A descriptive study on Turkish young consumers’ soft drink buying behaviors

Over the past years, beverages with excessive sugar, caffeine and sodium were consumed more. Today, consumers have been more educated, prefer healthier options, and growing trend of healthy lifestyle have led to an increase demand for natural and healthy products. The aim of the study was to analyze young consumers’ soft drink buying behaviors in threefold by explaining reasons of buying soft drinks, factors that affect soft drink buying decisions, and preferences about ingredients in soft drinks. The survey method was used, and the field study was conducted with university students in Izmir City, Turkiye by convenience sampling method. The results showed that young consumers buy soft drinks since they like its taste, they can use them as a substitution of water when they are thirsty, and they can find soft drinks easily at every point of sales. It was obtained that the most important factor affecting students’ soft drink buying decisions is the brand name of the soft drink. Besides, it was found out that packaging, aroma diversity, and having healthy ingredients also affect their buying decisions. It was revealed that young generation’s main concern regarding the ingredients in soft drinks was sugar level. The study contributes to literature by investigating young consumers’ soft drinks buying behaviors and showing how health-conscious behaviors may change buying behaviors.

1 Introduction

Soft drinks refer to a non-alcoholic, carbonated, and flavored beverage, including lots of sugar such as non-caloric sweeteners (artificial sweeteners) or caloric sugar (high-fructose corn syrup) (Sheth 2017). The history of the beverage industry goes back to the 17th century. Uzkesici (2018) stated that De Lemonades, which was produced in Paris in 1676, was one of the first products offered to consumers other than water. With the inclusion of carbon dioxide in beverages in 1767, a new product group called carbonated beverage was formed. With the launch of Coca-Cola in 1830 and Pepsi in 1898 in the United States, the first modern carbonated beverage brands were established. The soft beverages can be separated into two main categories as hot and cold, and 86% of all communications in 2018 were made in the cold beverage category whereas hot drinks have a share of 14% (Ucgun 2018). One of the strongest parts of cold beverage category was carbonated beverages. The carbonated beverage industry is the first category among soft drinks, with approximately 37% of beverage consumption in Turkiye, however the annual per capita consumption of carbonated beverages in Turkiye is lower with 170 cans/bottle, which is 750 boxes/bottles in the USA (Uzkesici 2018).
In every country, there are many national companies that produce soft drinks. There are 993 kinds of soft drinks sold under 195 brands and 101 parent companies in the USA in 2010 (Howard et al. 2010). The most popular companies in the soft drink market are Coca Cola, Pepsi, Red Bull, Monster, GURU, Sprite, Dr Pepper, Fanta, and Reign (Statista Market Insight 2022). The countries with the highest levels of soft drink consumption are Argentine (155 liters per capita), United States (154 liters per capita), Chile (141 liters per capita), Mexico (137 liters per capita), Uruguay (113 liters per capita), Belgium (109 liters per capita), Germany (98 liters per capita), Norway (98 liters per capita), Saudi Arabia (89 liters per capita), and Bolivia (89 liters per capita) (Sheth 2017).
Kregiel (2015) classified soft beverages and showed that soft beverage market has eleven types of soft drink. The types of soft drinks were shown as follows: (1) bottled water (stilled, carbonated, flavored), (2) carbonated beverages, (3) juice, (4) nectars (diluted fruit/vegetable juice and pulp, with sweetening agents, minerals, and vitamins), (5) still drinks (flavored ready-to-drink, noncarbonated beverages, containing fruit or nonfruit flavors or juice content), (6) squash/syrups (concentrations for home consumption), (7) fruit powders, (8) iced/ready-to-drink tea or coffee drinks, (9) sports drinks, (10) energy drinks, (11) bulk/hot water. In Turkiye, soft drinks were separated into five categories as follows: Tea and coffee, carbonated drinks, energy drinks, beverages with milk/fruit/herbal content, and water/enriched water/sports drinks (Uzkesici 2018). Today, with the latest innovations in the market and changing consumer trends, new products have been developed in the soft drink industry. The categories of soft drinks can be explained as follows: Tea and coffee (ready-to-drink or frozen which is a type of specialty foods), carbonated beverages (sodas like cola), non-carbonated beverages (packaged juices and ice teas), mineral water, energy drinks, sports drinks (protein milk). Soft drinks are known for their bad effects on human health due to their excessive amount of sugar. Except soft drinks, healthier drinks can be preferred by consumers such as herbal infusions, fresh vegetable/fruit juices (like celery juice or watermelon juice), fermented drinks (kefir and kombucha), plant-based milk (coconut and soy milk), and non-artificial smoothies made with fresh fruits and vegetables.
In Turkiye, there are many national and international brands that produce soft drinks. Soft drink industry can be separated into two parts as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage in Turkiye, and non-alcoholic beverages are the scope of this study which includes coffee, tea, juice, mineral water, iced tea, sport drinks, and energy drinks. There is a decrease in the consumption of carbonated beverages, due to the fact that carbonated beverages are considered as unhealthier because they contain sugar and its derivatives (Ucgun 2018). It was mentioned in literature that types and numbers of beverages consumed can be related to traditions, habits, and social life conditions (Budak et al. 2002).
Previous studies demonstrated that excessive soft drink consumption is harmful and increases the development of obesity (Buscemi 2014; Hasselkvist et al. 2014; Narain et al. 2017). Sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages are harmful to human health and associated with metabolic syndrome (Narain et al. 2017). Increasing numbers of educated consumers and healthy lifestyle trends make a raising demand for natural, organic, and healthy products. There is a big shift towards healthy eating, and it is expected to increase even more. In today’s healthier world, soft drinks are still consumed by consumers even if they are known as a type of unhealthy product (Suter et al. 2019). Especially, young generations, like Generation Z, continue to buy and consume these products. The main aim of the study is to analyze young consumers’ buying behaviors of soft drink products. Within this aim, the research question was developed, and survey method was used to collect data. After analyzing data, findings were shown, and suggestions were made. The originality of the research was that the research showed the latest findings regarding young consumers’ soft drink behaviors and their perspectives about products in the soft drink industry. The research contributed to literature by investigating young consumers’ soft drink behaviors in terms of explaining the reasons of buying soft drink products, determining the factors that affect soft drink buying decisions, and analyzing the preferences about ingredients in soft drinks.

