"Got Milk Alternatives?" Understanding Key Factors Determining U.S. Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Plant-Based Milk Alternatives

Meike Rombach; David L Dean; Vera Bitsch

doi:10.3390/foods12061277

"Got Milk Alternatives?" Understanding Key Factors Determining U.S. Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Plant-Based Milk Alternatives

Foods. 2023 Mar 17;12(6):1277. doi: 10.3390/foods12061277.

Authors

Meike Rombach¹, David L Dean², Vera Bitsch³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Land Management and Systems, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand.
² Department of Agribusiness and Markets, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand.
³ School of Management and School of Life Sciences, Chair of Economics of Horticulture and Landscaping, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany.

Abstract

Milk is an important dairy product in U.S. food retail. Lifestyle changes toward climate-conscious consumption, animal welfare, and food safety concerns have increased the popularity of plant-based milk alternatives. This study is focused on such beverages and provides insights and best practice recommendations for marketing managers in the U.S. food retail sector. An online survey was distributed to explore factors explaining the intentions of U.S. consumers to purchase and pay a premium for plant-based milk alternatives. Food curiosity and food price inflation were identified as relevant for both willingness to buy and willingness to pay a price premium. In addition, animal welfare concerns and the green and clean product image of plant-based alternatives were relevant to the willingness to pay a premium for plant-based milk.

Keywords: PLS-SEM; animal welfare; climate impact; food curiosity; plant-based milk alternatives; sustainability.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.