Jicama a Healthy Appetizer

La Jícama un Aperitivo Saludable

Paulina de los Ángeles Ponce Villacís

Engineer in Economics and Finance, Master in Quality and

Productivity Management, Assistant Professor, Faculty of

Administrative and Economic Sciences Universidad

Tecnológica Indoamérica, paulinaponce@uti.edu.ec, 0000-

0003-0613-6163

Viviana Elizabeth Cajas Cajas

Systems and Informatics Engineer, Master in Business

Administration and Marketing, Assistant Professor, Faculty

of Administrative and Economic Sciences Universidad

Tecnológica Indoamérica, vivianacajas@uti.edu.ec, 0000-

0002-7688-6966

Marcelo Javier Ríos Mariño

Engineer in Business Administration, Master in Business

Administration, Assistant Professor, Faculty of

Administrative and Economic Sciences, Universidad

Tecnológica Indoamérica, marcelorios@uti.edu.ec, , 0000-

0001-7634-0982

paulinaponce@uti.edu.ec

Abstract

Healthy eating provides the human body with the

nutrients and vitamins necessary to prevent ailments that

are caused by not having a good food consumption, the

most common diseases in Ecuador are diabetes,

overweight, colon cancer and high cholesterol levels. The

production and commercialization of Jicama yogurt is

proposed as a healthy snack, being the Jicama a tuber that

provides nutrients that prevents and works as a treatment

against diabetes. A market study was conducted to

establish the supply and demand of the product, through

a 12-question survey conducted as a pilot plan to the

economically active population of the Belisario Quevedo

sector, in the city of Quito-Ecuador, applied to 378 people

from the identified market segment. The results showed

that 97.35% of the product was accepted and the tendency

to buy the 1-liter container for a price between $4-$6 is

contemplated. It is concluded that the proposal of this

aperitif is viable, due to its level of acceptance and its

curative and nutritional benefits.

Keywords: Appetizer, Diabetes, Jicama, Nutrition,

Nutrition

http://centrosuragraria.com/index.php/revista, Published by: Edwards Deming

Institute, Quito - Ecuador, July - September vol. 1. Num. 9 2021, This work is

licensed under a Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-

ShareAlike 4.0 International. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-

sa/4.0/deed.es

Received March 12, 2020

Approved: October 23, 2020

Ponce et al.

July - September vol. 1. Num. 9 2021

Abstract

Healthy eating offers the human body the necessary nutrients and vitamins to prevent discomforts that

are caused by not having a good consumption of food, the most frequent diseases in Ecuador are

diabetes, being overweight, colon cancer and high cholesterol levels. The production and

commercialization of Jicama yogurt is proposed as a healthy organic snack, with Jicama being a tuber

that provides nutrients that prevents and works as a treatment against diabetes. A market study was

carried out, which allowed to establish the supply and demand of the product, through a survey of 12

questions carried out as a pilot plan to the economically active population of the Belisario Quevedo

sector, city of Quito-Ecuador, applied to 378 people from the identified market segment. From the

results it was possible to show the acceptance of the product of 97.35% and the trend of purchase of the

1 Liter container is contemplated, for a price between $ 4- $ 6. It is concluded that the proposal of this

aperitif is viable, due to its level of acceptance and its curative and nutritional benefits, as well as

promoting the production of beverages based on organic products and their contribution to the

agrobiodiversity of Ecuador.

Key words: Diabetes, Jicama, Nutrition, Organic Appetizer,

Introduction

In recent years, diseases derived from poor nutrition have increased considerably, as consumers

adopt eating habits based on pre-packaged food and food prepared outside the home Sánchez-

Castañeda, (2014). Food plays an extremely important role in the life of every human being

Parra & Cámara, (2017). A healthy diet is determinant for the good health status of people at

any stage of their life cycle, this diet should contain essential nutrients (Álvarez-

BorrotoBorrotoet al., 2017, p. 54). Poor nutrition not only affects weight but also brings serious

health consequences, eating habits is part of the food culture that a person acquires throughout

his or her life (Alejandre, 2014). The alarming figures of global prevalence of obesity and

overweight are a cause for alarm and great concern. This is reflected in WHO data, According

to Durán-García in Ecuador, the National Health Survey revealed that, between the ages of 19

and 60 years (2014, p. 87), the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 62.8%; more in

women 65.5% than in men 60%, Durán-García, (2014).