2 Literature review

In recent years, scholars have studied on soft drinks’ benefits and consumers’ habits of soft drink consumption, therefore little research indicated that soft drinks are unhealthy products for human health (Buscemi 2014; Hasselkvist et al. 2014; Narain et al. 2017; Reppas et al. 2022). It was found out that high soft drink consumption caused unhealthy lifestyle and poor oral health among adolescents (Hasselkvist et al. 2014; Tahmassebi and BaniHani 2020). Consumers have been become more educated in todays’ social and digital era, and they have been choosing healthier options to maintain a healthy lifestyle nowadays. However, young consumers and adolescents continue to consume these unhealthy and sugar-sweetened soft drinks. Tahmassebi and BaniHani (2020) showed that the greatest soft drink consumption has been among children and adolescents.
Budak et al. (2002) conducted a research among university students in Kayseri, Turkiye and showed that students prefer water and milk since they have high nutritional value and do not contain any additives. Their beverage preferences were ranked as follows: water, black tea, ayran, milk, coffee, juice, mineral water, carbonated beverage, and herbal tea. Their reasons to consume these beverages were also analyzed in the study. Majority of students said that they consume these products because consuming these beverages are their habits, they like the tastes of these beverages, and they think that these beverages are healthy. They have also mentioned that because of higher prices of herbal teas and bad tastes of carbonated beverages, they do not prefer consuming these beverages much. Trends in soft drink and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption were analyzed in Australia and it was revealed that there was a huge decrease in the numbers of adults who consume sugar-sweetened beverages, which is a societal trend among consumers in Australia (Dawes et al. 2020).
Onurlubas and Cakirlar (2017) analyzed brand loyalty in the carbonated beverage industry in Izmir City and showed that 73.5% of consumers always prefer the same brand, which shows the presence of high brand loyalty. In line with this, Bisschoff and Bester (2018) revealed that parents in South Africa care about customer satisfaction and brand loyalty performance. Yarimoglu et al. (2019) showed that parents’ intentions to buy unhealthy products such as sugar-added soft drinks, sweetener beverages, and junk food is affected by anticipated regret and perceived risk. Because of the bad impacts of junk foods and unhealthy beverages, Unilever (2022) announced that the company banned promoting of foods and beverages to kids under 16s, which is a good example of responsible marketing for the other food and beverage companies.
According to the IPSOS Consumer Panels results, carbonated beverage is more popular than other soft beverages in Turkiye, and the share of juice in the soft beverage market decreased whereas the shares of mineral water and iced tea increased (Gida Teknolojisi 2021). Ay et al. (2005) conducted a study in the carbonated beverage market and showed that consumers want new flavors in carbonated beverages such as cherry (36%), lemon (29%) and peach (16%) flavored fruit soda. The share of fruit flavored products in the mineral water market is around 24% and this increased product variety in the market, which provided an opportunity for different age groups to become active mineral water consumers (Mercan 2016). Ucgun (2018) stated that consumers want to try new products, sustainable and ethical production is extremely important, providing harmless and environmentally-friendly product is expected, generation Z will prefer high-quality products, and consumers do not want to consume beverages containing sugar.
In 2015, mineral water consumption per person in Turkiye was 10 liters whereas it was 170 liters in Italy (Mercan 2016). Arslan et al. (2001) conducted a research to determine the factors affecting mineral water consumption, and they collected data from students at four universities in Ankara, Turkiye. More than half of students said that they consume mineral water at least once a day and they think that mineral water is healthier than other soft beverages. Consumption difference between departments was found to be statistically significant. The students studying in a health-related department know and trust mineral water, and consume it more than other students. The main reasons of mineral water consumption were due to health problems, indigestion, and its lovely taste. In addition, students prefer consuming mineral water in a glass bottle because it is healthier. It was also found out in the study that students take recommendations about mineral water consumption from a family member (26.8%), friends (22.1%), and media such as newspapers and magazines (12.7%). The fact that this rate is very low may be due to the fact that mineral waters are almost never advertised in mass media. On the other hand, advertisements for other beverages are frequently published, and consumption and preference of such drinks were also quite high compared to mineral waters as a result of advertisements.
Babayigit et al (2006) defined the soft beverage consumption habits of young adult men and factors affecting the usage of soft beverages. According to this study, the most consumed beverage was carbonated beverage such as cola and the least consumed was energy drink. The factors that affect their soft beverage consumption were found as follows: income level, place of living, education level, status of tv watching, friends’ habits of soft beverage consumption, taste of soft beverages, and food preferences. In India, soft drinks were not consumed as substitute drinks, Indian youths’ attitudes towards the utility and nutritional dimensions of soft drinks had a positive impact on the consumption frequency (Kumar and Ray 2018).
It was proven in literature that in the high usage of cola and carbonated beverages increase the frequency of obesity and diabetes (Ebbeling et al. 2007). Saygin et al. (2010) aimed to analyze university students’ eating habits and showed that adolescent students in universities have an unbalanced diet, which is a big social problem. Due to the high levels of consuming carbonated beverages and eating fried meals, university students are at risk of obesity, which leads to chronic diseases like diabetes. Today’s educated consumers try to buy healthier products. Since consumers have been starting to prefer healthy products without added sugar, soft drink companies are keen on developing healthy products without sugar (Ucgun 2018). It can be said that trends among consumers and raising health-conscious behaviors can affect society’s buying decisions and companies’ production decisions.

3 Research methodology

The main aim of the study was to analyze young consumers’ soft drink buying behaviors. Within this aim, the main research question of the study was formed as below:

RQ: Why and how do young consumers buy soft drink products?
In the study, the aim is threefold. These aims are related to explaining the reasons of buying soft drinks, determining the factors that affect soft drink buying decisions, and analyzing the preferences about ingredients in soft drinks. Within these aims, the research question was divided into three parts and shown below:

RQ1: Why do young consumers buy soft drinks?
RQ2: Which factors do affect young consumers’ soft drink buying decision?
RQ3: What are young consumers’ preferences about ingredients in soft drinks?

