Who is in charge of creating a plant-based future? A case study of how consumers are shaping the market for plant-based meat

Abstract: Increasing concerns about lives of humans, animals and Earth have driven a transition towards an increasing consumption of plant-based foods. As a result, plant-based meat has been brought forward as a possible enabler of this transition. However, agents within the market have opposing views as to how this transition should take place, views that are important to understand to make a meatless future the reality. Thepurposeof this study is to shed light on the plant-based meat marketby uncovering the practices and consequently the shaping forces of consumers and producers that affect the development of the market. By applying theories from social constructivism (science and technology studies), this thesis conducts a case study of the Swedish market based on semi-structured interviews and nethnography. The findings indicate that consumers have powers to shape the market through their actions that will be captured through market representation practices.These representations will be analyzed by companies that will opportunistically explore the trends and drive it further. That implies that consumers' everyday practices have a profound effects on how companies thereafter act in the market.