The Ecuadorian Society of Food Science and Nutrition, conducted a study focused on the

possibility of acquiring chronic non-communicable diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus Type II,

caused mainly by poor diet that leads in many cases to obesity, which currently has become a

chronic disease that causes serious health risks. For the Ecuadorian society this reality is not

alien. According to the Ministry of Public Health, through the National Institute of Statistics

and Census (INEC), diabetes is the second leading cause of death in the country: in 2010 there

were at least 4,017 people with diabetes who died. For this reason, efforts are being made so

that this type of health condition can be controlled and reduced in order to improve people's

quality of life. One of the strategies that can be used to prevent it is through the promotion and

dissemination of healthy food products CorchueloOjeda & Soto Llanos, (2017).

One of the tubers known for its potential nutrients and medicinal benefits against metabolic

diseases is the Jicama (Smallanthus sonchifolius) for Monroy-Parada et al, (2021) the usable

parts of Jicama are the leaves and roots, the roots are edible fresh, baked or industrially

processed, must be peeled prior to consumption, for its mineral content (3.73%) and total sugars

(22%) is considered as a natural rehydrating and could be an alternative in the design of diets

for diabetics Benaziziet al., (2021), Bretón et al., (2021) and (Pérez-Jiménez et al., 2018) agree

that numerous studies have revealed that Jicama juice could effectively lower blood glucose

levels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases Arriscado et al., (2015). In diabetic

patients the most important thing is to keep their blood glucose levels under control, for which

in addition to pharmacological treatment should be complemented with a balanced diet of

foods, containing the necessary nutrients and providing a low amount of calories (Ferrer et al.,

2009, p. 32). In the local market there is no supply of products that meet the caloric

requirements of a diabetic patient, for which the production and marketing of Jicama yogurt is

proposed as a healthy organic snack. The document is organized as follows: in the materials

and methods section, the benefits and characteristics of the product are established, the

segmentation with the respective geographical dimensions will be carried out, the sampling

plan will be detailed through the calculation of the sample and the application of the survey to

the residents of the northern sector of the city of Quito. In the Results section, the acceptance

of the product for production and commercialization is indicated. Finally, conclusions and

future work are presented.

Materials and methods

This study is conducted under a quantitative approach, cross-sectional in that it analyzes the

current perception of individuals against a new product, this work focuses on the segmentation

study of the company producing and marketing natural jicama yogurt, the economically active

population of the parish Belisario Quevedo of the city of Quito, Ecuador, was considered

through a survey as primary information, then the respective tabulation and interpretation, for

the feasibility of product design and analysis of results. We propose the production of natural

yogurt based on Jicama root, with a moderate price and that provides an alternative natural

drink low in sugar, for (problem).

The main characteristics and benefits of the product are shown in Table 1.

Table No. 1 Characteristics Vs. Benefits

Product

Features

Benefits

Natural yogurt jicama

• 250 ml,

Liter, Gallon

containers

• Low caloric intake

• Helps fight diabetes

• Lowers blood pressure

• Combats constipation

• Improves the nervous system

• Reduces the risk of cancer

Ponce et al.

July - September vol. 1. Num. 9 2021

The market to be covered for the development of the research will be in Ecuador with

17'466,640 inhabitants, Sierra region with 6'081,342, province of Pichincha, city of Quito with

2'239,191 inhabitants, was taken as reference the economically active population of the parish

Belisario Quevedo, which according to the indicators National Institute of Statistics and Census

year 2010 is 23.The following statistical formula was applied to obtain the sample that will be

used for data collection through the survey tool, therefore, since it is a finite population, the

following formula will be used.

