Introduction

Chili production has increased at the global level. In 2000, 23.1 million ton were harvested, increasing to 31.2 million in 2009 and 31.5 million in 2014 (^{FAOSTAT, 2014}). Its increase responds to the commercialization and consumption of products processed based on chili (^{Jäger et al., 2013}). México is one of the main chili-producing countries, with a production of 2.2 million tons (^{FAOSTAT, 2014}) in a surface sown of 149 thousand hectares and a participation of 12 thousand producers (^{SAGARPA, 2012}). However, one of the main problems that limit its production in the country is the high costs of inputs, deficient commercialization, scarce organization for production, insufficient credits, among others (^{Galindo, 2007}).

The state of Puebla does not escape the influence of these factors and in the period between 2000 and 2010 with a trend inverse to the national one, the yield in green chili in the state was reduced in 8 %, the production in 11 % and the sown surface in 5 % (^{SAGARPA, 2010}), and it is mainly because of the lack of market. In this regard, ^{Huerta and Jaramillo (2010)} consider that the problem of commercialization of chili in Puebla is an element that discourages its production, since it doesn’t have a fixed market.

With regard to the studies focused on seeking market options, through a survey applied to consumers, ^{Rodríguez (2005)} finds that in nine cities of the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas there are high preferences from the final consumer for jalapeño (37.3 %), piquín (29.6 %) and serrano (24.0 %) chili peppers. ^{Castellón et al. (2012)} identified in the central valleys of Oaxaca that there is a high preference from the final consumer for jalapeño, árbol, agua and serrano chili peppers. Among the preferred regional chili peppers because of their flavor and degree of burning aftertaste, in addition to the chili de agua, Paradito and Tusta stand out; the preferred forms of consumption are in sauces, fillings and slices. In terms of type of consumers, ^{García (2013)} finds that in Lima, Perú, the potential segment for introduction of native chili varieties is made up of young, masculine, middleclass people who enjoy this product.

Most of the agricultural market studies have been focused on studying the final consumer, leaving aside the intermediate or agroindustrial consumer. In this regard, ^{Manrique (2014)} mentions that more studies are needed to understand the supply processes of this consumer. However, no studies are reported about the purchasing behavior, preferences, and purchasing intention of the organizational consumer that uses chili pepper as main input, so it is necessary to generate information to seek out market alternatives and foster production of the crop in the region. These elements are relevant for the analysis and decision making that guide and organize chili producers in the state of Puebla, as well as implementing policies to impact the socioeconomic conditions of the chiliproducing zones.

The purchasing intention is one of the most relevant aspects in the consumer’s behavior, understood as a reciprocal process in the interaction between consumers and producers at the moment of acquiring the good or service (^{Solomon, 2013}); in addition, the intention allows using it as a measure of prediction of later or successive purchasing behavior (^{Grewal et al., 1998}; ^{Morwitz and Schmittlein, 1992}). The purchasing intention is “the degree to which the consumer would like to purchase a specific product in the future” (^{Chu and Lu, 2007}). In this regard, ^{Peña (2014)} indicates that the importance of the purchasing intention lies in identifying the time when there is the desire to use a new channel to reach the consumers, with this being considered an indicator to foresee the actual behavior of the consumer; ^{Soto et al. (2006}) mention that the purchasing intention of the behavior and control perceived also have an impact, that is, the possibility of obtaining products with their price, their availability or other factors.

