Fruit and Vegetable Quality

and vegetables as an essential part of a proper meal, as being suitable
for weight reduction, as giving variation, as giving appealing colors to
the dish, and that consumers want more fruit and vegetables. Consumers
express needs for natural, fresh and tasty products that are easier to clean,
peel and prepare. Besides, consumers ask for trustworthy information,
not just different kinds of quality labels, and they prefer locally pro-
duced products. At the same time, they are very concerned about the
loss of vitamins during processing, the use of packaging and packaging
materials, gen-technology, pesticides, and irradiation. Obviously, devel-
opment and marketing of new products based on these consumer needs
require careful use of technology and packaging. In the development
process quantitative consumer research is needed to ensure that the new
product meet or, even better, exceed consumers’ expectations.
It can be difficult to classify attributes in relation to Kano’s model,
but taking Oliver’s descriptions into consideration helps. The extent to
which a concrete attribute gives rise to exiting or proportional quality
also depends on time. If it is possible to copy the attribute concerned, it
will often end up being proportional or even must-be, while a form of
protection of or relation to a brand helps create long-term positional ad-
vantages.
I have chosen to place the ecological and local attributes in the cate-
gory “exiting quality,” which denotes something extra compared with
other products. At least at the Danish market, the organic products are
accompanied by a quality label that gives consumers confidence and se-
curity about the production method; information on country of origin
should be available and cannot be copied. It is also more likely that fruit
and vegetables produced locally satisfy the expressed consumer need for

210 HOUSE OF QUALITY—AN INTEGRATED VIEW

Kano’s Model Oliver’s Definition Product Attributes

Exiting quality Monovalent satisfier Ecological

Local fruit and vegetables

Proportional quality Bivalent satisfier New varieties

Packaging

Convenience

Must-be quality Monovalent dissatisfier Good taste

No health risks

Table 11.1. Categorization of Different Attributes

in Relation to Kano’s Model