Exploring Food Waste from a Segmentation and Intervention Perspective—What Design Cues Matter? A Narrative Review

Victoria Norton, Stella Lignou (), Omobolanle O. Oloyede, Geraldine Vásquez, Paulina Anguiano Arreola and Niki Alexi ()
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Victoria Norton: Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Harry Nursten Building, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK
Stella Lignou: Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Harry Nursten Building, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK
Omobolanle O. Oloyede: Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences, University of Surrey, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Stag Hill, Guilford GU2 7XH, UK
Geraldine Vásquez: Food Quality and Preference and Society Science Team, iSense Lab, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Agro Food Park 48, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark
Paulina Anguiano Arreola: Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Harry Nursten Building, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK
Niki Alexi: Food Quality and Preference and Society Science Team, iSense Lab, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Agro Food Park 48, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: Food waste is a global challenge and fits within the remit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12; hence, strategies to promote engagement, especially at an individual level, are key to maximise societal benefits. Accordingly, it is important to understand the relevant design cues from a segmentation and intervention viewpoint for food waste. This review aims to explore (i) common characteristics associated with food waste segmentation and (ii) delivery formats typically utilised in food waste interventions. Overall, it was apparent that food waste encompasses a broad term per se , resulting in varying quantification approaches, which subsequently contribute to heterogenicity of the findings. However, key themes emerged, such as gender, age, food waste level, motivation, engagement and environment as common components from the food waste segmentation. Visual (text, infographic, booklets), audio/oral (videos, door stepping, coaching), interactive (recipe, community engagement, diary/notepad) and touch (magnet, bins, stickers) were the dominant delivery formats used in food waste interventions; suggesting that a combination of senses is required to successfully promote engagement and behavioural effects. Going forwards, more consistency in measuring food waste is needed to enable comparison (within and between countries), coupled with the consideration of design cues, so that toolkits can be developed to meet the needs of differing consumer segments.

Keywords: food waste; segmentation; intervention; household; communication; consumer behaviour (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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