Análisis de los factores que influyen en el consumo del palmito en los hogares de Guayaquil, como fortalecimiento de su consumo interno.

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to analyze the factors that influence heart palm consumption in households in Guayaquil, due to the fact that sales of Ecuadorian palm heart represent 61.2% of the world exports of the product. However, within its total production, local consumption only represents 1%. For this reason, the possibility of developing a strategic plan to increase the consumption levels of palm hearts in the homes of the city of Guayaquil is proposed. The project is divided into four chapters which are: (a) contextual framework; (b) methodology; (c) results analysis; and, (d) strategic plan. In addition, the study includes a mixed approach, the one that use different data collection tools, such as: (a) focus group; (b) interviews; and, (c) surveys. According to the results obtained in the surveys, it allowed to identify the factors to be worked on, which influence the consumption levels of palm hearts. It should be noted that the results of the surveys and interviews have congruent, which allow correlating the factors with the levels of consumption. At the moment of proposing the strategic plan, it is determined of working on the variables obtained in the collection of data, which are: (a) lack of knowledge of the product; (b) lack of knowledge of its properties; (c) low level of promotion; and, (d) estimated price to pay. In this way, it is identified that, according to the theory of the life cycle of a product, heart palm in the national market is in the introduction stage, because it does not comply with the conditions of stage. To this end, the study focuses on possible solutions for the heart palm sector.