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Consumer Knowledge and Acceptance of “Algae” as a Protein Alternative: A UK-Based Qualitative Study

Chloe Mellor, Rochelle Embling, Louise Neilson, Tennessee Randall, Chloe Wakeham, Michelle Lee Orcid Logo, Laura Wilkinson Orcid Logo

Foods, Volume: 11, Issue: 12, Start page: 1703

Swansea University Authors: Rochelle Embling, Tennessee Randall, Chloe Wakeham, Michelle Lee Orcid Logo, Laura Wilkinson Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.3390/foods11121703

Abstract

Overconsumption of meat has been recognised as a key contributing factor to the climate emergency. Algae (including macroalgae and microalgae) are a nutritious and sustainable food source that may be utilised as an alternative to animal-based proteins. However, little is known about the consumer awa...

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Published in: Foods
ISSN: 2304-8158
Published: MDPI AG 2022
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60152
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This anticipated acceptance of algae was influenced by several product attributes, including perceived novelty, edibility, healthiness, sustainability, and affordability. 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spelling 2022-07-06T16:52:53.3369032 v2 60152 2022-06-08 Consumer Knowledge and Acceptance of “Algae” as a Protein Alternative: A UK-Based Qualitative Study ebe50ef830ed9bc9aacf76cb791f898f Rochelle Embling Rochelle Embling true false 6edae92354db8bbde9da1b5599af0666 Tennessee Randall Tennessee Randall true false c0474f195b6ee7b0dc7577d87fc34a39 Chloe Wakeham Chloe Wakeham true false 503d8657d47c066ada31f344b030c352 0000-0002-1291-5895 Michelle Lee Michelle Lee true false 07aeb47532af5a8421686d4f22f4a226 0000-0002-8093-0843 Laura Wilkinson Laura Wilkinson true false 2022-06-08 HPS Overconsumption of meat has been recognised as a key contributing factor to the climate emergency. Algae (including macroalgae and microalgae) are a nutritious and sustainable food source that may be utilised as an alternative to animal-based proteins. However, little is known about the consumer awareness and acceptance of algae as a protein alternative. The aim of this qualitative study was to develop a rich and contextualised understanding of consumer beliefs about the use of algae in novel and innovative food products. A total of 34 participants from the UK assisted with our study. Each participant engaged in one focus group, with six focus groups conducted in total. Existing consumer knowledge of algae was discussed before participants explored the idea of algae-based food products. Reflexive (inductive) thematic analysis was used to analyse these data. Results showed that consumers have limited pre-existing knowledge of algae as a food source; however, participants were open to the idea of trying to consume algae. This anticipated acceptance of algae was influenced by several product attributes, including perceived novelty, edibility, healthiness, sustainability, and affordability. These findings highlight algae as a promising protein alternative to support plant-forward diets in the UK and identify key attributes to consider in future product development and marketing strategies. Journal Article Foods 11 12 1703 MDPI AG 2304-8158 algae; macroalgae; microalgae; seaweed; meat substitute; plant-based; alternative protein; consumer acceptance; consumer attitudes; qualitative 10 6 2022 2022-06-10 10.3390/foods11121703 The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. Full transcripts are not publicly available in order to ensure participant privacy COLLEGE NANME Psychology COLLEGE CODE HPS Swansea University External research funder(s) paid the OA fee (includes OA grants disbursed by the Library) This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number ES/V502200/1: ESRC IAA/DTP NPIF ABC]. R.E. also receives funding from the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, Project Reference: ES/P00069X/1, Studentship 1947139. T.R. also receives funding from the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, Project reference: ES/P00069X/1, Studentship 2570975. 2022-07-06T16:52:53.3369032 2022-06-08T09:38:08.0441549 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Psychology Chloe Mellor 1 Rochelle Embling 2 Louise Neilson 3 Tennessee Randall 4 Chloe Wakeham 5 Michelle Lee 0000-0002-1291-5895 6 Laura Wilkinson 0000-0002-8093-0843 7 60152__24267__b4bc422692a44cf89c06611ee25f0384.pdf foods-11-01703.pdf 2022-06-10T08:35:01.6159931 Output 282522 application/pdf Version of Record true Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Consumer Knowledge and Acceptance of “Algae” as a Protein Alternative: A UK-Based Qualitative Study
spellingShingle Consumer Knowledge and Acceptance of “Algae” as a Protein Alternative: A UK-Based Qualitative Study
Rochelle Embling
Tennessee Randall
Chloe Wakeham
Michelle Lee
Laura Wilkinson
title_short Consumer Knowledge and Acceptance of “Algae” as a Protein Alternative: A UK-Based Qualitative Study
title_full Consumer Knowledge and Acceptance of “Algae” as a Protein Alternative: A UK-Based Qualitative Study
title_fullStr Consumer Knowledge and Acceptance of “Algae” as a Protein Alternative: A UK-Based Qualitative Study
title_full_unstemmed Consumer Knowledge and Acceptance of “Algae” as a Protein Alternative: A UK-Based Qualitative Study
title_sort Consumer Knowledge and Acceptance of “Algae” as a Protein Alternative: A UK-Based Qualitative Study
author_id_str_mv ebe50ef830ed9bc9aacf76cb791f898f
6edae92354db8bbde9da1b5599af0666
c0474f195b6ee7b0dc7577d87fc34a39
503d8657d47c066ada31f344b030c352
07aeb47532af5a8421686d4f22f4a226
author_id_fullname_str_mv ebe50ef830ed9bc9aacf76cb791f898f_***_Rochelle Embling
6edae92354db8bbde9da1b5599af0666_***_Tennessee Randall
c0474f195b6ee7b0dc7577d87fc34a39_***_Chloe Wakeham
503d8657d47c066ada31f344b030c352_***_Michelle Lee
07aeb47532af5a8421686d4f22f4a226_***_Laura Wilkinson
author Rochelle Embling
Tennessee Randall
Chloe Wakeham
Michelle Lee
Laura Wilkinson
author2 Chloe Mellor
Rochelle Embling
Louise Neilson
Tennessee Randall
Chloe Wakeham
Michelle Lee
Laura Wilkinson
format Journal article
container_title Foods
container_volume 11
container_issue 12
container_start_page 1703
publishDate 2022
institution Swansea University
issn 2304-8158
doi_str_mv 10.3390/foods11121703
publisher MDPI AG
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Psychology{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Psychology
document_store_str 1
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description Overconsumption of meat has been recognised as a key contributing factor to the climate emergency. Algae (including macroalgae and microalgae) are a nutritious and sustainable food source that may be utilised as an alternative to animal-based proteins. However, little is known about the consumer awareness and acceptance of algae as a protein alternative. The aim of this qualitative study was to develop a rich and contextualised understanding of consumer beliefs about the use of algae in novel and innovative food products. A total of 34 participants from the UK assisted with our study. Each participant engaged in one focus group, with six focus groups conducted in total. Existing consumer knowledge of algae was discussed before participants explored the idea of algae-based food products. Reflexive (inductive) thematic analysis was used to analyse these data. Results showed that consumers have limited pre-existing knowledge of algae as a food source; however, participants were open to the idea of trying to consume algae. This anticipated acceptance of algae was influenced by several product attributes, including perceived novelty, edibility, healthiness, sustainability, and affordability. These findings highlight algae as a promising protein alternative to support plant-forward diets in the UK and identify key attributes to consider in future product development and marketing strategies.
published_date 2022-06-10T04:18:01Z
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