The consumer’s behavior implies having in mind a set of actions when he/she is seeking, purchasing, evaluating and using goods with the objective of satisfying his/her needs. In this satisfaction it is important to identify why he/she purchases a specific product, when he/she acquires it, who acquires it, how he/she needs it, where it is supplied, how much of the product is consumed and how it is used. This behavior describes two types of entities: the individual consumer and the organizational consumer - including industrial markets, government or institutional markets, and intermediate markets - (^{Schiffman and Kanuk, 2010}). In this sense, ^{Kotler and Keller (2009)} and ^{Mannarelli (1978)} indicate that there are the so-called “industrial markets”, which refer to the industry that uses raw material of diverse origin, such as from agriculture and livestock production, and are used for the production of other goods. In this requirement of inputs it is important to understand what factors or variables (internalexternal) influence the process of purchasing decision (^{Solé, 2003}), in addition to establishing which are the preferences of the organizational consumer, which seeks to satisfy the needs of the organization through attributes of the product, but is also influenced by the 4 “Ps”: product, price, post, and promotion. In addition, by the economic, technological, political and cultural aspects which direct the response of industrial buyers to choose the product, the suppliers, the amounts and the terms of purchase (^{Manrique, 2014}; ^{Armstrong and Kotler, 2003}). ^{Grunert (1989)} indicates that the attribute is any aspect of the product in itself that is useful to compare the different purchasing alternatives. The objective of this study was to understand the purchasing intention and conduct of the organizational consumer to satisfy their need for chili pepper with the regional production.

Materials and Methods

The study was performed in Valle de Puebla, located between coordinates 19° 03’ of longitude North and 98° 12’ of longitude West (^{INEGI, 1995}); it borders north with the Iztaccíhuatl volcano, south with Valsequillo, east with Valle de Tepeaca and west with Sierra Nevada. The valley is surrounded by industrial activity, product of the establishment of food manufacturers, auto parts, metallurgist, commerce and services.

The approach of this study was supported by a quantitative method (^{Hernández et al., 2010}). The design was not experimental and transversal. The research corresponded to a study of exploratory and correlational type, since it established the degree of relation between the purchasing intention and the price, quality, proximity of the product, and characteristics of the fruit. The type of sample was not probabilistic, and sampling of intentional type and snowballing was combined (^{Sharon, 2000}).

The sampling unit was the registry of companies included in various sources. The first corresponded to the Direction of Agriculture by Contract that belongs to the Ministry of Rural Development, Sustainability and Territorial Planning in Puebla. The second base is the National Statistical Directory of Economic Units (DENUE, 2012), belonging to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (^{INEGI, 2012}), and the third corresponds to the Mexican Entrepreneurial Information System (^{SIEM, 2013}) of the Ministry of Economy. Eighty-nine (89) companies that use chili pepper or its derivatives as inputs were detected, and data were collected from 36 of these companies, which meant 40.4 % of the total population. The criterion for the interview respondent was mainly that he/she had to understand the purchasing process of inputs and decision making about the type of chili pepper and the amount to be acquired.

The technique used to obtain the data was individual interview and survey. To collect the information, a semi-structured questionnaire was used. The variables of the instrument were classified into three blocks: A) the first contemplated general data about the industry, production sector, type of products it elaborates, and number of employees; B) then, there was inquiry about the commitment for purchasing, type of chili, place and frequency of purchase, amount of kilograms consumed, seasons of variation in the consumption, and characteristics of the fruit; the evaluation of the level of importance in the intrinsic and extrinsic traits was carried out through a Likert type scale, with (1) not important, (2) slightly important, (3) indifferent, (4) important, and (5) very important; the third block, C) to determine the purchasing intention, the scale proposed by ^{Kotler et al. (2004)} was used, where the values were: certainly not (1), probably not (2), doesn’t know (3), probably yes (4), and certainly yes (5).

A reliability analysis of the instrument that measured the internal consistency of the instrument was performed; it is expected that the same theoretical dimension is measured with the items; the values range from 0 to 1. Cronbach’s Alpha of =0.963 was obtained, which considers the internal consistency value as excellent. A bivariate Spearman correlation analysis was performed to measure the magnitude of the linear relation; the variables range from -1 to 1. The variables to which the analysis responded were: purchasing intention, price, proximity of the supplier, quality and origin of the product dry and green.

