Where's the beef? A quantitative study of the impact of advertising claims on consumer beliefs, attitudes and behavioral intentions in the context of plant-based meat

Abstract: With a growing population to feed and increased focus on reducing unsustainable (for both the planet and the body) food practices, meat consumption and reduction has become a hot topic. Although an increasing number of people are choosing to ditch dairy and say no to meat, most people in the Western world do consume meat, and enjoy doing it. Advertising has long been known to effectively impact consumers' food choices but when it comes to advertising plant-based meat alternatives, marketers and food producers are still finding their best practices. While heavy users of plant-based meat alternatives, vegetarian and vegans, don't need much persuading, same cannot be said about people who have not cut meat from their diets, i.e., flexitarians and meat eaters. Prior research has identified various barriers and drivers for consumption of plant-based meats and the reduction of meat, namely environmental, ethical and health reasons, but it is rather unknown if these potential benefits should be focused on when advertising plant-based meat alternatives to the masses. Therefore, the following thesis aims to evaluate if and how different advertising claims affect meat eaters and flexitarians. Additionally, the thesis also aims to evaluate which behavioral constructs predict purchase intentions for plant-based meat alternatives among these individuals. The study shows that an advertising claim plays an important role but that the type of claim does not matter as much as one would think. Furthermore, flexitarians and meat eaters are impacted differently by advertising claims in the context of plant-based meats. In addition, the study shows that consumer attitudes, subjective norm and moral norms predict purchase intentions. Finally, the study presents managerial implications and avenues for future research in the thriving field of plant-based meat alternatives.