Substitution Patterns and Price Response for Plant-Based Meat Alternatives

Steffen Jahn, Daniel Guhl and Ainslee Erhard
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Steffen Jahn: School of Economics and Business, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
Daniel Guhl: School of Business and Economics, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany
Ainslee Erhard: Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Göttingen, Germany

No 509, Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series from CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition

Abstract: Efforts to promote sustainable resource use through reduced meat consumption face challenges as global meat consumption persists. The resistance may be attributed to the lower sales price of meat compared to most plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). Addressing this, our research delves into the pivotal question of which PBMAs resonate most with consumers and how pricing affects demand. In a hypothetical restaurant context, we conducted 2 representative studies among 2,126 individuals in the U.S. to scrutinize preferences for meat, analog, semi-analog, and non-analog burgers. First, in a survey, we assessed rankings of the four burgers, alongside evaluating participants' genuine consideration of these choices to discern a diverse preference distribution. Subsequently, in an experiment, we examined the influence of prices on participants' consideration and choice of PBMAs, thereby capturing both phases of the decision-making process. Our survey shows that meat has considerably higher utility and consumer preference than all PBMAs on average, but we also find substantial heterogeneity (i.e., some consumers prefer PBMAs over meat). In the experiment, we establish that there is a negative association between the consideration of meat and PBMA burgers, though consideration of any one PBMA is positively associated with considering other PBMAs. A noteworthy increase in consideration and choice is observed when prices of PBMAs are reduced, while changing the price of the meat burger only has minimal effect on demand. Such findings underscore the importance of affordability beyond price parity in catalyzing the shift towards plant-based diets.

Keywords: Plant-based meat; Food decision making; Sustainability; Price elasticity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C11 C35 L66 M31 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-12-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-env and nep-exp
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