Attitudes toward rice compared with potatoes and pasta among british, french, dutch and belgian consumers

European citizens are eating more rice nowadays, and their rice consumption is expected to continue to increase. This indicates the possibility of further penetration of the rice market in the European Union by countries such as Thailand. Four European countries – the U.K., France, Belgium and the Netherlands – were the focus of our study, because they imported more than U.S.$140 million worth of rice from Thailand in 2010. This study aimed to investigate the beliefs and attitudes in those four target European countries toward rice compared with their typical main starchy foods (e.g., potatoes and pasta) in order to ascertain the possibility of rice serving as a substitute. A quantitative questionnaire was designed to assess consumer attitudes toward rice, potatoes and pasta with respect to taste, health aspects, price, calorie content, harmful substances, trustworthiness, digestibility, allergenicity and perceived specialty food. Attitudes about rice's taste, health benefits and low price were among the highest, whereas its specialty received the lowest ratings. Rice was rated more positively than potatoes and pasta for almost every attitude. Consumers' intentions to increase rice consumption in the near future were significantly associated with perceptions regarding four attributes of rice: good taste, healthfulness, low calorie content and specialty. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Positive attitudes about rice have increased markedly among consumers in the four target European countries. Perceptions of rice – either in terms of healthfulness, price, calorie content, harmful substance content, trustworthiness, digestibility and allergenicity – were superior to those of potatoes and pasta. As rice consumption per capita in Europe is still comparatively lower than consumption of potatoes and pasta, Thai rice has a potentially large demand to fill. Superior quality of rice should be differentiated and promoted to help increase consumer demand and preferences in rice. Good taste, health benefits, low calorie content and status as a specialty food could be promoted as the beneficial characteristics of rice, because in consumer surveys, these perceptions were key factors affecting consumer intention to buy more rice.