Consumer preferences for upcycled ingredients: A case study with biscuits

Exploring the Sustainability of Upcycled Foods: An Analysis of Consumer Behavior in Taiwan

Given the urgent climate change and food security challenges, upcycled food products are crucial for sustainable food production and waste management. This study investigates Taiwanese consumer behavior towards upcycled foods using the value-attitude-behavior (VAB) theory, focusing on "product knowledge", "green perceived quality", and "price sensitivity". Of the 335 distributed surveys, 320 valid responses (95.5% effectiveness) were analyzed. The results indicated that eco-conscious values strongly influenced consumer attitudes and anticipated guilt (β = 0.647, p < 0.001; β = 0.691, p < 0.001), shaping behavioral intentions (β = 0.290, p < 0.001). Attitudes significantly correlated with intentions, validating the VAB framework. However, anticipated guilt showed a minimal impact (β = 0.029, p = 0.629), revealing complex consumer emotions. Green perceived quality and product knowledge were the key decision-making factors (β = 0.193, p < 0.001; β = 0.146, p < 0.001). Surprisingly, price sensitivity positively influences intentions (β = 0.764, p < 0.001), suggesting the consumer prioritization of quality and environmental values over price. These insights inform strategies for businesses to enhance consumer engagement and sustainability alignment, advancing progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Chemometrics, health and environmental risk assessments of commonly consumed biscuits in Lagos and Ibadan metropolises, Southwestern Nigeria

The United Nations' Agenda 2030 for sustainable development calls, amongst others, for universal action toward ending malnutrition and ensuring healthy living and well-being for all. So, efforts have intensified to attain the sustainable development goal-2 targets on stunting and wasting in children. Reported herein, therefore, is the quantification of metals in biscuits. Biscuits are commonly consumed snacks world-over and have become sources of nourishment for children and adults due to growing sedentary lifestyles and hectic school/work schedules. Nine metals (Pb, Ni, Cu, Co, Zn, Fe, Na, Mg and Ca) were assayed in six biscuit types (crackers, cookies, shortcakes, digestives, cabins and wafers) via wet digestion and flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and the ensuing data subjected to multivariate analyses (analysis of variance, Tukey's test, Pearson correlation, and principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses). The highest concentrations of macrominerals were found in the wafers (Ca), crackers (Na) and cabins (Mg) whereas the micronutrients peaked in the cookies (Fe, Zn), crackers (Cu), shortcake (Co) and wafers (Ni), respectively. The metal levels in the sampled biscuits were all safe for consumption, except for Pb at 0.83 ± 0.76-2.3 ± 1.3 mg/kg. Similarly, the health risk assessments of ingesting metals from the biscuits exposed Pb as potentially liable to cause adverse non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health effects in children (aged 4-20 years) but Co and Ni exhibited borderline non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks, respectively, in children. Gratifyingly, the ecological risk assessments to evaluate the likelihood of wastes, from expired and/or egested potentially toxic metals-contaminated biscuits, to cause damage to ecology were categorized as low. Nonetheless, constant evaluation and monitoring remain germane.

Functional Biscuits, a Healthy Addition to Your Coffee Break-Evaluating Consumer Acceptability and Willingness to Pay

An increasing number of individuals are eating out due to work and study commitments. This trend directly influences people's food choices, especially those who frequently rely on snacks and pre-packaged foods. Consuming these foods can lead to long-term health consequences. Adding functional foods to vending machines could lead to healthier choices. Our aim is to evaluate the acceptability and willingness to pay (WTP) of workers and students for a snack pack of novel functional biscuits (FBs) made with high amylose contents. We found that the experimental flour used is effective in preventing various non-communicable diseases; two phases of analysis were carried out on 209 participants. The participants blindly tested the products and only after the sensory evaluation were they informed about the biscuits' health contents. Firstly, the blind investigation highlighted the acceptability of the FBs compared to the conventional biscuits. Secondly, the finite mixture model on WTP revealed that some consumers are interested in the health benefits associated with high-amylose test blends and others are focused on hedonistic taste. The design of a communication strategy and industry approach should aim to assist consumers in comprehending the health benefits and sensory aspects of novel functional foods available on the market.

