New consumer research about attitudes towards sustainable diet: surprising results show reginal differences in willingness to change

By: Szöllősi Réka Date: 2022. 05. 12. 09:35

Based on a new consumer research made by the Bristish research agency NEPA across seven markets (US, UK, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, India and China), speaking to 5600 consumers, there are huge differences between how far people are prepared to go or not to support sustainable diet. The results have shown that not everyone are ready to drastically change their diet, despite the growing concern around environment and the availability of green options.

Attitudes towards plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy showcase the regional differences. In Europe, the plant-based food market is projected to grow at a dynamic rate over the next five years, the largest market for plant-based products in the region being Germany, with a growing vegan and vegetarian population and almost 10 % of people now identifying as vegetarian. However, the NEPA research shows that European and American shoppers are less positive about the outlook for plant-based products than their peers in India, China and Brazil. When asked whether plant-based products will ’outsell’ animal-based proteins, 68 % of Indians said yes in meat and 55 % responded affirmatively in dairy. This compares to 37 % of UK shoppers who think vegan options can outsell meat and 35 % who believe the same for dairy.

The research has looked into many apsects of sustainable lifestyle, and the results demonstrated that people in the richer parts of the world seem to be less willing to make long-term changes when it comes to giving up on food that they enjoy. Based on this research, India and Brazil are more open markets to radical changes in the food industry. Nevertheless, the research results also pointed out that adapting to a sustainable lifestyle is an important focus for people accross the countries and shoppers believe that companies need to do everything to operate more sustainably and fight against climate change. They are also willing to pay more for brands perceived as more sustainable.

So despite the variance in markets in consumer attitudes towards diet change, being sustainable is a must, meanwhile brands can not afford to not to consider differences in consumer preferences between markets.

(Forrás: https://www.foodnavigator.com/)