In this descriptive study, a survey method was used, and data were collected from university students. Since the study aimed to analyze young consumers’ soft drink buying behaviors, only university students were selected as population. The study was conducted in one university in Izmir City, Turkiye. The questionnaire was formed by close-ended and ranking questions. The factors that affect buying decisions were taken from previous studies and asked by 5-point Likert type question. There were no scale questions from literature in the survey.
Online survey technique was used to deliver the questionnaire to the students studying at university, with convenience sampling technique. Even though the questionnaire was distributed to approximately 300 students, only 181 of them participated to the research. After eliminating the missing questionnaires, a total of 153 questionnaires were held. The field study was implemented in April 2020. Since the COVID-19 Pandemic has been starting in the period of the research in Turkiye, the sample size was small and only one university’s students could be reached as sample.
Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics such as cross tables and frequency tables. Since the main aim of the study was to show how and why young generations buy unhealthy soft drink products, the analyses in the study were kept basic and descriptive.

4 Findings

The demographic characteristics of students who participated in the survey were shown in Table 1 below. According to the Table 1, the majority of students were female, aged 23 and over, from Faculty of Business and Department of Business Administration.

Table 1: Demographics of the participants
Source: Authors

After demographic questions, the questions about the consumption of soft drinks were asked in the questionnaire. First, frequency of soft drink consumption was asked. According to the findings, 30.1% of the participants consumed soft drinks a few times in a month, 24.8% of the participants consumed a few times a week, 21.6% of the participants consumed once a week, 13.7% of the participants consumed twice a day, and 9.8% of the participants consumed once a day. Second, the preferred size of soft drinks was asked to the participants. Findings showed that 65.4% of the participants preferred buying soft drinks in small amounts such as 330 milliliters and 250 milliliters, 28.8% of the participants preferred buying soft drinks in medium amounts such as 1 liter and 1.5 liters, 5.9% of the participants preferred buying soft drinks in large amounts such as 2 liters and 2.5 liters. Third, preferred bottle type of soft drinks was asked. Based on the findings, 51% of the participants preferred buying soft drinks in glass bottles, 30.7% of the participants preferred buying soft drinks in cans, 18.3% of the participants preferred buying soft drinks in plastic bottles.
Next question was asked to analyze RQ1: Why do young consumers buy soft drinks? This question was asked to the participants to analyze reasons of buying soft drinks. The reasons of buying soft drinks were obtained as follows: 1) Taste, 2) A beverage when feeling thirstiness, 3) Easy to buy, 4) Cannot find any substitute products, 5) Habit, 6) Healthy option, 7) Affordable price. It was found out that 52.2% of the participants buy soft drinks because they like the taste, 18.3% of the participants buy soft drinks because they are thirsty, 13.8% of the participants buy soft drinks because soft drinks are easy to buy, 7.2% of the participants buy soft drinks because they could not find the substitute products such as tea or coffee, 3.9% of the participants buy soft drinks because drinking soft drink is a habit, 3.2% of the participants buy soft drinks because they think they are healthy, 1.3% of the participants buy soft drinks because soft drinks have affordable price.
Next question was asked to analyze RQ2: Which factors do affect young consumers’ soft drink buying decision? The question about the factors that affect the students’ buying decisions of soft drinks were asked by 5-point Likert scale. The findings were ranked below in Table 2 according to the frequency of results for strongly agree (5) and agree (4). According to this, the most important factor that affects students’ soft drink buying decisions was the brand name of the soft drink. After that, the package size, aroma diversity, package design, healthy ingredients, advertising strategy, and high-low pricing strategies affect students’ buying decisions, respectively.

Table 2: Factors that affect soft drink buying decision
Source: Authors

Lastly, the preferences about ingredients in soft drinks were asked to the students to analyze the third research question. RQ3: What are young consumers’ preferences about ingredients in soft drinks? According to the answer „Yes“, the results were ranked in Table 3 below. The answers showed that the participants prefer soft drinks without sugar and artificial flavoring. They prefer zero-calorie, gluten free, caffeine free, sodium free, and vegan soft drinks.

