Assessing the Consumer Acceptance and Market Potential of Alternative Meats

Introduction, project objectives and project background: This initiative to this project, including the original project proposal, goes back to Professor Kevin Chen (he is no longer with the Department of Rural Economy). The project was initially scheduled to begin on 2004/05/01. When I took over this project and started to work as Principal Investigator on January 1, 2005, the following objectives were to be fulfilled (taken from Professor Kevin Chen's initial proposal): 1) Documentation of consumer awareness, attitude, and choice regarding alternative meats "At what level and to what extent are consumers aware of alternative meats?" What is consumer interest level in alternative meats and their willingness to change consumption behavior (i.e. how much are they willing to pay for alternative meats)? "What kinds of alternative meats are consumers eating?" What kinds of alternative meats are consumers most likely to try in the future? "Where are consumers buying and eating alternative meats (meat specialty store, direct market, supermarket, restaurant, and others)?" What attributes do consumers find desirable in alternative meats (leanness, nutrition, adventure, taste, and others)?" What are the main barriers affecting purchase of alternative meats (price, awareness of availability, exotic nature, cooking instructions, nutrition labeling, and others)? 2) Compilation of a consumer profile related to purchase of alternative meats "How do various socioeconomic and demographic factors affect consumer awareness, attitude, and acceptance of alternative meats?" What are the distinct consumer market segments that Alberta's alternative livestock and meat producers might target? 3) Development of marketing strategies and implications for the Alberta alternative livestock industry "What are the implications of the findings in 1) and 2) for developing effective advertising and promotion strategies to support the further development of Alberta's alternative livestock industry?"What are the implications of the finding in 1) and 2) for producing alternative meat products that are consumer friendly? "What are the implications of the findings in 1) and 2) for selecting the main marketing and distribution channels for alternative meat products? 1 A decision was made together with the DLFOA to focus our research efforts on three species: bison, elk and lamb. The overall purpose of our research was to improve the understanding of consumer perceptions towards the consumption of alternative meats, notably the above three species. More specifically, the objectives were to: 1) Document the attitude and purchasing choices for three alternative meats which are strategically important to Alberta's alternative livestock industry. 2) Analyze the effects of socio-economic factors of Alberta consumers in purchasing the above alternative meats. 3) Explore possibilities for market segmentation and marketing implications, also for other alternative meats (other than bison, elk and lamb). In order to achieve these objectives, this study has taken the following steps: 1) A preliminary survey was developed and received feedback from Professor Robert Hudson, University of Alberta. 2) This preliminary survey was revised by using four focus groups with Alberta consumers. 3) Three separate web-based surveys were constructed for bison, elk and lamb. In each of these surveys, a switching model was developed that employs revealed preference data in stated preference experiments. As consumers indicate their (un)willingness to switch away from beef, towards alternative meats, we addressed many issues; among them were: How important are which information sources in the purchasing decisions of alternative meats? 2 What role does farm origin traceability play in consumers' choice? To what extent do consumers care about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in producing those meats?