Consumer perceptions of plant-based meat innovation: a focus group study on food technology

Novel plant-based meat products that aim to mimic the taste and texture of conventional meat have been proposed as a key tool to encourage sustainable dietary shifts. The innovative qualities of these products have been emphasized in consumer marketing campaigns and across brand communication, part of a broader techno-optimistic narrative about the possibilities of food technology to deliver individual and planetary health benefits. Recently, however, the growth of the market for plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) has slowed, attributed to a mix of intrinsic product limitations, consumer price sensitivity, and concerns about “ultra-processing,” among other factors. Together, these developments have raised questions as to whether an emphasis on innovation in the industry’s strategic communication serves to help or hinder their products’ reputation. This article reports on interviews with 46 respondents across 12 different focus group sessions, each recruited via a multi-step purposive sampling process. Participants came from the US and UK (with 23 living in each nation, respectively) and reflected a mix of dietary practices (24 omnivores, 13 vegetarians, and 9 vegans), while the sample included a median age of 40.5 and relatively even gender composition (26 men and 20 women). Guided by concepts from diffusion of innovations research, the primary aim was to explore consumer sense-making of PBMA innovation, specifically, and of food technology more broadly. Key findings emphasize how some respondents bring an ideologically consistent view of innovation to their assessment of PBMAs, while most offer contingent and sometimes contradictory accounts. Fundamentally, consumers consider PBMA innovation and product adoption through an intersecting set of multi-level and domain-specific interpretive schemas, with their perceptions constructed through an often unpredictable mix of personal preference, social network and environmental factors, and broader cultural and ideological influences. The work outlines implications for scholarship, marketing, and applied behavioral interventions in the plant-based foods arena.