Going for the plant-based (legen)dairy alternative?
An exploratory study on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions towards plant-based dairy alternatives
Master thesis within: Business Administration - Marketing Number of credits: 30 ECTS Program of study: Civilekonom Authors: Emma Rosenlöw & Tommie Hansson Tutor: Adele Berndt Jönköping May 2020
Master Thesis in Business Administration - Marketing
Title: Going for the plant-based (legen)dairy alternative? An exploratory study on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions towards plant-based dairy alternatives Authors: Emma Rosenlöw & Tommie Hansson Tutor: Adele Berndt Date: May 18, 2020
Key terms: Attitude, Environmental concern, Greenhouse gas, Health consciousness, Perceived behavioral control, Plant-based dairy substitutes, Purchase intention, Subjective norms
Abstract
Global food production, and consequently consumption, contributes significantly to total greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, there is a need for a shift towards more environmentally friendly consumption patterns. This includes moving away from current levels of dairy consumption, where plant-based alternatives can serve as more environmentally friendly options. This research sheds light on an emerging product category, namely plant-based dairy alternatives, which can serve as options or substitutes for traditional dairy products. The purpose of this thesis is to explore consumer attitudes and purchase intentions towards plant- based dairy alternatives, as well as the factors that influence attitudes and intentions respectively. To achieve an in-depth understanding of the topic, this study is of qualitative nature, using an abductive approach and interpretive philosophy. The primary data is collected through interviews with 16 consumers in the selected target group. Further, this research has developed a modified theory of planned behavior (TPB), to add to current consumer behavior research. The findings of this research show that the majority of the participants have a positive attitude and furthermore intention to purchase plant-based dairy alternatives. Furthermore, several factors influence consumer attitudes, which are subjective norms, health consciousness, taste, knowledge, environmental concern, animal treatment, and appearance. Moreover, purchase intention is affected by two factors, namely price, and curiosity.
ii Acknowledgments
Firstly, we would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Adele Berndt, not only for constructively guiding us through the thesis process but also for providing an engaging education for us students aiming to work within the field of marketing. We have particularly appreciated her optimism, enthusiasm, and high competence throughout this time.
Secondly, we want to thank everyone who participated in our interviews and gave us highly valuable insights into the complex mind of the consumer. Without you, this research could not have been done.
Thirdly, a warm thank you to our families, friends, and fellow students for their support during these months, but also to each other for the time and effort put into this. It has been a challenging, yet valuable and rewarding, experience.
Jönköping International Business School May 18, 2020
iii Table of contents 1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 BACKGROUND 1 1.2 PROBLEM DEFINITION 2 1.3 PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS 4 1.4 DELIMITATIONS 4 1.5 DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS 5 1.6 THESIS DISPOSITION 6 2. FRAME OF REFERENCE 7
2.1 ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY 7 2.2 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF FOOD CONSUMPTION 7 2.3 PLANT-BASED DAIRY ALTERNATIVES 8 2.4 UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND INTENTIONS 11 2.4.1 The Theory of Planned Behavior 12 2.4.2 Extension of the TPB Model by Current Literature 14 2.5 THE SUGGESTED RESEARCH FRAMEWORK 16 3. METHODOLOGY 22
3.1 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY 22 3.2 RESEARCH APPROACH 23 3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN 24 3.4 RESEARCH STRATEGY 25 3.5 DATA COLLECTION 26 3.5.1 Interviews as Primary Data 26 3.5.2 Secondary Data 27 3.5.3 Selection of Sample 28 3.5.4 Choice of Questions 29 3.5.5 Pretest 30 3.5.6 Ethical Considerations 31 3.5.7 Execution of Primary Data Collection 31 3.6 INTERPRETATION AND DATA ANALYSIS 32 3.6.1 Data Assembly 32 3.6.2 Data Reduction 33 3.6.3 Data Display 33 3.7 DATA VERIFICATION 33 3.7.1 Data Trustworthiness 34 4. FINDINGS 36
4.1 SAMPLE DISPLAY 36 4.2 GENERAL FINDINGS 37 4.3 FACTORS INFLUENCING ATTITUDES 38 4.3.1 Attitudes 38 4.3.2 Subjective Norms 40 4.3.3 Health Consciousness 43 4.3.4 Taste 45 4.3.5 Knowledge 47 4.3.6 Environmental Concern 49 4.3.7 Additional Factors 52 4.4 ATTITUDE - INTENTION 53 4.5 FACTORS INFLUENCING INTENTION 54
iv 4.5.1 Price 54 4.5.2 Availability 55 4.5.3 Additional Factors 56 5. ANALYSIS 57
5.2 FACTORS INFLUENCING ATTITUDES 57 5.2.1 Subjective Norms 57 5.2.2 Health Consciousness 58 5.2.3 Taste 59 5.2.4 Knowledge 60 5.2.5 Environmental Concern 61 5.2.6 Animal Treatment 62 5.2.7 Appearance 62 5.3 ATTITUDE - INTENTION 63 5.4 FACTORS INFLUENCING INTENTION 63 5.4.1 Price 64 5.4.2 Availability 64 5.4.3 Curiosity 65 5.5 CONNECTING TO THE SUGGESTED RESEARCH FRAMEWORK 65 6. CONCLUSION 67
6.1 PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS 67 6.2 IMPLICATIONS 68 6.2.1 Theoretical Implications 68 6.2.2 Managerial Implications 69 6.2.3 Societal Implications 70 6.3 LIMITATIONS 71 6.4 FUTURE RESEARCH 72 REFERENCE LIST 73 APPENDICES 83
APPENDIX A - INTERVIEW GUIDE 83 APPENDIX B - EXAMPLES OF PLANT-BASED DAIRY ALTERNATIVES 85 APPENDIX C - DATA DISPLAY SPREADSHEET - ATTITUDES 86 APPENDIX D - DATA DISPLAY SPREADSHEET - INTENTIONS 87
v 1. Introduction
This chapter presents the background, problem, and purpose of this thesis, where the background establishes the context of the research and the problem formulation explains the relevance of the chosen topic. Further, the purpose and research questions demonstrate what will be explored in the research. Moreover, delimitations and key words are explained in detail in order to introduce the reader to the research field.
