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Present for more than 20 years, 3D food printing (3DFP) technology has not experienced the same widespread adoption as its non-food counterparts. It is believed that relevant business models are crucial for its expansion. The purpose of this study is to identify the dominant prototypical business models and patterns in the 3DFP industry. The knowledge gained could be used to provide directions for business model innovation in this industry.

The authors established a business model framework and used it to analyse the identified 3DFP manufacturers. The authors qualitatively identified the market’s prototypical business models and used agglomerative hierarchical clustering to extract further patterns.

All identified 3DFP businesses use the prototypical business model of selling ownership of physical assets, with some variations. Low-cost 3D food printers for private usage and dedicated 3D food printers for small-scale food producers are the two primary patterns identified. Furthermore, several benefits of 3DFP technology are not being used, and the identified manufacturers are barely present in high-revenue markets, which prevents them from driving technological innovation forward.

The extracted patterns can be used by the companies within the 3DFP industry and even in other additive manufacturing segments to reflect upon, refine or renew their business model. Some directions for business model innovation in this industry are provided.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to give an account of the current 3DFP business models and their possible evolution. This study also contributes to the business model patterns methodological development.

Adolescence is a period in which autonomy grows and where children develop into independent and active consumers and a period in which their food choices are also becoming more autonomous. Snacking is known to increase during the period of adolescence and the snack choice of adolescents is often unhealthy. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to know when adolescents perceive a snack as healthy. As healthiness perception could be linked to the perception of naturalness and sustainability of a snack, these are interesting product characteristics to study as well.

Semi-structured interviews with 20 adolescents were conducted to characterize their perception of healthiness, naturalness and sustainability. Chocolate snack bars were used as a stimulus product.

All participants mentioned consuming snacks because they like them. Healthiness was seen as important but was not always a priority in adolescents' snack choices. Naturalness and sustainability were concepts which the adolescents were not aware of or did not perceive as important during snack choice. The adolescents mentioned experiencing natural products to be healthier compared to not natural products. The consequences of the discerned dimensions time, impact and effect of choices were rather limited for this target group.

Understanding the healthiness, naturalness and sustainability perception of chocolate snack bars by adolescents may help to better understand drivers for adolescents' snack choices.

Dairy products are an essential part of a healthy diet, and dairy is an emerging food industry in China. Meanwhile, the dairy industry is one of the “disaster zones” with quality and safety issues occurring more frequently in its supply chain than in others. Based on qualitative research focused on consumers in the Northwest and South of China, the present study aims to understand and provide information on consumer perception of food safety in dairy products.

Nine focus group interviews were carried out from January to April 2018. Altogether, 61 participants (24 males, 37 females, aged 18–60 years) were recruited in four cities. Qualitative content analysis of the data was conducted using Nvivo version 11.4.0.

A high concern with the safety of dairy products is widespread, particularly among participants with children, who are especially worried about the safety of dairy products. High prevalence of food safety incidents causes consumers to lower their confidence in food safety, and make them pay more attention to the news about food safety incidents. Consumers tend to become less sensitive to price, focusing more on food safety and quality, while purchasing dairy products. Brand and purchase venue are the most important indicators for consumers to determine the quality of dairy products. Safety certification becomes increasingly important.

It has some limitations. The focus group interviews covered different two regions (Northwest and South of China). However, the number of focus groups was limited to nine because of budget constraints. The participants come from Northwest and South of the country, which means that the findings may not apply for another area of the country. A more representative sampling with a larger sample size would be necessary to increase the validity of the study. However, the results can serve as input for further research.

This paper explores the Chinese consumers' perception of food safety and dairy products, consumers' behaviour concerning dairy products based on focus group interviews with consumers. This study offers valuable insights to members of academia, food suppliers and policy-makers.