In recent times, progress within the meat various class has seen a slowdown (or, some recommend, a ‘shakedown’). Whereas many understandably need to know why it’s slowing, the other – what drives folks to purchase plant-based meats – may show invaluable to plant-based meat producers.
A brand new examine printed within the journal Urge for food appears into the motivations behind individuals who do eat meat options, and suggests the form of advertising and marketing wanted to successfully goal such shoppers.
Causes for market success and failure
Earlier research on plant-based meat consumption have discovered that a few of the major obstacles in direction of plant-based meat consumption is its affiliation with ‘disgust’ and, much more prominently, ‘neophobia,’ the worry of the brand new.
Conversely, a optimistic perspective in direction of innovation and expertise and attachment to meat generally has been linked to a want to eat meat options, as has the need to devour more healthy, extra moral and extra sustainable meals.
These are private values, which in some ways affect how shoppers lead their lives. In keeping with the examine, private values are extra elementary than motives, and actually ‘set the scene’ for what motives the holders of values type. The current examine explored which private values affect the choice to devour meat various merchandise.
As a framework, the examine used the ten fundamental private values, additional sorted into 4 extra outstanding overarching values, developed in 1992 by social psychologist Shalom H. Schwarz. These are: self-enhancement (which consists of fundamental values achievement and energy), openness to alter (which incorporates fundamental values self-direction, hedonism, and stimulation), self-transcendence (together with fundamental values benevolence and universalism), and conservation (consisting of fundamental values safety, conformity, and custom).
The 4 fundamental values are additional put into conflicting pairs: openness to alter vs. conservation, and self-enhancement vs. self-transcendence.
Starting with the concept these private values would affect curiosity, or lack of curiosity, in meat options, the examine predicted that those that are extra focused on self-enhancement and conservation could be much less focused on meat options, whereas those that worth openness to alter and self-transcendence could be extra focused on them. The examine additionally predicted that concern for social standing would underlie the connection between openness to alter and curiosity in meat options, whereas group affiliation would underlie curiosity within the relationship between self-transcendence and conservation and meat options.
The social values of meat various consumption
Utilizing information of shoppers from the UK, Germany, Sweden and Finland collected via a web-based survey, the examine discovered that self-focused values equivalent to self-enhancement and openness to alter don’t have an effect on shopper curiosity in meat options. Nevertheless, self-transcendence values had a optimistic correlation to curiosity in meat options, whereas curiosity in conservation had a unfavorable one.
Moreover, those that valued self-enhancement had been pushed by want for standing, and people valuing self-transcendence and conservation had been pushed by group affiliation.
Importantly, there was no unfavorable correlation between a want for self-enhancement and curiosity in meat options. That is, the examine suggests, shocking, given the affiliation between animal meat and energy. There was additionally no optimistic correlation between curiosity in meat options and openness to alter, which, the examine prompt, may need one thing to do with the inclusion of the worth ‘hedonism.’
The opposite two values had been correlated how the researchers anticipated, and the way earlier research had confirmed them to be.
Within the case of standing and group affiliation, all hypotheses besides one had been proven to be appropriate. Openness to alter was not related to the need for standing because the researchers had predicted – they recommend it could be one thing to do with the inclusion of ‘hedonism’ as a worth on this class.
Advertising and marketing strategies
The one worth class that had a optimistic correlation with curiosity in meat manufacturing was self-transcendence so, the examine suggests, advertising and marketing for meat options should attraction to universalism and benevolence.
The examine additionally means that advertising and marketing can, for the opposite worth classes, market meat options by assuring these shoppers that the product aligns with their core values. For instance, when advertising and marketing in direction of those that worth self-enhancement, they need to be marketed as luxurious; when advertising and marketing in direction of those that worth conservation, facets equivalent to environmental advantages must be omitted. At their core, advertising and marketing strategies ought to scale back incongruity between shoppers’ values and the marketed product.
Sourced From: Urge for food
‘Is it me or others who matter? The interaction between shopper values vis-à-vis standing and affiliation motives as shapers of meat various curiosity’
Printed on: 3 November 2023
Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2023.107114
Authors: Ok. Pennanen, R. Malila , H. T. Luomala