Determinants of Consumers' Acceptance and Adoption of Novel Food in View of More Resilient and Sustainable Food Systems in the EU: A Systematic Literature Review

This review article aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the main determinants of consumers' acceptance of novel foods (new foods and ingredients) in the EU with emphasis on product's intrinsic properties (sensory characteristics) and individual factors (socio-demographics, perceptive, psychological) by adopting a systematic approach following the PRISMA methodology. Case studies on terrestrial (i.e., insects, cultured meat and other animal origin products, plant-based food including mushrooms, plant-based analogues, pulses, and cereals) and aquatic systems (i.e., algae and jellyfish) are included focusing on age-related and cross-national differences in consumer acceptance of novel foods and ingredients. General trends have emerged that are common to all the novel foods analysed, regardless of their aquatic or terrestrial origin. Aspects such as food neophobia, unfamiliarity, and poor knowledge of the product are important barriers to the consumption of novel foods, while healthiness and environmental sustainability perception are drivers of acceptance. Sensory properties are challenging for more familiar ingredients such as plant-based food (e.g., novel food made by pulses, mushrooms, cereals and pseudocereals). Results are discussed in terms of feasibility of introducing these products in the EU food systems highlighting strategies that can encourage the use of new ingredients or novel foods.

Insights into Grain Milling and Fractionation Practices for Improved Food Sustainability with Emphasis on Wheat and Peas

Cereal grains and pulses are staple foods worldwide, being the primary supply of energy, protein, and fiber in human diets. The current practice of milling and fractionation yields large quantities of byproducts and waste, which are largely downgraded and end up as animal feeds or fertilizers. This adversely affects food security and the environment, and definitely implies an urgent need for a sustainable grain processing system to rectify the current issues, particularly the management of waste and excessive use of water and energy. The current review intends to discuss the limitations and flaws of the existing practice of grain milling and fractionation, along with potential solutions to make it more sustainable, with an emphasis on wheat and peas as common fractionation crops. This review discusses a proposed sustainable grain processing system for the fractionation of wheat or peas into flour, protein, starch, and value-added components. The proposed system is a hybrid model that combines dry and wet fractionation processes in conjunction with the implementation of three principles, namely, integration, recycling, and upcycling, to improve component separation efficiency and value addition and minimize grain milling waste. The three principles are critical in making grain processing more efficient in terms of the management of waste and resources. Overall, this review provides potential solutions for how to make the grain processing system more sustainable.

Impact of circular economy information on sensory acceptability, purchase intention and perceived value of upcycled foods by young consumers

The acceptability of upcycled foods is influenced by individual, context and product-related factors. This study aimed at investigating the impact of circular economy (CE) information on consumers' sensory acceptability, purchase intention and perceived value of upcycled foods, taking into account eating behaviours and personality traits that could be related to the consumers' sustainable consumption habits. To this aim, a group of young subjects (n = 80, 18-35 years old) participated in a two-step study. Firstly, an online questionnaire was administered to participants to gather information about their individual characteristics. Then, participants were divided into two groups, one receiving CE information (CE+) and one not receiving it (CE-), and they were asked to indicate the sensory acceptability, purchase intention and the perceived value of three upcycled foods, such as biscuits with grape pomace flour, beer brewed with leftover bread and a dairy product made from recovered crushed cheese. Questionnaire results showed that high individual responsibility, interest in healthy foods and high awareness of the social impact of their behaviours could be linked to a positive purchase intention for upcycled foods, as opposed to individual disgust sensitivity. No significant effect of CE information (p > 0.05) on sensory acceptability and purchase intention of all three upcycled foods was observed. Moreover, application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to the sensory data resulted in satisfactory classification of upcycled foods in terms of perceived values, explaining 86.83 % of data variability: the first principal component discriminated samples according to product category whereas the second principal component was able to clearly separate products according to CE information. Findings from this study provided valuable insights into the key individual characteristics that impact sustainable consumption habits, also highlighting the role of communication strategies in shaping consumer perceptions of upcycled foods so as to encourage a more sustainable consumption behaviour.

Consumer acceptance of upcycled craft beer: a New Zealand case study

Upcycled foods are created from surplus food, edible food waste and by-products. Food and beverage brands are launching upcycled foods and promoting their product to consumers. Little is known about how consumers respond to upcycled foods, nor how these products can be most effectively promoted. To better understand marketing strategies for upcycled foods, two studies were conducted, one online (n = 300) and one in retail stores (n = 65), in New Zealand to examine differences in consumer sentiment toward upcycled beer. In both studies, environmental benefits were identified as the most important benefits of upcycled foods and information provision on pack and online were important promotional strategies. Consumers reported greater awareness and acceptance of upcycled food in-store, yet raised concerns relating to taste and price. Only 31% of participants surveyed in-store associated 'no negatives' with upcycled foods compared with 47% of consumers surveyed online. These findings help differentiate a potential promotion strategy for upcycled foods.

