A new survey from Danone Sweden highlights a gap between attitude and experience when it comes to plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy. The research, done by market research agency Norstat on behalf of Danone earlier this year, shows that many Swedish consumers are sceptical towards plant-based options even though as much as a third of them have never tried any such products.

“We know that most people don’t eat enough plants. It’s easy to point to external factors, but much of it comes down to a reluctance to changing one’s eating habits,” says Helena Herlitz, Senior Corporate Affairs Manager at Danone.

Unsurprisingly, concerns about taste came out as the number one barrier to trying something plant-based, followed by price. 55% of the 1,001 respondents listed these factors as the main barriers to eating more plant-based. They were perceived as bigger barriers for those who said they eat a mostly animal-based diet, however 30% of these consumers also said they have never tried any plant-based products, which is nearly twice as much as the survey average of 17%.

Looking at it from the other end of the spectrum and what would motivate Swedish consumers to try a plant-based option, these were the four main factors:

1. Convenience (44% said this is the most important factor)

2. Tasting similar or the same as the animal-based equivalent (36%)

3. Health (21%)

4. Sustainability concerns (14%)

The survey also found that Swedish consumers are significantly more open to plant-based alternatives when eating at home, while only 4% said they would choose a plant-based option when eating out.

Major differences between which types of plant-based products consumers have tried were also observed. Oat- and almond milk were the products that most (50%) respondents reported having tried. The second-most tried plant-based category was meat alternatives (49%) followed by ready meals (25%), ice cream (22%) and yoghurt (20%).

However, despite 49% having tried a meat alternative at some point, meat came out as the number one product that consumers would be the least interested in changing for a plant-based option, with 54% of respondents saying they are not interested in plant-based meat alternatives.

Danone concludes that “Scepticism towards plant-based options is widespread and is often based more on preconceived notions than actual experiences.”  

Taste and texture have always been the Achilles Heel of plant-based substitutes, along with poor nutritional profiles and long ingredient lists. This has little to do with preconceived notions; the superior taste and texture of dairy or meat is simply very difficult to replicate in a plant-based option. Until these challenges are addressed it will remain difficult to encourage consumers to switch from animal-based to plant-based products, simply because the few experiences that consumers have are likely to be disappointing.