Consumption Trends and Perspectives for Milk and Dairy Products in Slovakia

AbstractMilk and dairy products are an essential food and their position has been strengthened due to current trends and consumers’ lifestyles. The objective of this paper was to examine dairy consumption trends in Slovakia and to study consumer behavior of dairy products. Dairy consumption trends were analyzed based on secondary data obtained from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. Primary data were obtained from an online survey conducted on a sample of 1,138 respondents. The results showed that annual dairy consumption is at a level of approximately 190 kg per capita. Slovak consumers consider dairy products to be healthy foods, and the older generations consume them relatively often. The importance of functional dairy products is constantly growing, and they are preferred by the younger consumers. Moreover, freshness, quality, taste, health effects and a type of product are key factors determining the purchase and consumption of functional dairy products.Keywords: Consumer researchconsumption patternsfunctional foodsmilk and dairy products AcknowledgmentsThis publication was supported by the Operational Programme Integrated Infrastructure within the project: Demand-driven research for the sustainable and innovative food, Drive4SIFood 313011V336, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and by the project VEGA Nr. 1/0245/21 Implementation of the New EU Food Strategy in the Food Chain in Slovakia.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).