Plants for everyone : prospects of upscaling consumption of plant-based protein products

Abstract: A change towards a more sustainable food consumption is necessary in order to mitigate climate change. Changing diets and preferences from animal-based to plant-based has a great potential to reduce impact on the environment. However, this requires action in both local and global contexts. This thesis focuses on the consumer perspective and how to upscale consumption of plant-based protein products (PBPP). By examining how consumers and retailers in Sweden understand the importance and opportunity to upscale consumption of PBPP I aim to synthesise how these perspectives mirror the participants lifeworld’s and the socio-cultural norms, values and context they are embedded in. Findings in this thesis shows that vegetarians, vegans and flexitarians recognise a value and reason for upscaling their consumption of PBPP since these consumer groups have experiences of consuming PBPP and are aware about their function. Meanwhile, omnivores merely identify a value of upscaling consumption of PBPP in general, however many are not willing to start consuming these products themselves. This may be due to their lack of experience and knowledge about the products. Thus, the consumers experiences of past consumption habits, experiences of marketing and values of the products impact both their perception of and their willingness to consume PBPP. These factors play a part in how the consumer motivate their decisions in the supermarket. The findings can be used as suggestions for how to upscale consumption amongst consumers. Greater attention to personal experiences and social drivers of food preferences has the potential to identify pathways to scale up PBPP through changing consumer consumption patterns. This results in a complex framing of consumption moving beyond physical factors towards social factors as decisive for changing consumer patterns.