ProPlant – Promoting Plant-Based Food Choices in a Virtual Supermarket Setting: Testing Product- and Meal-Based Interventions Across Different Decision-Making Stages
Reducing meat consumption by promoting plant-based diets is a key component of the sustainable transformation of food systems. Compared to meat-based foods, plant-based foods require significantly fewer resources and generate fewer CO2 emissions. The aim of this study is to investigate whether and how the decision to choose meat-free meals can be influenced by offering product alternatives and/or recipes before or during the purchasing process.
We analyze the impact of two different interventions—offering product suggestions versus recipe suggestions—and assess their effects on purchasing behavior and the associated CO2 emissions. In the “product suggestions” intervention, plant-based meat alternatives are placed alongside meat products in the meat section of the store. This makes it easy for consumers to choose a meat alternative during the product selection process. The “recipe suggestions” intervention takes into account the fact that consumers often lack the ideas and cooking skills needed to prepare meatless meals. Therefore, consumers are presented with recipe ideas for meat-free meals. Two important phases are taken into account: (1) early activation by displaying the recipe suggestions immediately before entering the store, and (2) displaying the recipe suggestions during the product selection process inside the store. The impact of these interventions—product suggestions versus recipe suggestions—is being examined both independently and in combination to identify possible interaction effects between these different interventions.