Current Perceptions of Sustainable Diets in Ireland and the Outlook of Circular Eating Practices

Encouraging sustainable dietary practices is a positive step towards alleviating the negative impact of increasing food waste. This study explores consumers' perceptions of sustainable diets and factors influencing their adoption of sustainable practices, such as circular eating. Fifteen consumers in Ireland aged 18-65+ years were recruited for a qualitative study exploring their views on sustainable diets and their opinions on the use of peels, trimmings, and other by-products from fruit and vegetables as potential new ingredients or new circular food products. Age, gender, dietary preferences and educational background were important considerations during recruitment. Online interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis managed by NVivo 12. The results highlighted two overarching themes impacting circular eating, namely, food choice motives and awareness of food waste. These were linked to the participants' knowledge of and potential adoption of sustainable diets. Daily trade-offs were evident, linked to the product and the person who was also strongly influenced by their micro-environment. Consumer education from credible sources would be required to create awareness of circular eating. Most respondents were positively disposed to the concept of circular eating, as long as food safety concerns and affordability considerations were addressed through industry transparency.

Consumer Nutritional Awareness, Sustainability Knowledge, and Purchase Intention of Environmentally Friendly Cookies in Croatia, France, and North Macedonia

The increasing demand for greater utilization of byproducts in the food industry has been driven by growing interest in environmental sustainability. This paper examines the market potential and consumer attitudes toward whole-grain and sustainable cookies made with food byproducts and edible films. Additionally, particular attention was given to evaluating levels of sustainability knowledge and nutritional awareness, willingness to purchase environmentally friendly cookies with food byproducts, and to appraise differences in answers between countries and generations. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from Croatian (n = 472), French (n = 166), and North Macedonian consumers (n = 119) aged between 18 and 62, predominantly women (82%) with higher education degrees. Results showed that even if chocolate-coated cookies remain very popular, North Macedonians prefer whole-grain and plain cookies, while the French prefer chocolate-coated cookies and Croats prefer both types of cookie. The majority of consumers (96%) were interested in purchasing environmentally friendly cookies. However, consumers' interest in purchasing cookies with food byproducts was generally low, which may be related to their limited knowledge of byproducts. In conclusion, there is market potential for whole-grain cookies with food byproducts, but brand, price, and consumer education may be critical to their success.

Towards halving food waste: A comparative study using orange juice by-product in dairy desserts

By-products upcycling to produce ingredients has increased in the last years. However, the perception of foods with these ingredients must be studied to find the proper way to inform the consumer. The aim of this work was to study the purchase intention and healthiness and environmental friendliness perceptions of a flan dessert, enriched with orange juice by-product fibre. The effect of different product categories (ready-to-eat, powdered form, home-made type), fibre origin claim, and the addition of a sustainability logo in the packaging were studied through an online survey carried out in Spain (n = 342) and Uruguay (n = 307). Data were analyzed by PLS and cluster analysis. Both Spanish and Uruguayan participants considered the product category the most important attribute in purchase intention and in healthiness and environmental friendliness perception, being the home-made product preferred by both. Logo presence was more important for purchase intention and perceived environmental friendliness, while information about fibre origin was more important for healthiness perception. The home-made product with a logo and the claim about fibre origin was the one that had the highest perception of being healthy and environmentally friendly in both populations. Logo presence affected positively purchase intention for both groups, but the relative importance was higher in the case of Spanish consumers. The allegation "source of fibre" also increased healthiness and environmental friendliness perceptions, although not the purchase intention in Spain. Cluster analysis identified different groups of consumers on each country, who gave different relative importance to each attribute in purchase intention.

Almond okara as a valuable ingredient in biscuit preparation

BACKGROUND

The okara is the water-insoluble residue derived from the production of plant-based beverages, including almond milk. Information on almond okara is scarce, with no scientific references. In the present study, the almond okara was characterized and used to replace wheat flour at 15%, 25% and 35% for biscuit preparation.

