Consumers still prefer beef over alternatives: report
Research looks at consumer acceptance, choice and willingness to pay for beef burger alternatives
Jacqui Fatka | Aug 16, 2019
Despite rising interest in innovative non-animal-based protein sources, consumers still prefer traditionally raised ground beef, according to new research.
While there was more than 20% growth in the plant-based meat category in 2018, according to the Plant Based Foods Association, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about consumers’ preferences for these alternative products and ample speculation about the ultimate size of this market.
Purdue University head of agricultural economics Jayson Lusk, along with Ghent University post-doctoral research fellow Ellen Van Loo and Michigan State University agricultural economist Vincenzina Caputo, surveyed about 1,800 U.S. food consumers earlier this year and asked them to make a number of simulated shopping choices.
In each choice, consumers had five options: They could buy conventional farm-raised beef, a plant-based burger made with pea protein (i.e., Beyond Meat), a plant-based burger made with animal-like protein (i.e., Impossible Foods) or lab-grown meat (i.e., Memphis Meats), or they could choose not to buy any of the products (i.e., “none”).
Purdue University head of agricultural economics Jayson Lusk, along with Ghent University post-doctoral research fellow Ellen Van Loo and Michigan State University agricultural economist Vincenzina Caputo, surveyed about 1,800 U.S. food consumers earlier this year and asked them to make a number of simulated shopping choices.
In each choice, consumers had five options: They could buy conventional farm-raised beef, a plant-based burger made with pea protein (i.e., Beyond Meat), a plant-based burger made with animal-like protein (i.e., Impossible Foods) or lab-grown meat (i.e., Memphis Meats), or they could choose not to buy any of the products (i.e., “none”).
