population of Iran.

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Nastaran Keshavarz-Mohammadi can be contacted at: n_keshavars@yahoo.com

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