Who are the future seaweed consumers in a Western society? Insights from Australia

Abstract

The study was conducted as an online survey among 521 Australian consumers. Binary logistic regression modeling was used to profile the consumers. Findings: Identifies education, familiarity, food neophobia, symbolic value of food consumption, health consciousness, as well as snacking behaviour as significant predictors of likelihood to eat seaweed products. Consumers with a university degree (i.e., undergraduates and postgraduates) are four-times more likely to eat seaweed products, and those familiar with seaweed products have a 7.6 higher likelihood to eat seaweed products. Food neophobia (FNeo) makes the largest contribution to the consumer´s likelihood to eat seaweed. A oneunit increase in the FNeo score is associated with a 77% decrease in the predicted odds of eating seaweed products in the next 12 months. The symbolic value of food consumption and health consciousness both doubled the likelihood of eating seaweed products. Snacking behaviour increases the likelihood by 185%. The study reveals that early adopters of seaweed food products in Western societies are people with higher educational levels, who are adventurous in their food choices and perceive seaweed consumption to have symbolic value. They are also health conscious "snackers". Originality/value: One of the first attempts to provide insights about consumption of seaweed products and it reveals the consumer groups in Western societies that are most likely to eat seaweed products and who can be targeted as potential early adopters.

Consumer Awareness, Attitudes and Preferences Towards Heritage Cereals

“…This is in line with other studies that have reported the importance of flavour and other sensory attributes [ 28 , 39 ]. It was also established that health factors are more important to older consumers than to younger ones [ 29 ], an observation that is supported by the results from this study where the oldest consumer group regard health aspects as significantly more important than the younger group.…”

“…This is in accordance with other studies showing that older consumer groups are more concerned with health aspects in comparison to younger consumer groups [ 28 ]. Consumers with a higher educational level are more aware of the health aspects and are more receptive to trends [ 29 , 30 ], however, knowledge about the level of impact from education is low. Geographical and cultural backgrounds are further factors that might have an impact on the consumers.…”

The seaweed experience: exploring the potential and value of a marine resource

“…Lately, there has been an increasing interest for algae as a sustainable, new resource for human food in Europe and the Western world (cf. Birch et al, 2019;Bouga & Combet, 2015;Chapman et al, 2015;Gundersen et al, 2017;Heldmark, 2018;Kraan, 2020;Romare, 2018). New markets and industries have emerged, from the cultivation, to entrepreneurs offering cooking workshops and "harvest your own seaweed"-tours (Näslund, 2020).…”

“…In Europe, the interest in consuming seaweeds is increasing and nutritional and health benefits seem to have engaged early adopter consumer groups (Mouritsen et al, 2019). Researchers have also started to look into potential consumers of seaweed (Birch et al, 2019;Palmieri & Forleo, 2020;Wendin & Undeland, 2020). However, empirical studies on the consumption of algae in Europe are rare, and how Western consumers think about seaweed is still largely uninvestigated (Birch et al, 2019).…”

“…Researchers have also started to look into potential consumers of seaweed (Birch et al, 2019;Palmieri & Forleo, 2020;Wendin & Undeland, 2020). However, empirical studies on the consumption of algae in Europe are rare, and how Western consumers think about seaweed is still largely uninvestigated (Birch et al, 2019). In this explorative study, we focus on diverse ways of experiencing algae from a consumer perspective.…”