Results and Discussion

Concerning the distribution of the enterprises per type of product elaborated, 94.4 % is devoted to food elaboration and the highest percentage (63.9 %) to the elaboration of sauces and paste for mole (Table 1). The results indicate that the predominant sector is the food sector, connecting this product as an important ingredient of Mexican cuisine, which agrees with ^{Rodríguez et al. (2002)}, who mentioned that chili pepper intervenes in the daily diet of Mexican people in various presentations, whether green, dry, powdered, pickled, and in sauces, moles, stuffed chili peppers, sweets and others. ^{Castellón et al. (2012)} point out that the preferred forms of chili consumption are: sauces (36.5 %), filling (28 %) or slices (11.2 %). In relation to the classification by size of the organizational consumers, it was found that the highest percentage corresponds to micro-businesses, with 77.8 %, and it is the micro-business that produces the highest amount of sauces and paste for mole. The small-scale business opts for sauce production and the large-scale business for conserves. In this sense, ^{Ortega (2013)} mentions that 60 % of the national production is used in the conserve industry, 20 % is eaten fresh, and the rest is destined to making chipotle. In this regard, ^{Montes et al. (2004)} mention that chili pepper consumption is quite generalized fresh and industrialized in various modalities, influenced by the consumer’s preference.

The businesses demand green chili peppers and dry chili peppers. The green types that they use most are: jalapeño with 41.7 % and serrano, 27.8 %; for the rest of the percentages, they include habanero, chiltepín, manzano, árbol. For dry chili peppers, the one most used is chipotle, with 52.8 %; pasilla, with 27.2 %; mulato, with 22.2 %; the rest of the percentages include ancho, guajillo, morita and chiltepín chili peppers.

Regarding the monthly demand for jalapeño chili pepper per type of business, it was found that the largescale industry predominates in the amount used; the maximum is 8000 ton and the minimum 2744 ton; the behavior in its consumption is not constant, since it presents fluctuations of up to 191 % during the year, primarily in the period from July to September. The micro-business has a maximum demand of 8.3 ton/month and minimum of 6.2 ton/month, with a variation of 33 % during a year; and the small-scale business a maximum demand of 308 kg/month and minimum of 124 kg/month; the microand smallscale businesses have a slight upturn in the months of November and December (Figure 1). Regarding the varieties of jalapeño chili peppers that they use and require, they are: Perfecto, Seminis, Imperial from the company Marseed, Da Vinci, Chichimeca and Mitla.

Source: authors’ elaboration with data obtained from the survey applied to businesses in the valley of Puebla.

Figure 1 Amount consumed monthly of jalapeño chili pepper per type of business, in the valley of Puebla. 

With regard to the amount of demand and the purchasing months of serrano chili pepper, where the consumption is quite diverse in the three types of companies, the micro-business reaches its highest consumption in May, with 954 kg/month, and later decreases to less than 675 kg/month in the next ones; the small-scale business reaches maximum consumption in June and July, of 308 kg/month; and the large-scale business reflects a constant consumption of 216 tons without considerable variations (Figure 2), using the San Luis variety from the Marseed company.

Source: authors’ elaboration with data obtained from the survey applied to businesses in the valley of Puebla.

Figure 2 Amount consumed monthly of serrano chili pepper per type of business, in the valley of Puebla. 

Micro-business indicated that the consumption of chiltepín, habanero and manzano chili peppers during the period of January to December had the following behavior: in chiltepín, a constant amount of 5.0 ton/month; in habanero, 560 kg/month in average, increasing the amount to 71.4 % in June; and in manzano, an average consumption of 454 kg/ month, except March, with an increase of 142 %, and for June, September and December, 55 %.

To the amount of chili peppers and the months of consumption by the organizational consumer is added the different types that are used. Their consumption is very varied and depends on the size of the business, as well as on the availability and type of chili pepper they use as raw material, with jalapeño standing out. This variation in consumption obeys the offer from the main producer of jalapeño chili pepper, which is the state of Chihuahua (^{SNIIM, 2014}).