Table 3: Preferences about ingredients in soft drinks
Source: Authors

5 Conclusion

The study analyzed Turkish students’ soft drink buying behaviors by showing (1) the reasons of buying soft drinks, (2) factors that affect buying soft drinks, (3) preferences of ingredients in soft drinks. Similar findings were shown in previous studies (Arslan et al. 2001; Budak et al. 2002; Ay et al. 2005; Ucgun 2018). Budak et al. (2002) conducted a research with students and suggested that students should be educated to consume affordable soft drinks that contribute their daily energy and nutritional needs, and the production of these soft drinks and their sales should be encouraged in the environments where students frequently exist. In the study, it was seen that young consumers have information about soft drinks, healthy ingredients, and health-conscious buying behaviors. Their preferences were directly affected by gluten-free, natural, healthy, and vegan soft drinks.
In the study, it was found out that the majority of students (60.8%) prefer consuming soft drinks while eating. It is recommended soft drink companies to sell their products in school cafeterias and crowded places with vending machines to provide a convenient place for accessibility to their products. Besides this, it was found out that 65.4% of students prefer buying smaller cans/bottles. It is recommended to soft drink companies to produce smaller cans or bottles, which may also increase out of home consumption. In addition to this, it is recommended to soft drink companies to produce more glass bottles instead of plastics containers. It was found out that 51% of students prefer buying a soft drink in a glass bottle. Because plastics are harmful for nature and human health, consumers who have environmentally conscious behaviors never buy these products in plastic packages.
In the study, the first research question was about to explain why students buy soft drinks. According to the results, first, they said they buy soft drinks due to their tastes. It is suggested to soft drink companies to add some new flavors such as cherry, lemon, and ginger to the existing soft drinks in the market in order to differentiate their tastes. Before adding new flavor, they should not forget to make the concept testing and implement the stages of new product development as well. Second, they said they buy soft drinks when they feel thirsty. Hence, it is suggested soft drink companies to promote soft drinks as a substitute product of water. Water is the healthiest option for thirsty people, so the ingredients of soft drinks must be also healthy to replace it with water. Consumers who have health-conscious behaviors will buy soft drinks instead of water only under this circumstance. Third reason of buying soft drink was their convenient places, which are sold everywhere. Since they are easy to buy for consumers, it is suggested to soft drink companies to use intensive distribution methods, and also automatic vending machines in crowded parts.
In the study, the factors that affect students’ soft drink buying decisions were also determined. The study showed that students’ soft drink buying decisions were affected by factors such as brand name, package, ingredients (such as aroma diversity and healthy ingredients), promotion (advertisements), and price. These factors are consistent with marketing elements, which are also known as 4Ps, and lead to scholars to think about marketing elements of soft drink companies. According to the results, the first factor that affects soft drink buying decision was the brand name of the soft drink. It shows the importance of manufacturer firm in buying decision. If the firm is a local firm that consumers know well or a leading firm in the industry with a good reputation, it affects its sales volume positively. It is suggested to soft drink companies to increase brand trust, brand loyalty, and brand reliability by using different marketing types and several marketing implementations. First, they should satisfy their consumers with the features of the product such as taste, quality, and price. Second, these satisfied consumers will turn into loyal customers. These loyal customers will show patronizing in time, and this will lead to brand loyalty. The second factor that affects soft drink buying decision was soft drinks’ package size. As it was mentioned above, students care about the size of soft drinks, majority of them (65.4%) prefer buying smaller cans/bottles. The optimum amount of soft drink should be examined carefully by soft drink companies. The third factor was aroma diversity. As students care about taste of soft drinks, adding more flavor to the soft drinks is inevitable for companies. It is suggested adding more fresh, non-artificial, and non-preservative flavors to soft drinks.
In the study, the preferences of students about ingredients in soft drinks were asked. It was revealed that having healthy ingredients is important for students. It is suggested to soft drink companies to increase healthy ingredients to differentiate taste and provide unique different aromas and flavors to consumers. Since the majority of students worried about the sugar level in soft drinks, it is suggested to soft drink companies not to use excessive sugar. They should use natural ingredients instead of sugar, in addition avoid using artificial flavoring like sweeteners such as sucralose and aspartame.

