Investigating the effect of sharing environmental information on consumer responses to conventional and hypothetical ‘precision fermented’ yoghurt

Abstract Precision fermented dairy (PFD) is a novel technology used to produce milk proteins that can be used to replicate conventional dairy (CD) products. With PFD products likely to be available soon in the United Kingdom, this study aimed to explore consumer acceptance of these products. Specifically, the effect of sharing information related to the process and environmental impact of PFD on overall liking and emotional response for yoghurts labelled as CD and PFD. Overall, all participants (n = 62) were willing to try the yoghurts labelled as PFD, and no significant difference in liking between yoghurts labelled as CD and PFD was found, indicating acceptance and trust. However, sharing information slightly increased liking for PFD yoghurt and evoked more positive emotions (‘understanding’, ‘adventurous’ and ‘enthusiastic’). In contrast, information decreased liking for CD yoghurt and had minimal impact on the emotional response, but made participants feel slightly ‘guilty’. In particular, sharing information led high food-neophobic and food technology-neophobic individuals to be more ‘understanding’ towards PFD in comparison to the low-neophobic groups. Findings suggest emotional responses can provide deeper insights beyond liking, which will benefit the food industry when reviewing consumer attitudes. The results show promise that consumers will accept PFD products when available, provided the novel technology can mimic the sensory properties of CD. Furthermore, when marketing products, sharing information may increase liking for sustainable products, but future studies would benefit from exploring the effect of different types of information on consumer acceptance.