RESULTS

The contents of protein, lipid and dietary fiber of almond okara were 140.08, 421.16 and 407.90 g kg^-1 dry matter, respectively. The lipid fraction of almond okara showed contents of triacylglycerol oligopolymers and oxidized triacylglycerols of 0.12 and 5.14 g kg^-1 , respectively, which were significantly lower than the levels observed in the sunflower oil used in the formulation of biscuits. Consequently, the biscuits containing okara showed a content of triacylglycerol oligopolymers lower than that of control biscuits. The texture analysis revealed that the addition of the okara at 25% and 35% caused a significant increase in biscuit hardness and a reduction of the brittleness, compared to the control. The sensory evaluation confirmed these data, highlighting the slight impact of the almond okara on the almond odor, taste and flavor attributes.

CONCLUSION

Almond okara is a valuable by-product that can be easily used as an ingredient for biscuit preparation, exploiting its fiber, protein and lipid content to improve the nutritional value of food, with a limited impact on the sensory properties. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Consumer Attitudes and Preferences for Healthy Boxed Meal Attributes in Taiwan: Evidence from a Choice Experiment

Consumers have realized the importance of a healthy diet, hoping to reduce the occurrence of obesity and chronic diseases. Therefore, healthy boxed meals with low calories and high protein are gaining attention. This study divided the attributes of healthy boxed meals into five categories, namely, taste, nutrition facts, traceability certification, carbon footprint label, and price, and investigated the relationship between consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) using a choice experiment. A purposive sampling procedure was used to collect 495 valid questionnaires. The results indicate the following: (1) when purchasing healthy boxed meals, the respondents were most concerned with traceability certification and nutrition facts; (2) the respondents were willing to pay a premium for meals with traceability certification (NTD 4.6) and nutrition facts (NTD 4.4); (3) respondents > 40 years with an average monthly salary of > NTD 30,000 who worked out regularly and were in the process of muscle building, fat loss, or weight control had higher WTP for meals with nutrition labels; and (4) female respondents who were 30-39 years old with a college or university education or above had higher WTP for meals with traceable ingredients. The results may help healthy boxed meal companies understand and pay attention to consumer needs, which will, in turn, provide a reference for future product development and marketing strategies.

Upcycled foods: A nudge toward nutrition

One of the aims of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is to end hunger and ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round. An obvious synergy exists between the second SDG “Zero Hunger” and SDG target 12.3 which focuses on halving food waste and reducing food losses. In addition to helping improve global food security, reducing food waste provides financial and environmental benefits. Upcycling food is a technical solution for food waste reduction that retains the nutritional and financial value of food by-products. However, many of the upcycled foods produced are discretionary foods such as biscuits, crackers, and other snack food that are not part of a healthy dietary pattern, and should only be eaten sometimes in small amounts. Given the importance of ensuring a sustainable healthy diet, this paper discusses opportunities for upcycled food manufacturers to produce more nutritious products.

Challenges for Upcycled Foods: Definition, Inclusion in the Food Waste Management Hierarchy and Public Acceptability

Upcycled foods contain unmarketable ingredients (e.g., damaged food produce, by-products and scraps from food preparation) that otherwise would not be directed for human consumption. Upcycled food is a new food category and thus faces several challenges, such as definition development, inclusion in the food waste management hierarchy and public acceptability. This review provides an overview of these three challenges. The upcycled food definitions have been developed for research, food manufacturers, and multi-stakeholders use. Thus, there is a need for a consumer-friendly definition for the general public. A simplified definition is proposed to introduce these foods as environmentally friendly foods containing safe ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption such as damaged food produce, by-products and scraps from food preparation. Moreover, an updated version of the food waste management hierarchy has been proposed by including the production of upcycled foods as a separate waste management action that is less preferable than redistribution but more favourable than producing animal feed. Furthermore, consumer sociodemographic characteristics and beliefs, as well as food quality cues and attributes, were identified as crucial factors for the public acceptability of these foods. Future research should address these challenges to facilitate the introduction of upcycled foods.

