Factors Affecting Consumers’ Alternative Meats Buying Intentions: Plant-Based Meat Alternative and Cultured Meat

Jihee Hwang, Jihye You, Junghoon Moon and Jaeseok Jeong
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Jihee Hwang: Food Biz. Lab, Program in Regional Information, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu 151-742, Korea
Jihye You: Food Biz. Lab, Program in Regional Information, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu 151-742, Korea
Junghoon Moon: Food Biz. Lab, Program in Regional Information, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu 151-742, Korea
Jaeseok Jeong: Graduate School of Pan-Pacific International Studies, Kyung Hee University Global Campus, Seochon-dong 17104, Korea

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-16

Abstract: Consumers have started to become aware of the negative aspects of conventional meat, including concerns about environmental issues, animal welfare, and consumer health. Alternative meats (i.e., cultured meat and plant-based meat alternatives) have been introduced recently to address these problems, and the rapid growth of the alternative meat market could pose a threat to the conventional meat market. It is necessary to identify the features of alternative meat that affect consumers’ purchasing intentions. Thus, we aimed to: (1) explore the positive and negative feelings toward alternative meat and (2) compare the differences in factors influencing alternative meat buying intentions. This study conducted an online survey with Korean participants in two separate sections (cultured meat: n = 513; plant-based meat alternatives: n = 504), and relationships between the variables and willingness to buy were analyzed using the partial least squares method. The results showed that sustainability and food neophobia are two of the different factors, and food curiosity, unnaturalness, and distrust of biotechnology are the common factors affecting consumers’ purchasing choice. The results of this study provide useful guidelines for effective promotional messages about cultured meat, plant-based meat alternatives, and conventional meat marketers focusing on the positive and negative aspects of significant factors.

Keywords: sustainable food product; alternative meat; cultured meat; plant-based meat alternatives; ambivalence; willingness to buy; acceptance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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