The study was conducted in the city of Montevideo (Uruguay),
using a convenient sample. Convenience sampling is a non-probability
method that is usually used in qualitative research, when the
objective is to get an approximation to a specific topic (Kinnear &
Taylor, 1993). Participants were recruited via e-mail, using the
consumer database of the Sensory Evaluation Department of Universidad
de la República. For the recruitment, participants were
not required to be regular consumers of minimally processed fruits
and vegetables since in Uruguayan market this category is incipient
and there is a very low consumption of these products compared
with other countries. In this particular study, it was not
intended to get information from a sample population that correspond
to an actual market population, but to get an insight on
the motives why Uruguayan consumers would or would not buy
a ready-to-eat-salad. For this reason, only people responsible for
food shopping and meal preparation, at least twice a week, were
recruited for participating in the study.