Five locally produced nutritive bar formulations scored 3.7-4.1 out of five among 62 child-caregiver pairs in four rural Lao communities, and over 90% of caregivers expressed purchase interest. Yet average willingness to pay, LAK 2,580.64, was well below the LAK 4,300 production cost.
Key findings
- Adults rated the bars 3.7-4.1 and children 3.7-4.0; 93.6% of caregivers would buy a preferred bar in shops and 91.9% would allow school purchase. Mean willingness to pay was about US$0.14 below production cost, while weekly ready-to-use salty snack, sweet and drink consumption was 93.5%, 95.2% and 98.4%.
Why this matters globally
The study illustrates a common challenge for locally produced nutrition products in low- and middle-income settings: acceptability does not guarantee affordability. The data can inform subsidies, scale-up and school channels, but nutritional efficacy must be demonstrated first.
Thai researcher contribution
Lead and corresponding author Marco J. Haenssgen is affiliated with Chiang Mai University's Department of Social Sciences and Development, linking consumer research with Lao, French and UK partners.
Limitations to consider
Only 62 pairs from four communities were included, and the non-inferential analysis makes willingness-to-pay correlates exploratory. Stated intention may differ from purchases, and the study did not measure sustained intake, nutritional status, safety or displacement of normal foods.