1.1 Background
In a world affected by negative environmental impact, global climate change is one of society’s most urgent contemporary issues (Rose, Heller & Roberto, 2019). Hence, the effort of minimizing the environmental footprint of our planet for future generations is crucial. Currently, emissions of greenhouse gases coming as a result of human activities are the main cause of global warming (IPCC, 2018). Inevitably our planet has to manage the increasing population, and an associated side effect; an increase in consumption. The increase in food consumption is a big environmental issue (Godfray et al, 2010; Notarnicola, Tassielli, Renzulli, Castellani & Sala, 2017) as global food production contributes significantly to the earth’s greenhouse gas emissions (Garnett, 2011; Sabate & Soret, 2014). The necessity to fulfill the human need for nutrition, at the same time as managing the threat it poses to the environment, is by no means a challenge.
The serious impact of food production on the environment implies the need for global strategies and efforts that ensure environmentally-friendly food production and consumption in order to reduce emissions (Gartner, 2011; Sabate & Soret, 2014; Wollenberg et al., 2016). Clearly, there is a need for a shift in consumption patterns (Assadourian, 2010). This shift includes moving away from the current levels of meat and dairy consumption since these are product categories that contribute to a high environmental burden (Gartner, 2011; Notarnicola et al., 2017). Plant- based alternatives can serve as more environmentally friendly options as they generally have a lower environmental footprint (Röös, Garnett, Watz & Sjörs, 2018). Hence, replacing a proportion of animal-based products with plant-based alternatives is one way of moving towards more environmentally sustainable consumption.
1 Not only are plant-based products more favorable for the climate, but with a growing market and increase in demand for sustainable products, businesses can take their environmental responsibility by offering and communicating these products to consumers and use it as a competitive advantage to make profit (Lubin & Esty, 2010). Plant-based product offerings are surely beneficial to both businesses and consumers. What inspired the topic of this thesis is the possibility to make a change towards a more environmentally friendly consumption, where this research sheds light on an emerging product category, namely plant-based dairy alternatives, which are non-dairy foods made by using soy, oats, almond, rice or coconut. These products can serve as options or substitutes for traditional dairy products. In the Swedish market, famous brands offering these plant-based products include Oatly, Alpro, Flora and Planti, among others. In this thesis, the plant-based dairy substitutes, or alternatives to dairy, include options to food such as milk, yogurt, cream, butter, cheese, and ice cream.
When it comes to the challenge of fighting the environmental issues of today, consumers have an important part to play. As highlighted by Mainieri, Barnett, Valdero, Unipan & Oskamp (1997), consumers have an opportunity to help protect the planet by making conscious consumption choices. However, food choice is complex, and succeeding to shift consumption patterns in a more environmentally friendly direction requires a deeper understanding of the consumer. Two important concepts in consumer behavior are attitude and purchase intention (Ajzen, 1991) which are the first and vital steps towards forming behavior. For that reason, this research focuses on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions of plant-based dairy alternatives, for the selected target group that is Swedish consumers in the age of 22-30. Through 16 conducted interviews, attitudes and intentions of these consumers are explored, and the primary data collected from these is analyzed with the suggested research framework; an extension of Theory of Planned Behavior by Ajzen (1991).
1.2 Problem Definition
The current food system contributes substantially to the total global greenhouse gas emissions (Gartner, 2011), and therefore poses a threat to the environment. Foley et al. (2011) recognize agriculture, including livestock production, as one of the largest contributors to negative environmental impact including overuse of freshwater resources, water pollution, extensive clearing of forests, and climate change. The products presenting the highest contribution to a negative environmental impact are meat and dairy products (Gartner, 2011; Notarnicola et al.,
2 2017). More specifically, meat and dairy products are responsible for 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the world (Foley et al., 2011). Thus, there is indeed a need for a dietary shift away from meat and dairy products, and towards more sustainable eating patterns (Gartner, 2011; Hedenus, Wirsenius & Johansson, 2014).
Yet, the dairy industry is one of the largest sectors in the current food industry (Silanikove, Leitner & Merin, 2015) and according to OECD (2019), the world milk production is calculated to grow at 1.7% p.a. over the next decade, which is faster than other main agricultural commodities. Furthermore, the production of butter is expected to grow at 1.9%, and cheese at 1.2%. Overall, as a result of income and population growth, the total share of fresh dairy products, in a world of global consumption, expects to increase in the coming decade. World per capita consumption, driven by higher per-capita income growth, of fresh dairy products is calculated to a 1.0% p.a. increase, which compared to the past ten years is slightly faster. This does not support sustainable consumption initiatives. According to Pimentel and Pimentel (2003), plant-based food systems require less resources and are therefore more sustainable. Thus, replacing a proportion of animal-based food with plant-based alternatives, such as plant- based dairy products, is one way of reducing the negative impact on the planet. To exemplify, dairy milk has the biggest environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, land, and water usage, if compared to plant-based milk alternatives (Poore & Nemecek, 2018). Another drawback of dairy product consumption important to consider is the widespread lactose intolerance among the world adult population (Silanikove, Leitner & Merin, 2015) which is why plant-based dairy alternatives can also offer health benefits.
The role of plant-based dairy substitutes has indeed increased the past years, and it is possible to see a growing interest in these products (Jeske et al., 2018; OECD, 2019). There are several possible explanations for its emergence on the market, which includes discussions of the environmental impact and health aspects in relation to dairy products (OECD, 2019). However, several authors have shown that there still are high barriers preventing consumers to buy plant- based food (Hoek et al., 2011). In addition, the existing research on the replacement of dairy products with plant-based dairy substitutes is limited (Röös et al., 2018). More research is needed on plant-based milk alternatives (Sethi, Tyagi & Anurag, 2016). Furthermore, current literature in this field focuses mainly on milk substitutes, whereas not as much literature exists for other plant alternatives to dairy (Jeske et al., 2018). There is thus a need to further explore
3 the more sustainable, plant-based, options with the aim to move towards a more environmentally friendly consumption.
