Attitudes and Behavior of African-Americans Regarding the Consumption of Herbal Products—An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Herbal product consumption has gained increasing attention by consumers over the past several years. Many assume that herbal products are natural and hence cannot do any harm. However, there is no doubt that the consumption of herbal products has often been influenced by an individual's cultural and racial backgrounds. This article is based on a survey of one such population subgroup—the African-American population. The results from this study will hopefully enlighten the marketers of herbal products and help them in devising appropriate marketing strategies when targeting this particular population subgroup.

KEYWORDS:

• healthcare products
• African-Americans
• consumers
• healthcare professionals
• buying behavior