A Correlational Study on the Relationship Between Consumers’ Choice Attributes for Tteok and Marketing Strategy

As traditional Korean rice cake products are being developed to reflect changing consumer preferences and market needs, Heugimja Tteok remains a culturally rooted product with functional characteristics. This study empirically examined the relationships among consumers’ choice attributes, purchase behavior, and marketing strategy for Heugimja Tteok, aiming to suggest directions for expanding the traditional rice cake market. Online survey data from 342 adults in the Republic of Korea were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0. Significant positive correlations were identified between choice attributes and both purchase behavior and marketing strategy. Diversity, Quality, and Image were significant positive predictors of marketing strategy, and the regression model explained 59.6% of its variance. These findings indicate that product diversification, quality improvement, functional promotion, distribution channel expansion, standardized production management, and brand image enhancement should be integrated to strengthen the market competitiveness of Heugimja Tteok. By providing empirical evidence on consumer responses to a traditional and functional rice cake product, this study contributes to discussions on the contemporary expansion of the Tteok industry within changing consumer preferences and food market conditions in Korea.