EXAMINATION OF CONSUMER PREFERENCES RELATED TO LAB-GROWN MEAT AMONG HUNGARIAN CONSUMERS

Szakály, Zoltán – Szűcs, Róbert Sándor – Földi, Kata – Kiss, Marietta

Keywords: lab-grown meat, consumer preferences, willingness to try JEL: Q13

DOI: https://doi.org/10.53079/GAZDALKODAS.68.5.t.pp_445-461
Critics for traditional meat production systems leads to an increasing search of food industry to replace meat. One of the main directions of the developments is the laboratory-grown meat. The primary objective of the research was to examine consumer preferences related to lab-grown meat among the Hungarian population. To achieve this, we conducted a nationwide representative survey with a sample of 500 respondents. According to the results, very few people would try lab-grown meat and would consume it regularly; only 4.2% are certain they would try it, and just 5.2% are certain they would consume it regularly. A small proportion (2.3%) would replace traditional meats with lab-grown meat, and only 2.9% would choose lab-grown meat patties at the same price, compared to 80.2% who prefer traditional meat patties. This aligns with the high level of food neophobia (fear of new foods) among Hungarian consumers and indicates that established consumer habits and preferences play a significant role in shaping consumer behaviour. However, it can be noted that consumers who have already tried plant-based meat substitutes are significantly more willing to try lab-grown meat compared to those who have not tried those substitutes, indicating a crossover between these two groups. Therefore, this segment is likely to be the primary target group for retailers. Additionally, the willingness to try and regularly consume lab-grown meat is significantly higher among young people, those who consider themselves very health- and environmentally conscious, and residents of Central Hungary compared to other segments. Therefore, it may be beneficial for companies to first target these segments and effectively highlight the advantages of lab-grown meat in their messages toward them. According to our respondents, the two main barriers to trying lab-grown meat are food safety issues and the product’s sensory value, therefore companies must prove that the new product is not harmful to health, and through tasting events, they must also demonstrate that its sensory value (taste) does not differ from that of traditional meats.
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