! "

𝟐

$ % $ & $ '

(

𝟐

)

' * +

- #

𝟐

$ % $ &

Equivalencies: Data:

n = Sample size. n = Persons

Z = Confidence level Z = For 95% confidence, Z = 1.96

P = Probability of occurrence. P = 0,50

Q = Probability of non-occurrence. Q = 0,50

N = Size Population or universe N = 23,495 taken from INEC 2010

e = Sample error (5% - 7%). e = Permissible 5% = 0.05

. "

0 10 20 3

)

3 * 5

- /

0 10 2

.6 "

)

5789

)

:;0<8=

>7=

)

>7>=

)

:;0<8= * 5

)

5789

>7=

. " ?@A

It is visualized in the equation the application of 95% confidence and 0.05 of error, generates

a result of 378 people. A survey of 12 questions directly related to price, place, product,

promotion and acceptance of Jicama Yogurt was applied as an instrument.

Result

Once the survey was applied, 378 people between 175 men and 203 women consumed yogurt,

98.94% of the respondents indicated that they do buy yogurt and 1.06% stated that they do not

buy yogurt. Figure 2 shows that 51.06% of the respondents stated that the reasons for their

consumption are for its nutritional value, 35.19% for a healthier lifestyle, 7.41% prescribed by

their doctor and 6.35% for other reasons, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Sample results of yogurt consumption ratios

OPTIONS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

For their nutritional value

193

51,06%

Prescribed by your physician

7,41%

Healthier lifestyle

35,19%

Other specify

6,35%

TOTAL

378

100%

It is also shown that 97.35% of the people surveyed are interested in having a natural jicama

yogurt and 2.65% said the opposite. 48.41% of the people surveyed would be willing to pay

between $ 4.00 and $ 5.99 for a gallon of yogurt, 32.80% would be willing to pay between $

0.80 and $ 1.99 for a 250ml yogurt and 18.78% would be willing to pay between $ 2.00 and $

3.99 for a liter of yogurt. When asked, by what media would be ideal for you to receive

information about our new products; 89.42% of the people surveyed would like to receive

information through social networks, 5.29% through flyers, 2.91% through the radio and

2.38%.

At present, Ecuadorians are concerned about the consumption of healthy food, since it is

observed that most of the respondents are women and a minority are men; this is because at the

national level women are the ones who buy the products consumed by the family; In addition,

they do buy yogurt, which affirms that yogurt is a fundamental part of the diet of Ecuadorians

and that the trend in the demand for this product is increasing significantly, so its frequency of

consumption is weekly, which means that the product is in high rotation in the local market for

its nutritional contributions and for a healthier lifestyle. Additionally, most of the respondents

would be interested in the existence of a Jicama Yogurt in the market, it is observed that they

have preference in the presentation of a liter of yogurt with a price willing to pay for a gallon

of yogurt from $4.00 to $5.99; and they can buy it in stores and supermarkets, receiving

information about promotions through social networks.

Conclusions

In the introduction we talked about diabetes and the incidence it has in Ecuador, the Jicama in

a native tuber of Ecuador, consumed in ancient times by our ancestors, rich in potassium,

magnesium, calcium low in caloric content, is used both its roots and leaves, so through the

market study was established supply and demand for the product based on Jicama, it is

observed that through the survey, It is feasible to produce and market Jicama Yogurt as a

healthy snack, since it is a tuber that provides health benefits, especially for diabetics due to its

low caloric content. Thus, out of 378 people, 368 would be willing to buy a Jicama Yogurt for

consumption, resulting in 97.35% acceptance of the product in the market. The use of the main

Ponce et al.

July - September vol. 1. Num. 9 2021

ingredient, jicama, offers a variety of preparation options, which in the future can be

investigated for other food products to be offered in the market.

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