Buying behavior for formula and awareness of mothers who have infants in China

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to clarify how mothers who have an infant and live in the urban area in China purchase baby formula and their awareness of the safety of formula. Research subject was 164 mothers who have an infant and live in Beijing, Chongqing, or Shijiazhuang. The method of research was individual semi-structured interview. The results of the research showed that there are only 20% of families who purchase formula from China. Many people “have a friend in abroad send it to them”, “purchase directly from a foreign website” and “purchase it themselves in a foreign country” to purchase formula made in other countries. The feeling of distrust for the safety of Chinese formula is strong and they mentioned the reasons “there is a possibility that there is something that is bad for the body”, “there are problems in production process and storage method” and “there is a possibility that it is fake”. When we asked if they want to purchase Japanese formula if they can, more than 70% people said they do not want to. The reasons were worries for radiation contamination, difficulties in purchasing so they cannot keep giving it to their child, anti-Japanese sentiment, and content of iodine. Parents with children did not trust the information released by Chinese government and companies. Although the reliability of the content is not clear, they avoid the product that is commented as dangerous. [資 料]