It stands out that the large-scale business that makes chili peppers in conserve has a high consumption of jalapeño, serrano and chipotle chili peppers. They are the varieties that are produced and commercialized most in México due to their broad acceptance by the final consumer (^{Rodríguez, 2005}). In addition, the large-scale business for conserves indicates the varieties that producers should be cultivating. This agrees with what was reported by ^{COHCIT and OHN, 2008}, which mentioned that the agribusiness recommends that producers sow specific hybrids. This producer-enterprise interaction contributes to the economic activity through the value of production and income that it generates from the sales of chili peppers in conserve or fresh, both for the producer and for the organizational consumer (^{CONAPROCH, 2015}).

In terms of the periodicity of green chili pepper purchase, it was found that the most representative purchase in the microand small-scale industry is every seven days for the jalapeño, serrano and habanero varieties. The purchase of manzano is carried out by week, fortnight and month, and chiltepín is acquired primarily every two weeks. This agrees with the study by ^{Villalobos and Sánchez (2013)}, who show that the purchasing frequency of the consumer for vegetable products is 85.3 % weekly, compared to dry chili, whose periodicity is monthly.

For the case of the attributes of green chili pepper, the organizational consumer considers the following properties as very important at the moment of acquiring the fruit: 95 % indicated a fresh and healthy fruit, 90 % valued one exempt from any other odd odor and flavor, and 60 %, whole and well-developed. The large-scale industry establishes conditions in the characteristics that jalapeño and serrano chili peppers should cover for their acquisition, both with the characteristic green color of immature fruit; for jalapeño, a small and medium size; for serrano, an average of 1.5 and 2 inches; and both in burlap packages.

For the chipotle chili pepper, the amounts and the months of consumption in the three business types (micro, small and large) are shown in Figure 3. The consumption is constant for microand smallscale businesses and in the large-scale enterprise only in certain months of the year. The microbusiness consumed an average of 1.4 ton, increasing by 32.8 % in November and 25.4 % in December compared to the mean; the small-scale business used an average of 44 kg monthly, except in June and July when it increased to 84 kg. The large-scale business consumed only seven months per year, with October, November and December standing out as those of highest consumption (5733 ton/month).

Source: authors’ elaboration with data obtained from the survey applied to businesses in the valley of Puebla.

Figure 3 Amount consumed monthly of chipotle chili pepper per type of business, in the valley of Puebla. 

In terms of the purchasing periodicity of chipotle, the microand small-scale businesses indicated primarily that it is done every 30 days. The largescale enterprise mentioned an average of three days per week, corresponding to October, November and December; in addition, for January and February it is monthly. For this variety, the large-scale business also conditions the acquisition and highlights: healthy fruits, characteristic color of smoked chili peppers, characteristic smoke odor, maximum moisture 22.99 %, maximum impurities 1.99 %, free of foreign material and packed in jute sacks.

With regard to the amount and season of consumption of the eight types of dry chili peppers used in micro-businesses (Figure 4), it was found that their consumption is constant throughout the year. The chili peppers that are used in lower amount are: serrano, 32 kg/month; morita, 42 kg/month; árbol, 89 kg/month; and those of highest amount are: ancho, 595 kg/month; pasilla, 506 kg/month; and mulato, 425 kg/month; the consumption increases in the months of November and December in the following percentages: ancho, 58 %; pasilla, 26 %; and mulato, 17 %; in relation to chiltepín, its consumption increases 46 % in April and May. The dry chili peppers are used primarily for the elaboration of mole paste.

Source: authors’ elaboration with data obtained from the survey applied to businesses in the valley of Puebla.

Figure 4 Amount consumed monthly of dry chili pepper by the micro-scale business, in the valley of Puebla. 

The purchasing periodicity of dry chili peppers is mainly every 30 days. The characteristics that are preferred in ancho, mulato and pasilla chili peppers are: well-defined color in blackish brown, fresh state, without fungi, medium and large size, and without stains. The guajillo, morita, chiltepín, de árbol and serrano chili peppers are preferred in an intense red color, fresh state, very dry, without stains and without fungi.

