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Weigel, Mira Janna Doro, 2022. Consumer preferences for tofu characteristics in Sweden : a discrete choice experiment. Second cycle, A2E. Uppsala: SLU, Dept. of Economics

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Abstract

The extensive consumption of meat products is increasingly criticized as it is associated with environmental, ethical, and social dilemmas. This is closely related to production systems and factory farming, which lead to high emissions and strain on planetary boundaries. Based on plant-based ingredients, meat substitutes are a healthy source of protein that offer a number of social, environmental and health benefits compared to meat and therefore play an important role in reducing the consumption of meat products. However, the market shares of plant-based meat substitutes are quite low in many countries and need to increase to reinforce sustainable consumption and production. As a consequence, research needs to investigate where consumers stand in this regard and what their preferences are as the knowledge about these aspects is critical to develop a market that benefits food industry and government policies. The subject of the study is tofu, an important plant-based protein source with a long tradition in Asian cuisine. I used a discrete choice experiment with the product attributes origin (non-EU vs. EU vs. Sweden), production type (organic vs. conventional) and price to get insights into how consumers make choices. Using latent class analysis, five distinct consumer classes have been identified: price-insensitive consumers, eco-conscious consumers, price-conscious consumers, sustainability-conscious consumers, and random clickers. The origin of the tofu and the soy beans used for production as well as organic cultivation have big influence on consumers' preferences. Female consumers and those who do not consume meat regularly are found to have a generally higher willingness to pay for tofu, local production and organic cultivation.

Main title:Consumer preferences for tofu characteristics in Sweden
Subtitle:a discrete choice experiment
Authors:Weigel, Mira Janna Doro
Supervisor:Rommel, Jens and Sagebiel, Julian
Examiner:Ferguson, Richard
Series:Examensarbete / SLU, Institutionen för ekonomi
Volume/Sequential designation:1433
Year of Publication:2022
Level and depth descriptor:Second cycle, A2E
Student's programme affiliation:NM005 Environmental Economics and Management - Master's Programme 120 HEC
Supervising department:(NL, NJ) > Dept. of Economics
Keywords:sustainable consumption, climate friendly food, plant-based proteins, willingness to pay, legumes, soya bean
URN:NBN:urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-18068
Permanent URL:
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-18068
Subject. Use of subject categories until 2023-04-30.:Consumer economics
Food science and technology
Economics and management
Language:English
Deposited On:14 Jul 2022 11:13
Metadata Last Modified:15 Jul 2022 01:08

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