6 Limitations and further research

There were some limitations in the study. The first limitation was the sample of the study. The field study was implemented in April 2020, which is the period of COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkiye, and more people could not be found to participate in the survey. Focusing only young consumers was the second limitation of the study. The sample only included university students as young consumers, since they are the main target market for soft drink products. However, adolescents and adults are the other target markets which need to be focused in future research. Especially for adolescents, there is a need to examine their soft drink buying behaviors. The role of their parents and their home environments regarding healthy or unhealthy lifestyle will also affect adolescents’ behaviors closely (Gebremariam et al. 2016). The third limitation was related to the methodology of the study. The study gave a narrow perception about consumers living in Izmir, even though quantitative methods were implemented. Qualitative studies should be also employed in future research to understand the insights related to soft drink buying behaviors in terms of reasons of buying soft drinks, factors that affect soft drink buying behaviors, and ingredients preferred by consumers.
When developing future studies, it is important to focus on educating consumers about harmful effects of soft drinks. In practical implications, education about reading labels, caring ingredients, and following up healthy lifestyle should be emphasized. It was found out that young people who have higher education levels would be the future’s sustainable segments (Jaderná and Volfova 2022). Another important element is packaging and labelling that affect consumer buying behavior, which was also found as one of the findings in the study. It was proven in literature how packaging and labelling have important effects on consumer attitudes (Sahel et al. 2022). It was obtained that labelling regulation allows for misleading claims such as big soft drink companies may promote their unhealthy products as healthy on labels within the desire of promotion (Garcia and Proffitt 2021). Besides these, public campaigns related to reducing the consumption of soft drinks should be improved and the importance of public health should be urged upon with different marketing activities since it was found out that public relations activities can be used as a publicity tool by food companies with considering brand reputation (Kadekova and Kosiciarova 2020).

Poznámky/Notes

The article is a part of a Graduation Project submitted to Yasar University Department of Business Administration, developed by the advisor (Emel Yarimoglu) and bachelor students (Iremsu Cebisli, Ali Riza Levent, Talha Tesik, Melisa Ozan).

