Sentiment Analysis of Consumer Reviews: A Comparative Study of Conventional and Organic Food Products
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54741/MJAR/6.1.2026.282Keywords:
sentiment analysis, organic food products, consumer reviews, text analytics, consumer sentiment, conventional food, consumer preferenceAbstract
Growing concerns regarding health, food safety, and environmental sustainability have encouraged consumers to reconsider their preferences for everyday food products. Traditional staples such as ghee and jaggery, widely consumed in India, are increasingly available in organic variants; however, empirical evidence on how consumers evaluate these alternatives remains limited. This study examines consumer sentiment toward organic and conventional ghee and jaggery by analysing consumer-generated review narratives collected from retail environments in Kolkata. A total of 442 consumer reviews were obtained using a stratified random sampling approach. The textual reviews were pre-processed and analysed using sentiment analysis techniques in R, where sentiment scores were computed using the syuzhet package in R. Statistical comparisons were conducted using one-way ANOVA and factorial ANOVAto examine differences in sentiment scores and review length across product categories. The findings reveal that organic products consistently receive higher sentiment scores than conventional variants, indicating more favourable consumer perceptions. Reviews of organic ghee are significantly longer and more positively expressed, suggesting greater consumer engagement and stronger evaluations of product quality and authenticity. Although organic jaggery also receives higher sentiment scores, review length does not significantly influence sentiment intensity for this product category. Overall, the results suggest that consumer sentiment toward organic food products is influenced by both product classification and patterns of consumer expression, although the effect varies across product types. The study highlights the usefulness of sentiment analysis as a methodological approach for understanding consumer perceptions of traditional food products and provides practical insights for marketers and policymakers seeking to promote organic food consumption.
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