This study surveyed Chinese elderly consumers to determine their purchasing behavior, importance, and satisfaction with HMR products in China. Three hundred and seventy people were surveyed: 184 males and 186 females aged 55 to 70 years. Two hundred and sixty-seven (72.25%) of the surveyed consumers had an average monthly income of 6,000 yuan or less, and 313 (84.9%) responded that they spend 3000 yuan or less on groceries per month. Three hundred and fortyeight (94.1%) showed a high interest in health management. Regarding the frequency of purchasing HMR products, most responded that they purchased HMR products more than once or twice a week, with a single purchase of 100 yuan or less for each purchase. The respondents preferred 2 or 3 serving packagings in a refrigerated form. For all forms of products, those made as in-house meals, outdoor meals, as a snack or night snack, for serving guests, for trips, camping, and on-thego products, the participants mostly responded that they frequently purchased the product. When purchasing HMR products, the importance of hygiene, convenience in purchase accessibility, the freshness of ingredients, and an indication of the nutritional content were considered as a high rank. After purchase, the satisfaction of SNS and mobile application advertisements and promotions, amount per serving, take out convenience, and new menu were considered low-rank. The IPA results showed that marking the origin of the ingredients and new menu are areas needing improvement. The study results may be used as base data for developing elderly friendly HMR products and establishing its marketing strategies.

This study examined the nutrient content of HMR products and recipes by television chefs. Twelve menu items from the soup, stew, and broth category were chosen from HMR products and TV chef’s recipes. The data on the nutrition labeling from the HMR products and TV chef’s recipes were calculated using Can-Pro 5.0. The results of the analysis were the differences between the HMR products and TV recipes per serving size. The energy content of TV recipes 236.1 kcal was significantly higher than the HMR products. On the other hand, HMR products contained significantly higher sodium (926.9 mg) levels than the TV recipes (565.8 mg). In general, HMR products contained more sodium and less energy and protein than TV recipes. The highest sodium content containing products among the 12 menu items was the Spicy soft tofu stew (1,421.4 mg) from HMR products. The results revealed the significant differences in the macronutrient and sodium content between HMR products and the TV chef’s recipe. This study provides supportive data for the need to reduce the sodium content in HMR products. TV cooking programs should focus on the importance of balanced nutrition, how to reduce sodium intake, and how to achieve this without disrupting well-balanced nutrition.

Two experiments were conducted to determine how much sodium in food could be detected using a salinity meter. First, the salinity of mixed solutions of 0 to 6% sugar, 0 to 5% oil, and 0 to 6.4% MSG in a 1% NaCl solution was measured using a salinity meter and a Mohr titration method, and the results were compared with the calculated sodium expectations. As a result, the sodium contents of the sugar solutions and MSG solutions measured using a salinity meter were lower than the expected concentrations at 2% or more and 0.8% or more, respectively (p<0.05). The salinity of the 18 HMR products was measured in the same way, and the results were then compared with the sodium contents of the nutrition facts. The average sodium content of all products measured using the salinity meter and Mohr method was 1.12 times and 1.06 times the sodium content of the nutrition facts, respectively. On the other hand, the differences between the products were significant. The correlation coefficients between the nutrition facts and salinity meter, the nutrition facts and the Mohr method, and the salinity meter and Mohr method were 0.885, 0.920, and 0.950, respectively (p<0.01).

Purpose: The importance and satisfaction with the purchasing characteristics and choice attribute of home meal replacement (HMR) products for consumers aged between 20 and 40, or over 50. In addition to identify the factors that must be first considered in the development of HMR products importance-performance analysis. Methods: 791 consumers aged between 20 and 40, or over 50, living in Seoul have experience in purchasing HMR participated in the survey. The survey consisted of four sections: the purchasing characteristics of HMR, the importance and satisfaction with HMR choice attribute, and general questions. T-tests and IPA were conducted to compare the groups of consumers aged between 20 and 40, or over 50. Results: The factor analysis show the following results: 0.899 for “convenience”, 0.094 for “hygiene”, 0.871 for “quality”, 0.834 for “taste”, and 0.822 for “price”. The average score of the importance of the choice attribute when purchasing HMR products 3.50. For consumers aged between 20 and 40, the score 3.49. For consumers over 50, the score 3.52. There is a significant difference “hygiene (p<0.001)”, “quality (p<0.05)”, and “price (p<0.05)”. For consumers aged between 20 and 40, the score 3.72. For consumers over 50, the score was 3.78. There a significant difference only in “hygiene (p<0.05)”. Conclusion: The results of the IPA demonstrate that the categories that belong to “Focus here” are “new HMR products” and “diverse HMR products” for all consumers aged between 20 and 40 and over 50. Hence, food companies should endeavor to develop new and diverse HMR products first.

The home meal replacement (HMR) food industry began in 1980, and it has grown rapidly as a major food business for both consumers and the food industry since the development of industrialization and societal changes. Many researchers investigated a variety of HMR food product characteristics. On the other hand, previous studies have focused only on topics in limited study areas. Therefore, this study examined the effect of color marketing and the value of experience on the consumer behaviors. This study used a survey to collect the respondents' opinions about HMR food products. The study results showed that the characteristics of color marketing and the experience value of the HMR products influenced the consumers' attitudes. Moreover, consumers' attitudes affected their repurchase behavior. The results suggest that marketers of HMR food products should use colors that show the characteristics of products to appeal to consumers. In addition, HMR products should be developed in line with what consumers value the most; for example, consumers value their previous experience with the products and the characteristics of the products.