Literatúra/List of References

1. Arslan, P., Samur, G. and Agim, M., 2001. Maden suyu/sodasinin universite ögrencileri arasinda tuketim durumu ve bunu etkileyen faktorler uzerine bir arastirma. In: Beslenme ve Diyet Dergisi. 2001, 30(3), 22-28. ISSN 1300-3089.
2. Ay, C., Nardali, S. and Kartal, B., 2005. Gazli icecek sektoru ve gazoz pazarindaki kobiler icin nis pazarlamasina bir ornek. In: Yonetim ve Ekonomi. 2005, 12(2), 53-65. ISSN 1302-0064.
3. Babayigit, M. A., Ogur, R., Tekbas, O. F. and Hasde, M., 2006. Genc eriskin erkeklerde alkolsuz icecek tuketim aliskanliklarinin ve etki eden faktörlerin arastirilmasi. In: Genel Tip Dergisi. 2006, 16(4), 161-168. e-ISSN 2602-3741.
4. Bisschoff, C. A. and Bester, C. J., 2018. The influence of brand loyalty and nutrition in soft drink consumption of South African children. In: Boundary Blurred: A seamless customer experience in virtual and real spaces: Proceedings of the 2018 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference 46, pp. 267-280. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-319-99180-1.
5. Budak, N., Cicek, B. and Sahin, H., 2002. Universite ogrencilerinin tükettikleri icecekler ve tercihlerini belirleyen etmenler. In: Beslenme ve Diyet Dergisi. 2002, 31(2), 31-40. ISSN 1300-3089.
6. Buscemi, S., 2014. Soft drink consumption and unhealthy diet. In: European journal of clinical nutrition. 2014, 68(3), 408-408. ISSN 0954-3007.
7. Dawes, E., D’Onise, K. and Spurrier, N., 2020. Trends in soft drink and sugar‐sweetened beverage consumption among South Australians, focusing on distribution of intake by subpopulation. In: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 2020, 44(5), 410-418. ISSN 1753-6405.
8. Ebbeling, C. B., Leidig, M. M., Feldman, H. A., Lovesky, M. M. and Ludwig, D. S., 2007. Effects of a low-glycemic load vs low-fat diet in obese young adults: a randomized trial. In: 2007, 297(19), 2092-2102. ISSN 0098-7484.
9. Garcia, C. J. and Proffitt, J. M., 2021. „We are Coca-Cola and so much more“: political economic analysis of non-carbonated SSB Coke brands. In: Food, Culture and Society. 2021, 1-18. ISSN 1552-8014.
10. Gebremariam, M. K., Henjum, S., Terragni, L. and Torheim, L. E., 2016. Correlates of fruit, vegetable, soft drink, and snack intake among adolescents: the ESSENS study. In: Food & nutrition research. 2016, 60(1), 32512. ISSN 1654-6628.
11. com, 2021. Içecekte tercihimiz gazli mesrubatlar. 2021. [online]. [cit. 2022-04-22]. Available at: <https://www.gidateknolojisi.com.tr/haber/2021/05/icecekte-tercihimiz-gazli-mesrubatlar>
12. Hasselkvist, A., Johansson, A. and Johansson, A. K., 2014. Association between soft drink consumption, oral health and some lifestyle factors in Swedish adolescents. In: Acta Odontologica Scandinavica. 2014, 72(8), 1039-1046. ISSN 0001-6357.
13. Howard, P., Duvall, C. and Goldsberry, K., 2010. The illusion of diversity: visualizing ownership in the soft drink industry. 2010. [online]. [cit. 2022-04-10]. Available at: <https://philhoward.net/2017/05/11/the-illusion-of-diversity-visualizing-ownership-in-the-soft-drink-industry/>
14. Jaderná, E. and Volfová, H., 2022. Influence of Czech consumers’ education level on preferences for sustainable retailers and products. In: Marketing Science & Inspirations. 2022, 17(2), 26-41. ISSN 1338-7944.
15. Kadekova, Z. and Kosiciarova, I., 2020. Publicity as a tool of PR activities within CSR concept in food enterprises in Slovakia. In: Marketing Science & Inspirations. 2020, 15(1), 2-14. ISSN 1338-7944.