The place where the microand small-scale businesses stocks up is the wholesale market in Puebla, because of its proximity, the diversity of chili peppers and the prices it offers. Likewise, wholesale and retail sellers incur in practices such as: 1) watering for the weight to increase, 2) spraying with cola soft-drink to increasing their shine, 3) mixing national and foreign chili peppers, and selling them as national product, 4) mixing different qualities of the fruit for a higher margin of profit, and 5) selling chili peppers with strange material (pieces of diapers and feathers). Compared to this, the large-scale business buys directly from the producer (agriculture by contract) or trader (free market) instead of doing it in the place of origin of the crop.

The main organoleptic characteristics of chili pepper, whether green, dry or chipotle, sought after by the organizational consumer are based on freshness, appearance and physical state of the product. This agrees with the ^{Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Colombia (2008)}, which states that in order for companies to be able to purchase it, it is necessary to fulfill certain requirements, such as: being a product of very good quality in relation to the uniformity of color, size or caliber, and finesse of the fruit. The traits that the agroindustry seeks may be perceived according to the ability of the consumer and can be categorized into: characteristics of the search and characteristics of the experience. According to ^{Bello and Calvo (1998)}, the first are those that the consumer identifies before purchasing and can evaluate the level of quality, while the second can be identified and evaluated after the purchase. These abilities of the organizational consumer are explained because they are expert buyers of their raw material.

It should be highlighted that in the microbusiness, 75.6 % ignore the origin of the green fruit; 57.1 % don’t know the origin of the dry chili pepper, and 78.6 % ignore where chipotle is from. For the small-scale business, 50 % does not know the origin of the green fruit and chipotle, and 66.7 % does not know where the dry chili pepper is from. On the other hand, it was found that the organizational consumer uses jalapeño chili and concentrated essence to manufacture shampoo, in addition to powdered chili to elaborate snacks and powdered pimento as an ingredient in chorizo elaboration. ^{Restrepo (2006)} mentions that the different varieties of chili peppers present considerable concentrations of different carotenoids with diverse properties that make it an interesting substrate for the dietary industry in the field of seasoning and pigmentation, so they represent an opportunity to diversify the seasoning market. This is because the consumers have been changing their preferences and they are directed toward natural sources and with minimum addition of chemical or synthetic products (^{Pacho et al., 2002}).

Concerning the place of purchase where the microand small-scale industrialist goes, the wholesale market in Puebla was established as the main point of supply, due to the range of variety of chili peppers, prices per volume and central point of easy access. ^{Prieto et al. (2008}) mention that the factors that influence the purchase are the time that the consumer has available, his mobility and proximity to sales centers, and the commercial distribution in the locality (local markets). In this regard, the ^{Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia (2008)} mentions that the main buyers in wholesale centers are supermarkets, chain stores, and at the industrial scale, processors of peppers in conserve and those who process them in sauces.

The organizational consumer with classification of microand small-scale goes to local chili pepper distributors for their supply, although a correct sales practice is not guaranteed. In face of these practices, the interview respondents expressed their discomfort and non-conformity because it causes losses and higher costs in the manufacture of their products, which is why they are in constant search for suppliers that guarantee not performing disloyal practices. This agrees with ^{CONAPROCH (2015)}, which mentions that the small-scale industry is a very broad and dynamic sector where obstacles have been faced, such as the lack of commercialization channels. The large-scale industry has a supply network, primarily with products from the north of the country, which it evaluates and selects rigorously. A study by the ^{Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia (2008)} indicates that the members of the alliance, the farmers and the agroindustry, implemented projects selected with certain characteristics to improve the strength of the alliance and the competitiveness of the productive chain. The farmers must have experience in in vegetable production and the soils must be appropriate for the cultivation of chili pepper and have water availability; in addition, the producers must be members of an organization.

Regarding the knowledge and interest about the origin of the product by the organizational consumer, it was observed that the microand small-scale businesses show disinterest in understanding the origin of the product. This attitude is associated to the fact that it is not a defining factor for the purchase of the product; what is important are the price and the quality (^{Martín, 2006}). Other studies have found that eight out of every ten consumers ignore the places of origin and the way of transporting the product (^{Alvarado et al., 2012}).