Consumer Perception of the Circular Economy Concept Applied to the Food Domain: An Exploratory Approach

Every year, agri-food industries in industrialised countries produce approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of food loss and waste. The adoption of a circular economy policy has received special attention by the agri-food industries, allowing for the creation and development of new food products made of by-products that would otherwise be wasted or used for secondary applications. The present work, of an exploratory nature, aims to assess how consumers conceptualise the circular economy in order to identify consumer recognition of the use of by-products from the food industry to upcycle food products and to evaluate attitudes towards the circular economy. To this end, a mixed-methodology was applied to 340 participants. The first part was qualitative and used free word association to evaluate consumers’ conceptualisation of the circular economy and use of by-products as foods. Data were analysed by grouping the responses into exclusive and exhaustive categories and a correspondence analysis was also performed to originate perceptual maps. Additionally, a questionnaire was designed to evaluate major concepts and attitudes correlated with the circular economy. Data were reduced by principal component analysis (PCA) and participants grouped through clustering. Results showed that consumers understand circular economy as related mainly into Sustainability, Economy, and Circularity dimensions. Participants had great difficulty identifying the by-products used as foods or as food ingredients. From the quantitative data, four groups were identified based on the associations to the six principal components originated by the PCA. However, the results highlighted a very low association with all clusters of the Food Valorisation dimension within the concept of the circular economy, and also a lack of a clear understanding of consumers’ attitudes towards food products from the circular economy. Greater promotion and dissemination by the competent entities aimed at the general public may contribute towards greater integration, participation and acceptance of the circular economy concept for the upscaling of food by-products.

Sustainable use of tropical fruits? Challenges and opportunities of applying the waste-to-value concept to international value chains

Agriculture and food science literature on waste-to-value applications that allow upcycling of by-product ingredients is increasing. However, this stream of research rarely takes an international trade and sustainability systems perspective. This focused review defines the term of waste-to-value and the sustainable development goals connected to it, and points to the tensions and questions arising when international trade is involved. Further, it exemplifies the challenges and opportunities of waste-to-value in tropical fruit trade through five cases of tropical fruit from South America: Green coconut, açaí, maracujá, cambuci, and jabuticaba. We present a model of the international supply chain that indicates where the opportunities of waste-to-value applications in international tropical fruit trade are situated, and discuss which future research questions need to be addressed to tackle the challenges of waste-to-value in global tropical fruit chains. Establishing the waste-to-value approach in the export of yet-underused tropical fruits can amongst others improve local employment, preserve natural resources, allow favorable use of side-streams in local energy production, environmentally friendly packaging material for transport, and add health functionalities to the end-consumer products, but challenges have to be solved in order to ensure these environmental and social benefits materialize.

Is the Consumer Ready for Innovative Fruit Wines? Perception and Acceptability of Young Consumers

The consumption of traditional wine has decreased in Europe during the last fifteen years. In parallel, new wine alternatives obtained by blending wines and fruit juices or by flavoring wines with artificial or natural flavors have appeared on the market. Recently, an innovative fruit wine obtained by co-fermentation of grape must and kiwi juice has been proposed and its potential of attraction for consumers should be exploited. To assess the potential consumer acceptability and expectations towards this new product, an online choice experiment has been conducted involving a consumer group of young adults (18–35 years old; n = 373). After the data collection, participants were divided into two groups according to whether they had already tasted a fruit wine (neophiles) or had never tasted it (new entries). For each group, the individual’s responses (on wine consumption habits, expectations and willingness to consume and pay a fruit wine) were analyzed through Principal Component Analysis. Different consumption styles and expectation patterns were defined in the two groups. However, in general, neophiles showed consumption patterns based on the evaluation of fruit quality, sales format, alcoholic content and the presence or not of bubbles, not giving importance to the brand. In contrast, new entries’ responses identified consumption patterns driven by the willingness to pay for a new product, the product value for money and packaging features. Differences between the two groups in expectations about the product sensory characteristics also emerged. These findings should contribute to this area of study by integrating environmental, economic and social dimensions and addressing food innovation and sustainability in the fruit and wine chains.

Environmental Behavior Spillover or Public Information Induction: Consumers' Intention to Pay a Premium for Rice Grown with Green Manure as Crop Fertilizer

Nowadays, there is a growing interest in pro-environmental foods produced by pro-environmental practices. However, consumers’ payment motivations towards such foods are currently poorly understood. This manuscript provided a critical investigation of Chinese consumers’ intention to pay a premium (ITPP) for rice grown with green manure as crop fertilizer (GMR). One focus was the establishment of an explanatory structural research framework that includes effects of environmental behavior spillover (EBS) and public information induction (PII); another focus was to analyze the impacts of the selected structural elements on ITPP by introducing education as a moderator. Results suggest that consumers’ ITPP can be largely influenced by PII, therefore, for GMR marketers and policy makers, measures should be developed to widen consumers’ access to public information related to GMR and to improve their capacity of screening effective information. EBS, when ITPP remains low, emerged as a pivotal predictor of consumers’ ITPP. This observation provides us with the enlightenment that breeding consumers’ daily environmental behaviors is highly valued to inspire their payment intention in the early stages of GMR market development. Another finding is that, with the introduction of the educational variable, the influence coefficients of EBS and PII on ITPP increased from 0.42 and 0.53 to 0.61 and 0.66, respectively, which means that it is possible to boost consumers’ payment intention by improving their educational attainment. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence for the GMR industrial upgrading strategy and have significant implications for the environmental governance of the agricultural sector.