16. Kregiel, D., 2015. Health safety of soft drinks: contents, containers, and microorganisms. In: BioMed Research International. 2015, 1-15. ISSN 2314-6133.
17. Kumar, N. and Ray, S., 2018. Attitude towards soft drinks and its consumption pattern: a study of Gen Y consumers of India. In: British Food Journal. 2018, 120(2), 355-366. ISSN 0007-070X.
18. Mercan, S., 2016. Meyve aromalı maden suları sektore canlilik getirdi, Brandage. 2016. [online]. [cit. 2022-05-03]. Available at: <https://www.thebrandage.com/meyve-aromali-maden-sulari-sektoere-canlilik-getirdi>
19. Narain, A., Kwok, C. S. and Mamas, M. A., 2017. Soft drink intake and the risk of metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. In: International journal of clinical practice. 2017, 71(2), 12927. ISSN 1368-5031.
20. Onurlubas, E. and Çakirlar, H., 2017. Gazli icecek tuketiminde tuketicilerin marka algisinin belirlenmesi: Izmir ili ornegi. In: Journal of Life Economics. 2017, 4(3), 93-112. e-ISSN 2148-4139.
21. Reppas, K., Papamichael, M. M., Boutsikou, T., Cardon, G., Iotova, V., Stefanova, T., … and Feel4Diabetes-Study Group, 2022. Associations between soft drink consumption and lifestyle patterns with overweight and obesity in European adults: Feel4Diabetes-Study. In: Nutrition. 2022, 103, 111769. ISSN 0899-9007.
22. Sahel, S. M., Kadi, Y., Bouchetara, M. and Khelladi, S. M. B., 2022. Impact of innovative packaging on the attitudes and purchase intention of visually impaired and blind consumers: The case of Algeria. In: Marketing Science & Inspirations. 2022, 17(1), 2-19. ISSN 1338-7944.
23. Saygin, M., Ongel, K., Caliskan, S., Yagli, M., Has, M., Gonca, T. and Kurt, Y., 2011. Suleyman Demirel Universitesi ogrencilerinin beslenme aliskanliklari. In: SDU Tip Fakultesi Dergisi. 2011, 18(2), 43-47. ISSN 1300-7416.
24. Sheth, K., 2017. Countries with the highest levels of soft drink consumption. World Atlas. 2017. [online]. [cit. 2022-03-03]. Available at: <https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-highest-levels-of-soft-drink-consumption.html>
25. Statista Market Insight, 2022. Soft drinks key players. 2022. [online]. [cit. 2023-09-09]. Available at: <https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/non-alcoholic-drinks/soft-drinks/united-states#key-players>
26. Suter, R., Miller, C., Gill, T. and Coveney, J., 2020. The bitter and the sweet: a cultural comparison of non-alcoholic beverage consumption in Japan and Australia. In: Food, Culture & Society. 2020, 23(3), 334-346. ISSN 1552-8014.
27. Tahmassebi, J. F. and BaniHani, A., 2020. Impact of soft drinks to health and economy: a critical review. In: European archives of paediatric dentistry. 2020, 21(1), 109-117. ISSN 1053-4628.
28. Ucgun, C., 2018. Sektor Analizi: Icecek Sektoru, Skala Medya. [online]. [cit. 2022-04-23]. Available at: <https://docplayer.biz.tr/116093819-Icecek-sektoru-skala-medya-nin-iletisim-bultenidir.html>
29. Unilever, 2022. Championing global commitments that ensure no food marketing to under-16s. 2022. [online]. [cit. 2022-05-24]. Available at: <https://www.unilever.com/news/news-search/2022/championing-global-commitments-that-ensure-no-food-marketing-to-under16s/>
30. Uzkesici, D., 2018. Turkiye’deki icecek sektorune genel bir bakis, Pazarlamasyon. 2018. [online]. [cit. 2022-02-05]. Available at: <https://pazarlamasyon.com/turkiyedeki-icecek-sektorune-genel-bir-bakis/>
31. Yarimoglu, E., Kazancoglu, I. and Bulut, Z. A., 2019. Factors influencing Turkish parents’ intentions towards anti-consumption of junk food. In: British Food Journal. 2019, 121(1), 35-53. ISSN 0007-070X.