Lastly, it was determined that 63.7 % of the micro-businesses would purchase green, chipotle and dry chili peppers of regional origin, respectively. In the small-scale enterprise, 66.7 % that uses dry chili pepper is willing to purchase the fruit of origin in Puebla. In the large-scale enterprise, 100o% would buy pepper of regional origin. In terms of the variables that were significant in the Spearman correlation coefficients with regard to the purchasing intention for green and dry chili pepper, for the first the proximity, the quality and the price were significant; and for the second, it was only the quality and the price (Table 2). It should be highlighted that the correlation between the purchasing intention and the proximity of the dry chili suppliers was not significant. In this regard, ^{Adasme et al. (2006)} determined that in the purchasing intention of a product with certificate of origin, such as strawberry, the price is the main attribute that stands out based on its importance.

In this sense, the organizational consumer declared that it would be willing to purchase chili pepper produced in Puebla, insofar as certain conditions are fulfilled: a) chili varieties according to their needs, b) offering competitive prices, c) security in the supply and the quality of the fruit, d) central location for its distribution, e) individually and/ or collectively with legal figure, f) adherence to the fiscal regulations to ease tax deductions. In particular, the large-scale enterprise that makes chili conserves added more conditions for the purchase of chili pepper from Puebla: a) it suggests that the productive cycle of jalapeño, serrano and chipotle chili peppers is different from that in states like Chihuahua and Sinaloa, b) the product must comply with the norms of quality and innocuousness established by the Mexican government and those indicated by the company itself, and c) the fruit must have certain parameters of size, important element in the canning process.

The large-scale business of conserves imposes certain conditions for the acceptance of chili peppers, establishing agriculture by contract with the producers. In this regard, ^{Eaton and Shepherd (2002)} mention the agreement between farmers and enterprises for elaboration and/or commercialization for the production and supply of agricultural products, frequently in terms of a specific price, amount and quality. Based on the results obtained in the region of the valley of Puebla, the large-scale business provides seedlings of specific varieties, sends specialized technicians to offer advice, and performs the inspection of the procedures of farmer’s good practices and the correct application of the technological package authorized by the company. Thus, the agroindustry has better control over the quality of its raw material (^{Macías, 2009}).

Conclusions

There is a positive purchasing intention by the organizational consumer of chili pepper from Puebla, with the quality and the price being the most significant variables in the Spearman correlation. This intention is conditioned to the existence of the issuance of fiscal receipts, legal agreements, competitive prices, specific sizes of the fruit, and assurance of quality and innocuousness of the fruit.

The three types of businesses demand essentially jalapeño, serrano and chipotle chili peppers. The micro-business consumes more habanero, manzano, chiltepín, ancho, mulato and pasilla. This demand responds to an alternative due to the widespread distribution of chili products in conserve by the largescale industry and which demands specific varieties. The wholesale market in Puebla is the main source of supply for the consumer with microand small-scale classification who ignores the origin of the material he purchases, although it is not so for the large-scale industry, which implements a supply network with producers and traders to cover its requirement. With the large-scale business it is necessary to promote agriculture by contract with the producers in the state of Puebla.

For each type of product it makes, the enterprise demands a specific type of chili pepper. For the elaboration of products in conserve, more jalapeño, serrano and chipotle peppers are needed. However, habanero, manzano and chiltepín are used primarily for the fabrication of sauces, and ancho, mulato and pasilla are present in the production of paste for mole.

The preferences of the organizational consumer for the acquisition of chili peppers are based on the appearance and physical state. These aspects in every case refer to a fresh product, free of rotting and deterioration; and firm consistency while immature. For the dry chili pepper, they refer to well-defined color, exempt of fungi and stains. Thus, the preferences of the organizational consumer of industrial type give the standards for the characteristics of chili peppers that the producers must produce, considering each segment of the market (micro-, small-, and largescale enterprise). In addition, it will be advisable for research institutions to generate chili varieties that the organizational consumer demands, that is, more precocious varieties and with standardized size and color. Another important element to guarantee the conditions of quality of chili peppers that reach the market is the post-harvest management and logistics of trade.