1.3 Purpose and Research Questions
Consumers play an important role in the creation of an environmentally friendly food market. As replacing some of the dairy products consumption with plant-based alternatives is one way of reducing environmental footprint, it is of great interest to study consumers and what drives purchase intention towards this product category. Attitude and intention, as highlighted by Ajzen (1991), are two important factors to consider when trying to understand how consumer behavior is carried out. Hence,
The purpose of this thesis is to explore consumer attitudes and purchase intentions towards plant-based dairy alternatives, as well as the factors that influence attitudes and intentions respectively.
As Swedes are among the largest consumers of dairy products (Our World in Data, 2017), despite a market offering a lot of plant-based options within this category, the target group selected is consumers living in Sweden in the age of 22-30 years old. By exploring the different factors that influence people’s attitudes and furthermore purchase intention, this paper aims to fill the existing research gap in this field with relevant findings and increase the knowledge of consumer behavior formation. In a practical aspect, it also seeks to contribute to a more environmentally friendly consumption by highlighting the importance of increasing the consumption of plant-based alternatives and decreasing animal-based products. Hence, the research questions are stated as followed;
RQ1: What are the attitudes, and what factors influence attitudes towards plant-based alternatives to dairy products?
RQ2: What are the purchase intentions, and what factors influence intention to buy plant-based alternatives to dairy products?
1.4 Delimitations
This paper focuses on plant-based dairy alternatives exclusively, which can serve as options to traditional dairy. It further explores several products in this category. Therefore, conclusions
4 can be drawn only about these products and not all plant-based food. The research is also limited to the exploration of attitudes and intentions but not actual purchase behavior. However, the findings hope to be of use contributing to a general understanding of consumer attitude and intention and to guide further research within the topic of plant-based food. Moreover, since the empirical data collected for this study is limited to the Swedish market for plant-based dairy alternatives and the attitudes and intentions of Swedish consumers in the age of 22-30, this should be considered if wanting to use the findings for the purpose of exploring another target group. The targeted consumers have been selected due to convenience, time, and resource constraints, as well as Swedes’ large consumption of dairy products.
1.5 Definitions of Key Terms
Attitude: “The degree to which a person has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation or appraisal of the behavior in question.” (Ajzen, 1991, p.188) “A lasting, general evaluation of people (including oneself), objects, advertisements or issues.” (Solomon, 2006, p. 138).
Environmental concern: “A general attitude toward environmental protection.” (Chen & Tung, 2014, p. 224).
Greenhouse gas: “Greenhouse gas (GHG) – a gas in the atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range, hence contributing to the greenhouse effect, and consequently global warming or climate change” (Ma, Balthasar, Tait, Riera-Palou & Harrison, 2012, p.160)
Health consciousness: “health consciousness refers to the external characteristics of how a person’s health is taken care of” (Jayanti & Burns, 1998, p. 10)
Perceived behavioral control: “refers to people’s perception of the ease or difficulty of performing the behavior of interest. (Ajzen, 1991, p. 183).
Plant-based dairy substitutes: Plant-based food that can be used as options to traditional dairy, such as alternatives to milk, yogurt, butter, cheese, cream, or ice cream. These can be made by for example soy, oats, almond, rice, and coconut. (Jeske, Zannini & Arendt, 2018).
5 Purchase Intention: “assumed to capture the motivational factors that influence a behavior” (Ajzen, 1991, p. 181).
Subjective norms: “refers to the perceived social pressure of to perform or not to perform the behavior” (Ajzen, 1991, p. 188) or “the perception of how others see an individual’s action.” (Chao, 2012, p. 438).
1.6 Thesis Disposition
This thesis begins with an introduction to the topic, including current food production and consumption, and the explored product category, plant-based alternatives to dairy. It also serves as a short presentation of what aspects of consumer behavior this thesis focuses on. Further, the frame of reference includes the literature review in the field of environmental sustainability, statistics on different food production, the explored food category, and then an explanation of the theory in consumer behavior. The method and methodology explain how the research was conducted as well as the rationale of the thesis, or the lens through which the analysis occurs. This is followed by the empirical findings of the research which includes the findings from the interviews in relation to consumer attitude, intention, and the underlying factors. Subsequently, the analysis connects these findings to the theoretical framework. Lastly, the conclusion answers the research questions and provides theoretical, managerial as well as societal implications of this research.
Figure 1: Thesis disposition
6 2. Frame of Reference
This chapter presents a review of existing literature relevant to the topic. Further, it highlights theories of the underlying research in the form of relevant consumer behavior theory, which consequently forms the theoretical background. Lastly, it presents the suggested theoretical framework.
2.1 Environmental Sustainability
Global climate change is one of the most urgent present issues (Rose, Heller & Roberto, 2019), and according to IPCC (2018) emissions of greenhouse gases that come as a result of human activities are the main cause of global warming. In addition to climate change, the world is suffering from land degradation, freshwater shortages, water pollution, and a loss of biodiversity (Rose et al., 2019). Hence, sustainability, especially in the environmental aspect, has become a highly important topic in society, not least for consumers. It is, indeed, seen as a trend (Lubin & Esty, 2010). This is further depicted by McDonagh and Prothero (2014), stating that as more people become aware of the environmental challenges of today, consumers are convinced that they can contribute to a more sustainable consumption by changing their buying behavior. Subsequently, from a business perspective, environmental sustainability can be used as a key competence in the creation of superior value, especially in a highly competitive market (Flint & Golicic, 2009; Lubin & Esty, 2010).
2.2 Environmental Impact of Food Consumption
According to Garnett (2011), more than a third of the world’s land surface is occupied by global food production. Food production for the means of human consumption has, thus, a significant impact on emissions, especially for industrialized agricultural practices (Sabate & Soret, 2014). As highlighted by Poore and Nemecek (2018), the food industry is responsible for 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Wollenberg et al. (2016) also stress the issues of global warming and the need for more efforts on reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, something that is crucial in order to meet the desired 2 °C limit by 2030. However, according to OECD (2019), the demand for agricultural products is expected to grow by 15% in the coming decade.
In 2018, the population growth was calculated to be approximately 1.1% based on data collected by The World Bank (2019). With the increase in population, it is evident that all food
7 production impacts the environment in one way or another, still, it is crucial to make efforts to minimize the negative effects. Thus, in order to decrease the current environmental impact, there is a need for a shift towards more environmentally friendly food production and consumption (Assadourian, 2010; Gartner, 2011; Sabate & Soret, 2014; Wollenberg et al., 2016).
