Factors in bread choice

The paper analyses the importance that a sample of Italian consumers attach to stated determinants of bread choice, aiming at pointing out some of the factors that can drive bread purchases. Firstly, we carried out exploratory interviews with experts and bread chain stakeholders in Italy; secondly, we administered a web survey. We processed data via principal component analysis and used the identified components for segmenting the sample. “Ethics”, “sensory quality”, “health”, and “price” are the resultant principal component, with “sensory quality” holding consumers’ preferred variables. “Origin” and “sustainability” concerns drive ethic consumers, but bread production chain seems to be marginal. Despite being a relatively simple product, bread choice has a strong cultural component, with beliefs and habits playing key roles.