Approaches for reducing wastes in the agricultural sector. An analysis of Millennials' willingness to buy food with upcycled ingredients

Upcycled ingredients are one of the most significant current trends in the food industry aimed to tackle the challenge of solid food loss reduction. This study investigates the potential market among Millennial consumers for products enriched with upcycled ingredients in Italy. We surveyed a sample of 317 Italian Millennial consumers, using a web-based survey. 62% of respondents declared to be informed about the existence of food made from upcycled ingredients and 53% declared to be willing to buy this novel food. Also, 69% of respondents think that food enriched with upcycled ingredients can bring environmental benefits, while only 40% believe that it can bring health benefits. Using a logit model to analyse consumer preferences, we found that food neophobia and food technology neophobia negatively impact on the likelihood of being willing to buy food produced with upcycled ingredients. Also, consumers who give high importance to food certification are less likely to be willing to buy upcycled foods. Contrariwise, reading labels and believing that upcycled foods are healthier or more environmentally friendly positively impacts on the willingness of Millennial consumers to buy these foods. Results for the sample analysed eventually suggest that giving right information to consumers about the environmental and health characteristics of the products, through clear labelling, could increase their market uptake thus helping to reduce food loss and contributing to reaching circular economy objectives in the agricultural sector.

Retail Potential for Upcycled Foods: Evidence from New Zealand

Food waste is a problem that manifests throughout the food supply chain. A promising solution that can mitigate the food waste problem across various stages of the food supply chain is upcycling food ingredients that would otherwise be wasted by converting them into new upcycled food products. This research explores perception of upcycled foods from a panel of 1001 frequent shoppers at a large grocery retailer in New Zealand. Findings from this research uncover several hitherto unexamined aspects of consumers’ evaluations of upcycled foods. These include consumers’ indications about shelf placements of upcycled foods, willingness to buy upcycled foods for people or pets other than themselves, and consumers’ preferences about information pertaining to these foods. This research advances our understanding of how consumers perceive upcycled foods and provides actionable insights to practitioners in the food industry.

Circular Food Behaviors: A Literature Review

Consumer behavior is crucial in the transition towards circular food systems. Studies so far investigate isolated circular food behaviors, but it is still unclear how the literature comprehensively addresses these behaviors. This paper provides an overview of the literature on circular food behaviors. Following a semi-systematic literature review, we analyze 46 papers related to circular food behaviors. We summarize their main features, categorize the behaviors, and propose a future research agenda. Results show the novelty and quick popularity of the topic, a dispersion across sustainability and agri-food journals, the manuscripts’ goals related to consumption, a predominance of empirical data collection in Europe, a focus on behaviors related to protein alternatives, food waste, and upcycled foods, and the importance of communication and consumers’ education. We categorize and characterize three types of circular food behaviors: linear, transitioning, and circular behaviors. Circular behaviors (i) are part of a systemic circular economy view, (ii) define consumers as “doers” or “prosumers”, (iii) pursue long-term sustainability goals, (iv) show a high engagement of skilled consumers, and (v) are supported by technologies. Future research should consider the social dimension of sustainability and pursue a systemic view of circular food behaviors. We suggest that a circular food-related lifestyle may incorporate the recommended directions.

Using Imagination to Overcome Fear: How Mental Simulation Nudges Consumers’ Purchase Intentions for Upcycled Food

Upcycled food, a new kind of food, provides an effective solution to reduce the food waste from the source on the premise of food security for human beings. However, the commercial success of upcycled food and its contribution to environmental sustainability are determined by consumers’ purchase intentions. In order to overcome consumers’ unfamiliarity with upcycled food and fear of new technology, based on the cue utility theory, we adopted scenario simulation through online questionnaires in three experiments to explore how mental simulation can improve consumers’ product evaluation and purchase intentions for upcycled food. Through ANOVA, the t-test, and the Bootstrap methods, the results showed that, compared with the control group, consumers’ product evaluation and purchase intentions for upcycled food in the mental simulation group significantly increased. Among them, consumers’ inspiration played a mediation role. The consumers’ future self-continuity could moderate the effect of mental simulation on consumers’ purchase intentions for upcycled food. The higher the consumers’ future self-continuity, the stronger the effect of mental simulation. Based on the above results, in the marketing promotion of upcycled food, promotional methods, such as slogans and posters, could be used to stimulate consumers, especially the mental simulation thinking mode of consumer groups with high future self-continuity, thus improving consumers’ purchase intentions for upcycled food.