In comparison to plant-based food, meat and dairy products stand for a large part of natural resource utilization and environmental burden of the total food production (Sabate & Soret, 2014; Stoll-Kleemann & O'Riordan, 2015; Poore & Nemecek, 2018). Furthermore, Caro, Davis, Bastianoni and Caldeira (2014) highlight details on livestock production and the related emissions, where beef and dairy cattle stand for the majority, more specifically 74%, of the total global livestock emissions. In a study of environmental impacts of food consumption in Europe, Notarnicola et al. (2017) highlight meat and dairy products as the product categories contributing to the highest environmental burden. Moreover, many authors in this field focus on meat consumption and few focuses on dairy products only. Rather, other types of animal products such as dairy are often mentioned and measured together with meat. However, large consumption of both meat and dairy imposes a threat to the environment (Stoll-Kleemann & O'Riordan, 2015; Poore & Nemecek, 2018). Thus, if succeeding to meet the climate change targets, a reduction of both meat and dairy consumption is fundamental (Gartner, 2011; Hedenus et al., 2014).
2.3 Plant-based Dairy Alternatives
The current food market offers a lot of options and as stressed by Mainieri, Barnett, Valdero, Unipan, and Oskamp (1997), through conscious choices it is possible for consumers to help protect our planet’s natural resources and prevent further damage. Aiming for an environmentally sustainable future, there is a need for a reduction of the consumption of meat and dairy by big parts of the world’s population (Gartner, 2011; Sabate & Soret, 2014; Stoll- Kleemann & O'Riordan, 2015; Poore & Nemecek, 2018). There are several plant-based options for both meat and dairy that are considered more environmentally sustainable. In the market of plant-based dairy substitutes, it is possible to find non-dairy alternatives to milk, yogurt, butter, cheese, and ice cream that are not animal-based but rather made of soy, oats, almond, rice or coconut. According to Jeske et al. (2018), plant-based dairy substitutes also meet the increasing demand for healthy and vegan food.
8
Both animal-based and plant-based food systems are to some extent based on fossil energy requirements, however, plant-based food systems require less resources (Pimentel & Pimentel, 2003). Replacing meat and dairy-based foods by plant-based foods would benefit the environment by decreasing land use (Temme et al., 2013). Therefore, plant-based food can be used as sustainable options to traditional food. Comparing dairy products and plant-based dairy products in terms of environmental impact, it is possible to see that dairy products generally have a higher environmental footprint per unit mass, compared to plant-based alternatives in regard to greenhouse gas emission, land use, energy use, nitrogen footprint, eutrophication and acidification potential. To exemplify, Röös, Patel, and Spångberg (2016) compare the environmental impacts of dairy milk and oat drink production on Swedish farms. They concluded that climate impact can be reduced by producing oat drink instead of dairy milk.
Further, Poore and Nemecek (2018) highlight that all plant drinks are more environmentally friendly than milk coming from cows. They differ substantially in regard to greenhouse gas emissions, land impact, and water impact. More specifically, all plant drink varieties have a similarly low usage of land, where almond milk has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions followed by oat drinks and soy drink. Table 1 shows the total land use and the amount of GHG emissions per liter of the different products produced.
Table 1: Global land use and GHG emissions of milk and plant-based milk alternatives (Poore & Nemecek, 2018)
9
Regarding water use, almond drink has the highest impact, but oat and soy drinks require the least water usage. Table 2 shows the total water usage for one liter of the different products produced.
Table 2: Water usage of milk and plant-based milk alternatives (Poore & Nemecek, 2018)
Plant-based milk has further been recognized as a fast-growing segment and a growing trend (Sethi et al., 2016). The range of dairy alternatives is furthermore growing (Mäkinen, Wanhalinna, Zannini & Arendt, 2015), and the demand for plant-based alternatives to milk and other dairy products is indeed increasing (Wansink, Sonka, Goldsmith, Chiriboga, & Eren, 2005). Nevertheless, there is an unwillingness of the mainstream consumer to buy food that is unfamiliar and unappealing to them. The quality of these products has increased, but according to Wansink et al. (2005), it carries a stigma due to previous products that have been less appealing.
In addition, several authors have recognized nutritional concerns in relation to the product category (Jeske et al., 2018; Röös et al., 2018), and stressed that these products can indeed replace and complement dairy products and reduce environmental impact but since there are differences in nutrition, this aspect should be considered for such a switch. It has been recognized that despite that the energy content is fairly similar between plant-based alternatives
10 and dairy milk, those that are plant-based generally contain a lower amount of protein but have similar amounts of carbohydrates. Oat drinks contain considerably more carbohydrates, and soy drinks contain similar amounts of protein, in comparison to cow’s milk (Röös et al., 2018).
Further, considering that 75% of the people in the adult world population are lactose intolerant (Silanikove, Leitner & Merin, 2015) the plant-based non-dairy alternatives can beneficially be used as more healthy options for many consumers. To bring an example, as depicted by Röös et al., (2016), oat drink is not milk. Hence, if and to what extend oat drinks or other plant-based milk alternatives can serve as substitutes to dairy milk in nutritional terms is depended on what a person’s diet as a whole is comprised. On the extreme end, if milk is an individual’s primary source of calcium and protein, turning to plant-based unfortified plant-based drinks might lead to protein deficiency. On the other hand, protein consumption is generally high in the developed world (Westhoek et al., 2011) and many of the plant-based dairy alternatives are in fact fortified with critical nutrients. Therefore, a large part of the population has the possibility to replace dairy milk with plant-based alternatives without any negative health implications. Clearly, a direct replacement of a specific dairy product with a plant-based alternative is highly individual and context-specific.
The market of plant-based dairy substitutes, and associated research, is expanding rapidly with new products and new consumer interests. These products are indeed gaining in popularity as there is an increase in demand (McCarthy et al., 2017; Jeske et al., 2018; Röös et al., 2018). More specifically, while soy is currently the most popular crop, other plants are trending, and the variety of these products is growing (Jeske et al., 2018). This market development is said to be a result of several aspects including an interest in alternative diets, changes in lifestyle, and increasing awareness of sustainable production of food. The majority of the consumers choosing plant-based dairy substitutes out of necessity, but rather due to preference. The market is furthermore likely to shift towards plant-based and allergy-free products. However, the market is in its infancy and in need of progress (Jeske et al., 2018).
