eCooking: Challenges and Opportunities from a Consumer Behaviour Perspective

Jon Leary, Bridget Menyeh, Vimbai Chapungu and Karin Troncoso
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Jon Leary: Gamos Ltd., 231 King’s Rd, Reading RG1 4LS, UK
Bridget Menyeh: Geography and Environment, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
Vimbai Chapungu: Gamos Ltd., 231 King’s Rd, Reading RG1 4LS, UK
Karin Troncoso: Geography and Environment, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 14, 1-27

Abstract: New opportunities are opening for electric cooking (eCooking) as a cost-effective, practical and desirable solution to the twin global challenges of clean cooking and electrification. Globally, momentum is building behind the transformative potential of eCooking to achieve a range of environmental and social impacts. However, cooking is a complex, culturally embedded practice, that results in an array of behavioural change challenges that must be understood and overcome for these new opportunities to translate into impact at scale. The Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme was designed to explore this space and pilot innovative new eCooking services with the potential to rapidly scale. This paper reflects upon the programme’s key learnings to date on the behavioural change dimension of eCooking. It consolidates what we now know on the subject and highlights the gaps that remain, where further investigation is needed. The evidence shows that the uptake of eCooking can be hindered by (often false) perceptions around cost, taste and safety, the high cost and steep learning curve for new appliances, the lack of awareness/availability/after-sales service for energy-efficient appliances and the reluctance of male decision-makers to authorise appliance purchases. However, it also shows that the convenience and potential cost savings offered by energy-efficient appliances can offer an aspirational cooking experience and that uptake could be driven forward rapidly by urbanisation and changing lifestyles.

Keywords: electric cooking; clean cooking; perceptions; appliances; consumer behaviour (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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