# Pearl millet needs a clearer place in everyday meals, focus groups suggest

> South African participants wanted an affordable grain they understood how to use. The recently published study draws on small online groups held during the COVID-19 pandemic.

URL: https://foodradar.org/south-africa-pearl-millet-consumer-familiarity
Language: en
Author: FoodRadar Editorial
Published: 2026-10-07T11:51:41.510Z
Updated: 2026-10-07T11:51:41.510Z
Source publication date: 2026-07-31
Category: Markets
Türkçe: https://foodradar.org/tr/south-africa-pearl-millet-consumer-familiarity

## Knowing the name does not mean knowing the product

A study published in July explores why pearl millet can remain unfamiliar even among people who have heard of it. Participants in South African focus groups discussed their understanding of indigenous grains, their experience of pearl millet and the product attributes that might encourage them to buy it. A recurring issue was not simply awareness of the name, but uncertainty about how the grain would fit into everyday meals.

Some participants described little practical knowledge of the product and difficulty imagining how to cook with it. Others felt they had not encountered it in stores or did not know what distinguished it from familiar grains. For businesses developing pearl millet foods, the findings suggest that explaining everyday use may matter alongside communicating the grain’s origins or nutritional positioning.

## Twelve small groups with a specific participant profile

The research involved 36 adults in 12 online focus groups, each lasting about 45 to 60 minutes and containing no more than three participants. Most lived in or around Mbombela in Mpumalanga. Eligibility required responsibility for household food purchasing, familiarity with the name pearl millet and shopping at outlets where it was sold.

The sample was recruited through purposive, convenience and snowball methods. It was predominantly young: 94% of participants were aged 18 to 39, and 65% had some connection to the food industry. These details make the discussions informative about the recruited group, but unsuitable for estimating the proportion of all South Africans who hold a particular view. The interviews took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than at the time of the paper’s recent publication.

## Affordability and familiarity need to work together

Participants described affordability and value for money as desirable features. They expected a product positioned as an alternative to staple grains to have a price they could compare reasonably with those alternatives. The comments do not establish a measured willingness-to-pay premium or a price point at which demand would increase.

The discussion also covered external product cues, including packaging, origin, quality and the image of the store selling the product. These features can shape expectations before a shopper has tried an unfamiliar grain. The paper’s emphasis on product knowledge helps explain why placing a pack on the shelf, without a clear use case, may leave a consumer unsure what to do with it.

## A starting point for market testing

The authors discuss cooking demonstrations as a possible way to show how pearl millet could enter familiar meals. That is a proposed response to the knowledge gap, not an intervention whose effect on sales was tested in this research. Likewise, participants’ health associations are perceptions recorded in a qualitative study; they are not evidence of health improvements caused by eating a particular product.

The study’s value lies in identifying questions that a product launch can investigate more directly: whether shoppers understand the format, can prepare it confidently and see acceptable value beside established staples. Larger and more varied samples, practical product trials and observed purchases would be needed to establish market size or repeat demand. The focus groups reveal barriers to familiarity, while leaving those commercial outcomes open.

## Sources and rights

- [Identifying the Perceptual Drivers to Attract Attention and Enhance the Choice to Purchase Pearl Millet.](https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13465545?utm_source=foodradar.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=south-africa-pearl-millet-consumer-familiarity-en). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI). Fourie C, Kempen E. Identifying the Perceptual Drivers to Attract Attention and Enhance the Choice to Purchase Pearl Millet. Foods (Basel, Switzerland). 2026. DOI: 10.3390/foods15152706. © 2026 by the authors. [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/?utm_source=foodradar.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=south-africa-pearl-millet-consumer-familiarity-en-license).

Adapted by FoodRadar.

[Editorial standards](https://foodradar.org/editorial-policy)