Tracing the Novelty,
Savoring the Future

When weird flavors go viral

From salted-egg-yolk soda to cilantro juice, novelty flavors have become the beverage industry's most talked-about frontier — but virality does not guarantee repeat purchase.

“Why do consumers pay for novelty-flavored beverages — and how does the decision logic systematically differ across consumer groups?”

The TPB engine, made clickable

The questionnaire operationalizes the Theory of Planned Behavior across four constructs, five Likert items each. Select a node to inspect its definition, sample items and evidence.

From questionnaire to model

A multi-stage sampling design across six Nanjing districts, followed by a full statistical pipeline in SPSS and AMOS.

STEP 01

Instrument design

TPB-based questionnaire; 4 constructs × 5 Likert items, refined through an 87-response pilot.

STEP 02

Multi-stage sampling

Stratified + Lahiri + SRS; six districts — Lishui, Jiangning, Qinhuai, Jianye, Qixia, Luhe.

STEP 03

Fieldwork

Online + offline interception surveys in public spaces; dual data entry and four validity screens.

STEP 04

Analysis

SPSS + AMOS: reliability & validity, EFA, ordered-logistic regression, K-means, MANOVA, SEM.

What 1,030 residents told us

Social influence runs high, purchase conditions are favorable — yet conversion lags far behind intention.

Three tribes of novelty drinkers

K-means clustering (elbow method, silhouette 0.389) separates consumers into three sharply distinct groups.

The model holds — and explains

All six hypothesized paths are significant and positive. Attitude is the strongest direct driver of intention, followed by subjective norm and perceived control.

Four takeaways, one playbook

Novelty beverages are bought socially, judged on experience, and lost at the last mile.

Survey instruments & paper artifacts

Novelty-Flavored Beverage Consumption Survey

Final instrument · anonymous · 5-point Likert matrices (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) · 猎奇口味饮料消费倾向调查问卷

Q1 Gender 性别 · Male 男 / Female 女 Q2 Age 年龄 · 18以下 / 18–25 / 26–30 / 31–40 / 41–50 / 51–60 / 60+ Q3 Education 学历 · 初中及以下 → 研究生及以上 Q4 Occupation 职业 · 22 categories Q5 City 城市 (fill-in)

Section A · Attitude toward novelty beverages 行为态度

Item 题项	1	2	3	4	5
High overall liking for novelty beverages我对猎奇口味饮料的整体喜好程度很高	○	○	○	○	○
The taste is truly unique猎奇口味饮料的口味非常独特	○	○	○	○	○
More appealing than regular beverages猎奇口味饮料比普通饮料更有吸引力	○	○	○	○	○
Satisfies my curiosity猎奇口味饮料能够满足我的好奇心	○	○	○	○	○
Very willing to try new novelty flavors我非常愿意尝试新的猎奇口味饮料	○	○	○	○	○
The packaging design is creative猎奇口味饮料的包装设计很有创意	○	○	○	○	○
The brand image attracts me猎奇口味饮料的品牌形象很吸引我	○	○	○	○	○

Section B · Subjective norm 主观规范

Item 题项	1	2	3	4	5
My family strongly supports my purchase我的家人非常支持我购买猎奇口味饮料	○	○	○	○	○
Friends often recommend them to me我的朋友经常推荐我购买猎奇口味饮料	○	○	○	○	○
Others' opinions change my purchase decisions我会因为周围人的意见而改变购买决策	○	○	○	○	○
I feel everyone around me is buying them我觉得周围人都在购买猎奇口味饮料	○	○	○	○	○
Buying them is a trendy behavior购买猎奇口味饮料是一种潮流行为	○	○	○	○	○
My colleagues rate them highly我的同事对猎奇口味饮料的评价很高	○	○	○	○	○
I refer to social media recommendations我会参考社交媒体上的相关推荐	○	○	○	○	○

Section C · Perceived behavioral control 感知行为控制

Item 题项	1	2	3	4	5
Buying them is very convenient购买猎奇口味饮料非常方便	○	○	○	○	○
The price is reasonable猎奇口味饮料的价格非常合理	○	○	○	○	○
I encounter almost no barriers购买时几乎不会遇到障碍	○	○	○	○	○
Sales channels are abundant猎奇口味饮料的销售渠道非常多	○	○	○	○	○
Packaging strongly influences my decision包装设计对我的购买决策影响非常大	○	○	○	○	○
Easy to find in supermarkets我很容易在超市找到猎奇口味饮料	○	○	○	○	○
Promotions attract me猎奇口味饮料的促销活动很吸引我	○	○	○	○	○

Section D · Purchase intention 购买意图

Item 题项	1	2	3	4	5
I will definitely buy in the future我未来一定会购买猎奇口味饮料	○	○	○	○	○
Very willing to recommend to others我非常愿意向他人推荐猎奇口味饮料	○	○	○	○	○
Plan to buy within a month我计划在未来一个月内购买猎奇口味饮料	○	○	○	○	○
Buying them is a fun experience购买猎奇口味饮料是一种非常有趣的体验	○	○	○	○	○
A product well worth trying猎奇口味饮料是一种非常值得尝试的产品	○	○	○	○	○
I regularly follow new launches我会定期关注猎奇口味饮料的新品信息	○	○	○	○	○
Promotions increase my purchase volume我会因为优惠活动而增加购买量	○	○	○	○	○

Open questions 开放题

Q11 — Suggestions for improving novelty beverages 您对猎奇口味饮料的改进建议？

Q12 — Suggestions for the market's development 您对猎奇口味饮料市场的发展建议？

Research framework — original figure from the paper

研究框架图 · from problem statement → design & fieldwork → analysis → conclusions & outlook

TPB concept diagram — original figure from the paper

TPB 理论概念图 · beliefs → attitude / subjective norm / perceived control → intention → behavior

Semi-structured interview outline

深度访谈提纲 · conducted with brand R&D staff, food bloggers and novelty-drink triers

1

How often do you usually drink beverages?您平时喝饮料的频率大概是怎样的？

2

Have you tried novelty flavors — e.g. insect or herbal-bitter ones?您是否尝试过猎奇口味的饮料，比如昆虫风味、草本苦味等？

3

Through which channels do you learn about them — social media, friends, offline ads?您通常通过哪些渠道了解到猎奇口味饮料？

4

What attracts you to try them — novelty, brand marketing, others' recommendations?吸引您尝试猎奇口味饮料的原因是什么？

5

When buying, do you value brand, price, or the flavor itself more?您购买时更注重品牌、价格，还是口味本身？

6

In which occasions do you choose them — gatherings, leisure, work?您一般在什么场景下会选择喝猎奇口味的饮料？

7

Are you satisfied with the current variety? What flavors do you wish to see?您对目前市场上的种类和丰富度满意吗，希望增加哪些口味？

8

Would packaging design spark your interest in a product?您是否会因为包装设计而对一款猎奇口味饮料产生兴趣？

9

What price range feels reasonable to you?价格在什么范围内您觉得比较合理？

10

Would you recommend them to people around you, and why?您会向身边人推荐猎奇口味的饮料吗，基于什么原因？