The Impact of Information Presentation on Consumer Perceptions of Cricket-Containing Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yupeng Gao; Pitchayapat Chonpracha; Bin Li; Ryan Ardoin; Witoon Prinyawiwatkul

doi:10.3390/foods13030479

The Impact of Information Presentation on Consumer Perceptions of Cricket-Containing Chocolate Chip Cookies

Foods. 2024 Feb 2;13(3):479. doi: 10.3390/foods13030479.

Authors

Yupeng Gao¹, Pitchayapat Chonpracha¹, Bin Li², Ryan Ardoin³, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Louisiana State University, Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
² Department of Experimental Statistics, Louisiana State University, Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
³ Food Processing and Sensory Quality Research Unit, Southern Regional Research Center, USDA-ARS, New Orleans, LA 70124, USA.

Abstract

As a source of protein and other nutrients for a growing population, edible insect production offers environmental and sustainability advantages over traditional meat production. Although around 2 billion people consume insects worldwide, Western consumers are still reluctant to practice entomophagy, hindered largely by neophobia and negative emotions. In addition to sensory quality and safety, an informational component may be crucial to consumers' decision making involving insect consumption. In this study, three different information types, namely text, image, and a tangible product, were used to convey information about chocolate chip cookies (CCCs) containing cricket flour. The nature of the information was related to the ingredient usage level (5%), the type of insect (cricket), nutritional values, sustainability benefits, packaging, celebrity endorsement, and/or visual appearance of an actual product. Consumers' willingness to consume (WTC), acceptance, and purchase intent (PI) were measured in response to each informed condition. Once informed of the insect ingredient, all scores significantly (α = 0.05) dropped. The lowest WTC (1.97 ± 1.06, Text), acceptance (3.55 ± 2.23, Image), and PI (1.85 ± 1.05, Text) scores were found after identifying cricket as the insect ingredient. Compared to other informed conditions, the presentation of a real chocolate chip cookie containing insects achieved the highest scores on all affective scores (WTC: 3.4 ± 1.04, acceptance: 6.17 ± 1.89, PI: 3.07 ± 1.09). The greatest improvement in scores was observed after information about nutrition and sustainability benefits (based on ANOVA), which was more impactful for males than females (based on a t-test). Celebrity endorsement did not have a significant effect. The presentation of the actual CCC containing cricket flour (for visual observation only) significantly increased WTC, acceptance, and PI compared to presenting text and images alone. Acceptance, WTC, and certain information cues were significant predictors of PI for CCCs containing cricket flour.

Keywords: acceptance; consumer perception; cricket; entomophagy; informed conditions; purchase intent; willingness to consume.

Grants and funding

This work was partially supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Project (Accession No. 1022270; Hatch Project No. LAB94473) and the LSU Agricultural Center.