Kľúčové slová/Key words

soft beverage, buying decision, purchase behavior, Gen Z, health-conscious consumer behavior
nealkoholické nápoje, nákupné rozhodovanie, nákupné správanie, generácia Z, správanie spotrebiteľov uvedomujúcich si zdravie

JEL klasifikácia/JEL Classification

M31

Résumé

Deskriptívna štúdia nákupného správania tureckých mladých spotrebiteľov nealkoholických nápojov
V posledných rokoch sa viac konzumovali nápoje s nadmerným obsahom cukru, kofeínu a sodíka. V súčasnosti sú spotrebitelia vzdelanejší, uprednostňujú zdravšie možnosti a rastúci trend zdravého životného štýlu viedol k zvýšenému dopytu po prírodných a zdravých výrobkoch. Cieľom štúdie bolo analyzovať nákupné správanie mladých spotrebiteľov nealkoholických nápojov v troch rovinách, a to prostredníctvom vysvetlenia dôvodov nákupu nealkoholických nápojov, faktorov, ktoré ovplyvňujú rozhodovanie o kúpe nealkoholických nápojov a preferencií týkajúcich sa zložiek nealkoholických nápojov. Použila sa metóda dopytovania a terénny prieskum sa uskutočnil s univerzitnými študentmi v meste Izmir v Turecku metódou pohodlného výberu. Výsledky ukázali, že mladí spotrebitelia kupujú nealkoholické nápoje, pretože im vyhovuje ich chuť, môžu ich použiť ako náhradu vody, keď sú smädní a nealkoholické nápoje ľahko nájdu na každom predajnom mieste. Zistilo sa, že najdôležitejším faktorom, ktorý ovplyvňuje rozhodovanie študentov o kúpe nealkoholických nápojov je značka nealkoholického nápoja. Okrem toho sa zistilo, že ich nákupné rozhodnutia ovplyvňuje aj obal, rozmanitosť vôní a to, že majú zdravé zložky. Zistilo sa, že mladá generácia sa v súvislosti so zložkami nealkoholických nápojov najviac obáva o obsah cukru. Štúdia prispieva k literatúre tým, že skúma nákupné správanie mladých spotrebiteľov nealkoholických nápojov. Poukazuje, ako môže správanie spotrebiteľov uvedomujúc si zdravie zmeniť ich nákupné správanie.

Recenzované/Reviewed

20. September 2023 / 7. October 2023