2.4 Understanding Consumer Attitudes and Intentions
Attitude and intention are two significant variables to consider when seeking to understand how consumer behavior is formed, where positive attitudes towards a particular product or brand increase the likelihood of purchase intention and furthermore actual purchase (Ajzen, 1991).
11
Attitude: “the degree to which a person has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation or appraisal of the behavior in question.” (Ajzen, 1991, p.188).
Purchase intention: “assumed to capture the motivational factors that influence a behavior”. (Ajzen, 1991, p. 181).
2.4.1 The Theory of Planned Behavior
Highlighted in the theory of reasoned action (TRA) are the variables attitude and subjective norms as predictors of intention. Further, intention is as depicted by the authors seen as the best single predictor of behavior. Just as in the TRA, which the theory of planned behavior (TPB) stems from, intention to perform a given behavior is a central factor. The stronger the intention to perform the behavior the higher is the likelihood of the performance. Intentions are said to capture the motivational factors influencing behavior, in other words it shows how hard people are willing to try for the means of performing the behavior (Ajzen, 1991).
However, in contrast to the TRA it enables researchers to deal with behaviors over that people do not have complete volitional control. According to the TPB, intentions are based on three components: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Here, attitude is referred to as the degree to which someone has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of a certain behavior (Ajzen 1991). According to Solomon (2006, p. 138), an attitude is “A lasting, general evaluation of people (including oneself), objects, advertisements or issues.” Attitude is one of the most studied and applied behavioral constructs. Still, as stated by Solomon (2006) attitudes towards an object can be the same for two people despite different reasons.
Ajzen (1991) further explains that subjective norms is a social factor related to the perceived social pressure of performing, or not performing, the behavior. As put by Chao (2012) subjective norm is the perception of how others see an individual’s action. Solomon et al. (2006) discusses social pressure and points out that many of people’s decisions are, in fact, not done in isolation. Rather, what an individual believes that others want them to do is often more relevant than the individual preference, even though many people do not want to admit it. Subjective norms is thus added as an element to explain the effects of what one believes other people think they should do. Subjective norms is in turn affected by the intensity of normative
12 belief that is if others think an action should be or not be taken, but also the motivation to comply which is how much someone takes others’ anticipated reactions into account when evaluating whether or not to buy something (Solomon, 2006).
Further, perceived behavioral control refers to the perceived ease or difficulty to perform a behavior. This is said to capture previous experience and anticipated impediments and obstacles. As a general rule, it is possible to say that the more favorable the attitude and subjective norm in relation to the behavior, as well as the greater the perceived behavioral control, the stronger is the consumer’s intention to perform the behavior under consideration (Ajzen, 1991). However, in some instances only attitude is an important factor, while sometimes subjective norms or perceived behavioral control play an important role for intention. The value of these three factors can vary based on the situation, behavior, or population (Ajzen, 1991; Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010).
Subjective norms: “refers to the perceived social pressure to perform or not to perform the behavior”. (Ajzen, 1991, p. 188).
Perceived behavioral control: “refers to people’s perception of the ease or difficulty of performing the behavior of interest. (Ajzen, 1991, p. 183).
Figure 2: Theory of planned behavior by Ajzen (1991)
13 2.4.2 Extension of the TPB Model by Current Literature
The TBP has been widely discussed for being one of the most influential theories in regard to the prediction of reasoned behaviors (Sheppard, Hartwick & Warshaw, 1988; Rivis & Sheeran, 2003; Smith et al., 2008; Manning, 2009), but it has also been criticized. For example, Dunn, Mohr, Wilson, and Wittert (2011) highlight the TPB model as an important framework when predicting behavior in general. In the attempt to predict more complex behaviors, such as food choices, it however does not necessarily capture all aspects. An explanation to this might be that a lot of research has not focused on exploring the nature of the behavioral beliefs of individuals. It is argued that this is utterly important, as attitudes, intentions, and behavior are best altered when such beliefs are understood in depth (Dunn et al., 2011).
Despite the support for the TPB-model in current research, it has also been noted that there is less support for normative factors in attitude-behavior relations (Smith et al., 2008). Furthermore, the causal path between subjective norms and attitude, recognized by several authors (Chang, 1998; Povey, Conner, Sparks, James & Shepherd, 2000; Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005), has been neglected in many previous studies using the TPB model. Several authors have developed modified TPB models, emphasizing different factors that affect attitude and intention. Including additional constructs to the original model have shown to improve the predictive power of the theoretical framework (Chang, 1998; Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005; Yadav & Pathak, 2016). Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) are among the researchers presenting an extension of the TPB model, here in a study of Finnish consumers and their intention to buy organic food. They explore several factors affecting consumer attitude and intention. Noticeably, they explore subjective norms and its relationship with attitude. They also highlight that a positive attitude does not automatically lead to a positive purchase intention as there can be obstacles that prevent this.
Seeing that their study is quite similar to this, where Finnish and Swedish citizens are both consumers in Nordic countries, which in general have many similarities (Einarsson, 2008) and that the complexity of food choice in relation to consumer attitudes and purchase intention is explored, the authors of this thesis find this study relevant to consider and use when developing a modified TPB model which explores attitudes and intentions towards plant-based dairy alternatives. Also, by taking subjective norms and health consciousness into account for attitude, and the importance of price and availability for purchase intention, using the work by
14 Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) as a base for the development of the proposed i.e. suggested research framework was perceived suitable.
Figure 3: Extended TPB-model by Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005)
By exploring the relationships between subjective norms, attitudes, and intention through structural equation modeling, they found that the role of subjective norms differed from the original TPB model in the sense that subjective norms affected intention indirectly through attitude formation. In other words, subjective norms and attitudes were found to not be independent, but rather dependent on each other. Ultimately, they found that the modified TPB model was better for predicting purchase intention for that product category (Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005).
