Investigação dos critérios de escolha para alimentos plant-based

Abstract

ABSTRACT Growing supply and demand for plant-based food is a global reality. These foods serve an audience that has a heterogeneous profile, as they include consumers with vegetarian diet and also those who are reducing meat consumption. Besides the issues related to the environment and ethical aspects, little is known about the motivations that lead to the choice of these foods. Thus, this paper proposes to investigate the criteria involving the choice of plant-based foods. For this, a market research was conducted with consumers from Fortaleza and the metropolitan region, through the application of a structured questionnaire of quantitative and descriptive nature, inspired by the Food Choice Questionare. Responses were obtained in person at a college cafeteria and vegetarian restaurant, and online. Data correlation was determined using Cronbach's alpha coefficient to assess internal consistency scale. The Student's t-test was also performed to analyze the means between the selection criteria and between the consumer segments defined by gender (male and female) and the practiced diet (plant-based diet, protein diet and regular diet). Of the total responses achieved (399), 89% were young adults aged 18-35, 67% said they were female, 19% were on a plant-based diet and 53% consumed plant products every day. The food choice questionnaire revealed metric property, with α values between 0.664 and 0.804. Thus, it was possible to determine that, for the group studied, the most important selection criteria are “price” (6.12 ± 1.24) and “sensory appeal” (6.03 ± 1.34). And when comparing consumer segments, differences in the importance attributed to criteria such as “weight control” were observed. This research presents important information for food industry research and development professionals, as it reveals the criteria surrounding the choice of plant-based foods