This study aims to develop a marketing-stimuli-based segmentation of sustainable food consumers and to profile these segments through motivations and demographics for actionable strategic insights.
Data were collected from 568 consumers in Türkiye. Heterogeneous clusters were identified using hierarchical and K-means clustering methods. Marketing stimuli (product, price, distribution and marketing communications) were used as segmentation criteria, while motivations and demographics were used as profiling criteria. Motivations were inspired by the Self-Determination Theory and Value-Belief-Norm Theory. This approach fits well with the push–pull framework where marketing stimuli function as pull factors and motivations as push factors.
Three clusters of sustainable food consumers were identified: product-oriented, marketing communications-oriented and price and availability-oriented consumers. Each cluster reflects different motivational structures, including health-driven, identity-driven and sustainability-driven orientations.
This research contributes by shifting segmentation from descriptive consumer characteristics to controllable marketing stimuli thereby providing more actionable and strategically relevant insights for promoting sustainable food consumption. By applying this approach in an emerging economy context, it provides context-sensitive insights for promoting sustainable food consumption.
