The influence of lifestyle on health behavior and preference for functional foods

► The strongest motives in the consumers’ approach are the quality aspects. ► Rational food consumers are the primary target group of functional food producers. ► Adventurous food consumers stand out because they search for novelty. ► As a result, adventurous food consumers are an equally important target group. ► The segments of the Hungarian consumers can be defined according to the FRL model. The main objective of this survey is to reveal the relationship between lifestyle, health behavior, and the consumption of functional foods on the basis of Grunert’s food-related lifestyle model. In order to achieve this objective, a nationwide representative questionnaire-based survey was launched with 1000 participants in Hungary. The results indicate that a Hungarian consumer makes rational decisions, he or she seeks bargains, and he wants to know whether or not he gets good value for his money. Further on, various lifestyle segments are defined by the authors: the rational, uninvolved, conservative, careless, and adventurous consumer segments. Among these, consumers with a rational approach provide the primary target group for the functional food market, where health consciousness and moderate price sensitivity can be observed together. Adventurous food consumers stand out because they search for novelty; this makes them an equally important target group. Conservative consumers are another, one characterized by positive health behavior. According to the findings of the research, there is a significant relationship between lifestyle, health behavior, and the preference for functional food products.