Impact of sustainability and nutritional messaging on Italian consumers' purchase intent of cereal bars made with brewery spent grains

This work focuses on the reuse of brewery spent grains (BSGs), the most abundant by-product of the beer industry, today mainly used as animal feed. BSGs are rich in fibers and proteins as well as phenolic compounds, all of which are beneficial for human nutrition. Cereal bars containing 12% BSG were formulated and characterized instrumentally. Moreover, 159 panelists representative of young Italian consumers evaluated the bars in a central location test, along with a commercial cereal bar. Products were first evaluated blind, and then in an informed condition where additional product-specific nutritional and sustainability information was revealed, thus the purchase intent was determined. While the control product outperformed the BSG bar in most of the hedonic and sensory measures, the BSG sample was perceived as "natural/made with natural ingredients" by a significantly higher number of panelists (49%) compared to the control (30%). Additionally, even in the lower performing formulation, a significant positive effect on purchase intent was observed when providing either nutrition (fiber content) or sustainability (use of upcycled ingredients) information. The acceptable price range for the BSG and the commercial bar was very similar, whereas the optimal pricing point for the BSG was lower than the control. For the BSG product, sustainability information had significantly higher impact on purchase intent than nutrition-based information. Results highlight the importance of understanding consumer attitudes toward upcycling and the use of byproducts as ingredients in new food formulations. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Results show how providing information on product nutrition and sustainability can increase purchase intent in the context of a cereal bar containing upcycled ingredients. The findings of this study can help food and consumer researchers to develop acceptable products that include BSG as an ingredient, potentially replacing other cereals in the recipe. The use of this brewery by-product could add value to the beer supply chain and to the final product as well, being also aligned with the current market trend of sustainability and functional health benefits.

Consumer Attitudes towards Local and Organic Food with Upcycled Ingredients: An Italian Case Study for Olive Leaves

Food made with upcycled ingredients has received considerable attention in very recent years as a result of the need to both reduce waste and increase food nutritional properties. However, consumer acceptance of these novel foods is fundamental to their market uptake. This paper aims to assess the likelihood of the acceptance of food obtained from upcycled ingredients of olive oil productions and its association with some relevant recent consumption trends, such as organic food consumption and attention to food origin. In addition, particular attention is given to age group behaviors to appraise the differences between generations. Results suggest that, despite the negative influence of food technophobia, a core of sustainability-minded consumers seems to emerge that is interested in organic or local products, that could also favor the uptake of these novel food made with upcycled ingredients in the market. Results suggest that developing organic or "local" food products with upcycled ingredients can increase the probability of consumer acceptance.

Food Sustainability and Waste Reduction in Spain: Consumer Preferences for Local, Suboptimal, And/Or Unwashed Fresh Food Products

Improving food sustainability and reducing food waste are among the top challenges for achieving global sustainable development. In particular, changes towards more sustainable consumption are of vital importance in creating a more sustainable world. To shed light on these issues, we analyze to what extent and how consumers’ food preferences move towards more sustainable behavior. We assess the importance consumers attach to the following critical sustainable attributes of food related to food waste: (i) “Visual imperfections”, (ii) “washed/unwashed”, (iii) “size”, (iv) “locally produced”, and (v) “price”. We hypothesize that consumer preferences for these attributes are heterogeneous. Therefore, we segmented consumers into homogenous groups according to preferences for these sustainability attributes. To do this, we employed a direct ranking preference method using data gathered in an experiment conducted with consumers living in a mid-sized town in the northeast of Spain in 2018. The results suggest a high degree of consumer heterogeneity, and we identified four clusters according to the importance consumers attach to these attributes. The results are encouraging for the promotion of sustainability because different groups of consumers might prefer to purchase food products with different sustainable characteristics, such as locally grown, foods with visual imperfections, and minimally processed foods.