Orientations and motivations of milk consumption from the perspective of mothers: An exploratory study

In Italy, the dairy market shows emblematic signs of crisis due to changes in food styles increasingly turning towards critical and healthy consumption patterns. This is emphasized by the constant dissemination of information on the internet. The target of mothers turns out to be of particular importance to study this phenomenon, because they show a growing attention towards healthy eating and are active on the internet. The objective of this research is to explore the spontaneous discourses on milk through the analysis of the online debate around this theme and to deepen orientations, experiences and motivations associated, in a sample of Italian mothers. To do so, the authors used a hybrid research approach inspired by the principles of netnography and in-depth qualitative Interpretative Phenomenological interviews. The online conversations show a general disorientation: the cow's milk is perceived having generally a negative impact in 34% of the posts (while 28% positive and 38% neutral). Among the most cited topics there is the impact on health (59% of posts), of which 58% has negative sentiment. The results of the interviews also show that there are two opposite and contradictory orientations of milk consumption. In conclusion, mothers here interviewed seem to move independently in the social debate, showing however the need for representational and informative anchors, authoritative but also reassuring, to better orient themselves in the diversity and complexity of the options available to them in order to engage in healhty food consumption.