Regarding the other factors included in the model, the results where diverse. Unlike several other studies (Irianto, 2015; Sethi et al., 2016; Yadav & Pathak, 2016), Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) found health consciousness to not have a meaningful impact on attitudes and furthermore intentions for that specific product category, which was organic bread and flour. Rather, they found taste and knowledge to be contributing factors to attitude, and price and availability not to be significant for purchase intention. As depicted by the authors it can, however, not be expected to explain consumer behavior for all other product categories, as the research included only that specific category of food. Their findings further show that results
15 can differ depending on study and product. Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) stressed the complexity in explaining consumer intentions, and thus behavior, in relation to food because of the many influencing factors. This paves way for research on consumer attitudes and intentions for the product category of plant-based dairy alternatives, using their study as support when structuring the modified TPB model of this thesis.
2.5 The Suggested Research Framework
With the evident benefits of existing research on the topic, current literature is in this thesis serving as a foundation for the understanding of attitudes and intentions as consumer behavior concepts. However, since current research lacks in exploring several products in the category of plant-based dairy substitutes (Röös et al., 2018), and since making an extended version of the TPB model has shown to be successful (Chang, 1998; Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005; Yadav & Pathak, 2016) the authors found it relevant to modify the TPB model, adjust it to the product category and add new factors supported by current literature. Thus, to explore the complexity of consumer attitudes and intentions, in this instance towards plant-based dairy substitutes, the researchers of this thesis have developed a modified TPB model with some changes as well as added constructs to the original model. The model is based on current literature presented in the previous discussion, following the one by Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005), and includes two additional factors. To be able to find all important factors affecting attitudes and intentions, the findings from the collection of primary data will be implemented to and analyzed by, the proposed research framework. To clarify, the primary focus of the model is not on the purchase behavior itself, but on attitudes and intentions. To predict consumer behavior, exploring the different factors that affect purchase intention is a first and vital step.
Attitudes: As in the original TPB-model by Ajzen (1991), attitude is an important variable to study. The role of attitudes and what influences consumer attitudes have been discussed by several authors. In the field of consumer behavior research, authors have focused on the effects of marketing variables, where the influence of external stimuli, such as advertising, product placement, or direct selling on purchasing decisions has been studied. These purchasing decisions, as well as how people evaluate and compare products, are called attitudes (Smith et al., 2008). In the suggested research framework of this thesis, attitude is suggested to be
16 influenced by five factors, namely subjective norms, health consciousness, taste, knowledge, and environmental concern.
Subjective norms: As previously mentioned, subjective norms and its important relation to attitudes have been recognized by several authors (Chang, 1998; Povey et al., 2000; Tarkiainen & Sundqvist 2005). Explained by Ajzen (1991) it is the degree of social pressure felt by a person in regard to a certain behavior. In other words, it is the perceived opinions of significant others, that is people who are close or important to someone, and that influences their decision making. This also includes feelings of social pressure from other people and groups (Ajzen, 1991). It has been suggested that experiencing social pressure by peers could explain intention to buy, despite a rather negative personal attitude and that the societal norm can be more important than the consumer’s opinion (Vermeir & Verbeke 2006). Therefore, the proposed model includes subjective norms in an attempt to understand if consumers in the selected target group are affected by social pressure and the opinions of others when it comes to plant-based dairy substitutes. In this thesis, subjective norms refer to family, friends, and social media that might influence the consumer.
Health consciousness: Consumers trying to eat healthily has shown to be an important influence on food choice (Lennernäs et al., 1997; Irianto, 2016; Yadav & Pathak, 2016). For this product category, it has been suggested by researchers that lactose intolerance and allergies are of great importance (Wansink et al., 2005; McCarthy et al., 2017; Jeske et al., 2018) as a large part of the adult population is lactose intolerant (Silanikove, Leitner & Merin, 2015).
Moreover, it has been shown that losing weight, and living healthier are among the drivers to eat plant-based food (Hoek et al., 2011) and that health and wellness benefits are reasons for people buying them (Jeske et al., 2018). For example, Mäkinen et al. (2015) recognize a growing number of consumers choosing plant-based milk substitutes because of medical reasons which would include lactose intolerance and cow’s milk allergy. Also, perception of nutrition is considered to be a possible influencing factor for consumer attitudes towards these products. This is based on research suggesting that many consumers are neglecting plant-based dairy alternatives due to the perception of them not having the same amount of nutrition, especially in terms of low protein and calcium (Mäkinen et al., 2015). However, it has also been suggested that plant-based milk alternatives attract health-conscious consumers (Sethi et al., 2016). Therefore, this factor is found relevant to include for this product category despite
17 the findings of Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005), as those findings concern another food category.
Taste: Another factor that Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) found to affect attitude was taste. Several authors have recognized the importance of taste in food choice (Lennernäs et al., 1997; Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005; Kourouniotis et al., 2016). Moreover, Wansink et al. (2005) depict the importance of sensory appeal which is one of the main issues for consumers considering replacing animal-based food with plant-based food, as when the products first entered the market the taste was not appreciated which was remembered by many consumers. Conforming to Jeske et al. (2018) more research is needed on sensory acceptance of plant- based dairy substitutes, which adds to the reason for including it as a factor in the suggested research framework.
Knowledge: Knowledge about the products has also been found to be an important factor influencing food consumption (Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005), and it has furthermore been suggested that information and promotion campaigns should focus more on promotion so that consumers can increase their knowledge and expertise for the products in question (Pieniak, Aertsens & Verbeke 2010). The suggested model, therefore, includes knowledge as a factor, in order to explore whether this factor is influencing consumers in the age of 22-30 and their attitude towards plant-based dairy products.
Environmental concern: Additionally, the modified model of this thesis includes a fifth factor, namely environmental concern. Environmental concern is recognized as an important factor for attitude in food choice (Irianto, 2016) and is referred to as a general attitude toward environmental protection. This is an essential determinant of making consumers change their consumption patterns to become more environmentally friendly (Kim & Choi (2005). Concern about the environment is indeed essential in environmental research (Hines et al., 1987) which shows the importance of including environmental concern in the proposed model. Current literature suggests that the perception of a less negative impact on the environment is one of the key factors contributing to the consumption of plant-based non-dairy products (Hoek et al., 2011; McCarthy et al., 2017).
