Over one third of the food we produce is never consumed. Such a high rate of food waste is appalling. To address this, researchers have focused on creating foods from surplus ingredients or ingredients obtained during the manufacturing of other foods. We term such foods as valueadded surplus products. But will consumers accept products made from ingredients destined for the trash bin? A series of studies that test 3 different cues that consumers utilize to evaluate foods suggests strong potential for consumer acceptance, and even preference for such foods.Study 1 tested description for value-added surplus products alongside those for conventional and organic foods to understand whether consumers discriminate between these foods. Study 2 tested consumer preference for 9 product labels for value-added surplus products. Study 3 examined whether benefits to self or to others will differentially influence consumers' perceptions of such value-added foods. Collectively, these studies suggest a strong potential for such foods to command position as a new category of foods that is distinct from both conventional as well as organic foods.

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Food waste is a global crisis that paradoxically exists alongside food scarcity. A promising solution to these connected problems of food insecurity and food waste is upcycled foods. Upcycled foods are made from ingredients that are usable but generally discarded. While upcycled foods can help reduce food waste, little is known about the best market strategy for these foods. This research investigates how consumers from different generations perceive upcycled foods. Our findings show that Gen Z, Gen Y, and Baby Boomers have higher intentions to purchase upcycled foods while Gen X shows lower intentions to purchase because of quality concerns. The present research also explores lifestyle patterns of each generation. Based on lifestyle analyses, positioning strategies for upcycled foods are proposed.

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To cash in on consumers' willingness to pay higher prices for green products, several companies are promoting conventional products as green by highlighting a few green attributes. Through a theoretical lens, the authors investigate how consumers perceive such attempts. This research illustrates that not so green products make consumers sensitive to the monetary sacrifice associated with the purchase of such products. The current research shows that consumers have a negative attitude toward such products and they become concerned about the ethicality of the company when they encounter such products. Both implicit and explicit measures suggest that consumers notice the company's motive behind such practices which, in turn, impacts their price perceptions.