Would you buy plant-based foods blended with cultivated meat? one third of people 'probably would'

Blending plant-based and cultivated meat products represents a great opportunity to produce tasty, healthy, sustainable and ethical food products and, according to a report by ProVeg International, consumers are very open to buying such hybrid foods.

“Knowing taste and health are two of the most important purchase drivers when it comes to plant-based foods, hybrid plant-based/cultivated food products do show a strong potential to respond to consumer demand,” Mathilde Alexandre, Senior Project Manager at ProVeg International, said. 

So, how do consumers perceive hybrid plant-based/cultivated food products? 

ProVeg International conducted an online survey among 1,000 participants in the UK last July to gauge how consumers might perceive hybrid products. 

A spokesperson for ProVeg International said: "It's encouraging to see over one third of respondents would 'probably' or 'definitely' buy and eat hybrid plant-based/cultivated meat porducts.

"30% of respondents are unsure whether they would eat or buy hybrid plant-based/cultivated meat, meaning there's still plenty of room to inform the public about what these food products are and their benefits to positively influence them."

Respondents expect hybrid plant-based/cultivated meat to be good for animals (57%) and the environment (57%), nutritious (54%), healthy (50%) and safe (50%).

Age, gender, and level of education are demographic factors that play a role in people’s willingness to buy and eat hybrid plant-based/cultivated meat. 

Overall, university-educated Millennials and Gen Z men are more open to hybrid plant-based/cultivated meat. 51% of university-educated men up to 45 years old (Millennials and Gen Z) would probably or definitely eat hybrid plant-based/cultivated meat. 

47% of university-educated men up to 45 years old (Millennials and Gen Z) would probably or definitely buy hybrid plant-based/cultivated meat. 

Dr Chris Bryant, an alternative proteins expert, said: "It's encouraging to see so many consumers would be open to buying and eating hybrid plant-based/cultivated meat products. 

"Many are even anticipating eating such products on at least a weekly basis. As with other similar products, we see the highest appeal to younger, more educated consumers, and overall, we see quite high expectations for the quality of such products."

You can check the full report out here https://corporate.proveg.com/report/hybrid-consumer.