Abstract
The food industry is permanently evolving to answer not only more diversified needs/wants, but also to accommodate socio-political trends related to climate change and sustainability mitigation. Some proposed solutions are highly controversial, not only from a technology point of view, but also because of potentially-negative customers perceptions. To understand consumers’ preferences and anticipate their buying behavior regarding three alternative food offers: (i) bio-food (produced without chemical additives); (ii) artificial food, produced from laboratory-grown organic substances; and (iii) food produced from insect proteins, we designed an experimental methodology. A stand was set up in a shopping mall in the South of France, near other food outlets. 200 respondents have been invited to taste samples of food completely similar in appearance, in three different categories: bread, friend chicken breast, and a creamy cake. These samples were all based on traditional ingredients, the only difference being their label, on which it was written the name and a short description of the three food alternatives. After tasting these samples, consumers were asked to answer questions regarding their evaluation of these food alternatives both in general and on particular sensory characteristics, and finally, to rank their preference of each food alternative. More than 87% of respondents showed a clear preference for bio-food, the laboratory-produced alternative coming second with 11% of favorable respondents, and finally, the insect-based food, with only 2% of favorable respondents. Our study discusses and interprets these choices, proposing several criteria that influence consumers’ preferences, such as inertia, media campaigns, peer-pressure, and self-image.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Food Production and Sustainability
KEYWORDS
Consumer' Perceptions, Food Alternatives, Climate Change and Sustainability, Experimental Methodology