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Figure 4: Factors suggested to influence attitude
Intention: Besides exploring the most important factors influencing attitudes towards plant- based dairy substitutes, there are two factors included in the model suggested to independently influence purchase intention. In line with the study by Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) the importance of price and the perception of availability can be seen as two factors that might explain why a positive attitude does not lead to a positive purchase intention. In the suggested research framework of this thesis, intention is therefore suggested to be influenced by two factors, namely price and availability
As presented in the study by Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005), price and availability are seen as obstacles that the consumer cannot control, as opposed to other researchers that classify them as perceived behavioral control factors (Ajzen, 1991). Seeing the different classifications of price and availability, this thesis has chosen to be in line with the study by Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005). Hence, it follows the view where price and availability are factors suggested to independently affect intention, in order to explore whether or not these factors might limit
19 consumer purchases despite positive attitudes. That is, to clarify, why perceived behavioral control is not included as in the original TPB model.
Price: As price has shown to be an important factor influencing food choice (Lennernäs et al., 1997), and it has been suggested to be a barrier for plant-based food choice (Hoek et al., 2005) it will be explored whether or not it is an influencing factor for the target group in this research, and if it directly influences purchase intention toward plant-based dairy alternatives. Several authors talk about price sensitivity
Availability: Vermeir and Verbeke (2006) found that low perceived availability of sustainable products could be a reason to why intention to buy the products are low, despite positive attitudes. Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) however found that high availability does not have a positive effect on purchase intention. The proposed research framework in this thesis explores whether these products are available to the selected target group and if they are not, whether this is an obstacle to a positive purchase intention.
Figure 5: Factors suggested to influence purchase intention
As current research is conflicting in explaining the relationship between attitude and purchase intention (Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005), it will be explored if a positive attitude towards plant-based dairy alternatives leads to a positive purchase intention for the selected target group. Based on the previous discussion of research in the field, the suggested research framework, accordingly, explores the relationship between attitude and intention. Further, it explores the factors suggested to influence attitude which, that is, subjective norms, health
20 consciousness, taste, knowledge, and environmental concern as well as the factors suggested to influence intention which is price and availability. The purpose of the model is to see whether these factors can be applied to consumers between 22-30 and in regard to plant-based dairy alternatives.
Figure 6: Suggested research framework by Hansson & Rosenlöw (2020)
21 3. Methodology
This chapter presents the chosen research methodology as well as the gathering of data. The different types of research methods are explained, and the types of data collection are analyzed to find a suitable strategy for the topic of this research. Furthermore, this thesis follows a consumer perspective for the means of creating a better understanding of the individual’s perspective.
3.1 Research Philosophy
The term research philosophy is used to explain how an individual’s perceptions and views impact the choice of knowledge development (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2016). It is of importance that the choice of research philosophy has been well-considered, since it affects the latter steps in the methodology, such as the method and the research strategy used during the research. There are four main research philosophies, namely: pragmatism, positivism, realism, and interpretivism. These four philosophies differ in terms of assumptions, epistemological, ontological, and axiological. In order to establish credible research, the researchers should be consistent and aware of the assumptions being taken, as this will help with determining and understand the research questions. It also makes the data collection, the method, and the overall research strategy more coherent (Saunders et al., 2016).
Based on the goal of this study which is to explore consumers’ attitudes and intentions towards plant-based dairy products, the collected data will consist of human insights to help the researchers fulfill the given research purpose. Therefore, the researchers of this study have chosen to adopt the philosophy of interpretivism which is one of the four most commonly used philosophies within this type of research, since it can be related to a study of social phenomena in the natural environment of the consumers (Saunders et al., 2016).
Interpretivism uses social interaction as the foundation for knowledge, in which the researchers use their social abilities to try and understand how others view the phenomena being investigated (O’donoghue, 2006). Further, the interpretive approach also holds the advantage with the ability to address the meaning and complexity in consumption-related situations (Black, 2006), and which is the purpose of this study. Additionally, interpretivism follows a subjective approach on the basis that it focuses on complexity, richness, and multiple interpretations, which allows for more depth in the ongoing study (Saunders et al., 2016).
22 3.2 Research Approach
With the decided research philosophy, the researchers’ next step is to determine what approach to adopt that is most suitable for the following research. The research ‘onion’ made by Saunders et al. (2016) shows that there are three different types of approaches. The first two, and most commonly used approaches, are deductive and inductive reasoning. With deductive reasoning, a theory and a hypothesis are created, followed by the collection of data, which then is tested to reach the conclusion of the research. On the contrary, with inductive reasoning, the process involves developing a new theory and hypothesis based on the data collected.
Furthermore, the research approach is connected to the various research philosophies, where deductive reasoning is most commonly used with a positivistic philosophy and quantitative research, and the inductive reasoning with an interpretive philosophy using qualitative research. Considering that the researchers in this thesis are conducting a qualitative study, the deductive research approach will not be used. Although inductive reasoning is connected with interpretivism and qualitative studies, this thesis will adopt the third approach, which is abductive reasoning.
Abductive reasoning works as a combination of the other two perspectives. It shares similarities of deductive reasoning as theories are created by the use of existing literature, but also allows for new interpretations of empirical data to develop generalizable conclusions as with inductive reasoning (Haig, 2006; Saunders et al., 2016). According to Suddaby (2006), this approach is favored by researchers when moving between empirical findings while also comparing and reinterpreting already existing literature. Saunders et al. (2016) insist that the abductive approach indeed is more flexible in terms of qualitative data collection, and with a structure that allows for changes of research as the study progresses.
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Figure 7: Abductive research approach
The researchers of this study found the abductive reasoning approach to be the most appropriate based on the purpose of the study, which is to explore what factors are affecting consumers’ attitudes and intentions, as well as the lack of research of the product category of plant-based dairy alternatives. With the use of existing literature, the authors of this thesis create a model based on current literature, and if finding new information in the collection of primary data, there is a reconstruction of the suggested model. As mentioned in the theoretical framework, several researchers have found extended TPB-models to be more effective than the original one (Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005; Yadav & Pathak, 2016). Thus, the abductive research approach is considered relevant to follow.
The empirical data gathered is intended to be tested qualitatively against the model to explore if the factors share any similarities. Furthermore, the abductive reasoning will help the researchers to adequately answer the research questions since it allows for a combination of different approaches that are normally considered separately (Haig, 2006).
3.3 Research Design
The research design provides an overall plan for conducting a study as it connects the research problem to the obtaining of relevant empirical data. Particularly, the design helps to form a
24 framework for the empirical data collection and analysis. There are a variety of different research designs but the three most commonly used are exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory research (Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2010). Exploratory research is primarily used when investigating a phenomenon to which knowledge is limited and to where deeper understanding is of interest. In descriptive research, however, the problem itself is clearly understood so the goal is to answer questions to what causes it. The function of the third design, explanatory research, is to answer questions by measuring the effectiveness of already known phenomena (Ghauri et al., 2010; Saunders et al., 2016).
For this study an exploratory design was adopted for the purpose of gathering the needed empirical data in order to reach the goal of this study, a goal that consists of a desire to explore what could be the factors affecting the attitudes and intentions of consumers regarding plant- based substitutes to dairy products. Furthermore, exploratory research allows for a more flexible study, where new data can alter the course of outcome (Ghauri et al., 2010). Seeing the research questions and the goal of this study, as well as the possibility to interpret the data gathered in a field in need of better understanding, the exploratory research design is favorable.
3.4 Research Strategy
To establish a solid foundation for the methodology, the first step for the researcher is to develop a research strategy. The chosen strategy is set to guide and help the researcher answer the set research questions while it also connects the research philosophy and the methods used to collect and analyze the empirical data. Two well-known and frequently used strategies are qualitative and quantitative methods. The difference between the two is significant in the way of how to obtain the desired data.
The quantitative method is mostly associated with a deductive approach where the goal is to test data against existing theories (Saunders et al., 2016). This method is used to collect data in numerical form in order to perform a variety of statistical analyses (Williams, 2007). This study, however, is not putting any emphasis on numerical data, but rather words from a carefully selected group in order to gain a deeper understanding of the research questions. Thus, a quantitative method is not applicable to this study. With that in mind, the researches will be using a qualitative method seeing its ability to grant more in-depth knowledge (Saunders et al., 2016).
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A qualitative method primarily collects data from words and emphasizes the discovery of new information. The qualitative method allows the researchers to use interviews for data collection, which gives the benefit of high involvement in the matter itself (Williams, 2007). The interpretive philosophy is commonly associated with this method seeing that the researchers need to make sense of and interpret the newly received information about the phenomena being studied (Saunders et al., 2016).
3.5 Data Collection
3.5.1 Interviews as Primary Data
As the primary source for empirical data collection, the authors have decided to conduct interviews. An interview is an interaction between the researcher and the respondent, usually taking place in person, but can also be held online through different communication programs (Ghauri et al., 2010). Interviews are most commonly used in qualitative, exploratory studies since it allows the researchers to discover underlying reasons to attitudes, motivations, beliefs, and intentions on a specific topic. It also provides the advantage of interpreting the data given during an interview to arrive at a deeper understanding, rather than looking at stated facts.
There are three types of structures to interviews, they can either be structured, unstructured, or semi-structured. A structured interview can be compared to a normal survey, where questions are pre-determined and where the answers are stated in a standardized format. However, an unstructured interview has no predetermined questions and follow little to no structure. Nonetheless, it is of importance that the interviewer has a good idea about what to explore.
Furthermore, an unstructured interview is also known as an in-depth interview seeing the desire of a researcher to gain in-depth knowledge about a general topic in which the researchers’ interest lies. The third type, semi-structured interviews, typically have a few key questions that need to be covered. The structure of the interview may vary due to the natural flow of the conversation, more questions could be added based on responses from the interviewee, and some could be removed, and or rephrased. The purpose of a semi-structured interview is to encourage a discussion about the topic so that the data can be captured either on a recording
26 device or written notes, that later can be analyzed (Saunders et al., 2016) Based on the purpose of this study, a semi-structured type of interview will be used.
The two most frequently used qualitative research methods are interviews and focus groups. An interview follows a structure that is personal and direct and also lets the researchers question one participant at a time, while focus groups usually consist of 6-12 participants interviewed at once (Malhotra, Birks & Wills, 2012). An advantage with using interviews instead of focus groups is that it allows the researchers to explore a topic in greater depth and gain more insight on the basis that the issue can be concentrated and developed directly with one individual, which is of rare occurrence in a focus group (Malhotra et al., 2012).
According to Saunders et al. (2016), interviews also allow the researchers to probe the respondents’ answers which increases the depth and significance to the empirical data collected. The researchers have chosen to conduct interviews rather than focus groups as the primary data collection method based on the aforementioned advantages and in regard to the desire of gaining more depth and insight on the factors influencing the selected target group’s attitudes and intentions towards plant-based dairy alternatives.
3.5.2 Secondary Data
The authors of this study have used data collected by other researchers to complement the primary data collected. This, to reach more dependable results. The secondary data used have primarily been documentary data. According to Saunders et al. (2016), documentary data is data that has been used in other research papers, and it comes in the form of books, journal articles, websites of different organizations, as well as newspaper articles. Saunders et al. (2016) also mention the other two types of secondary data, which are survey data and data from multiple sources, however, those have not been used in this study.
To collect the secondary data, the primary source of use has been the digital library of Jönköping University, Primo. The digital library consists of a database where students can get access to a variety of e-books, journals, articles, and other publications (Jönköping University Library, 2017). Moreover, as a complement to Primo, the digital database Google Scholar has been used to collect secondary data as it also contains a broad variety of e-books, journals, articles, and theses from well-known authors (Google, n.d.).
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The literature review of this thesis, including research on environmental issues, food consumption, and the selected product category as well as relevant consumer behavior theory, has been collected through secondary data based on the following keywords; Attitude, Environmental concern, Greenhouse gas, Health consciousness, Perceived behavioral control, Plant-based dairy substitutes, Purchase intention, Subjective norms.
3.5.3 Selection of Sample
After the decision on the type of research design and which type of primary data collection to use, the next step is to select what elements from the data that will be collected (Ghauri et al., 2010). This step involves specifying the target population as well as what sampling technique to use when sampling the participants for the interviews (Saunders et al., 2016).
Swedes are among the heaviest users in terms of dairy consumption across the world (Ritchie & Roser, 2019). Hence, the researchers chose to exclusively interview Swedish consumers, between the age of 22 and 30. This further enabled the researchers to conduct the interviews in the participants’ native language. The age was set due to limitations in both time and resources. Seeing that a total of 16 interviews have been planned to be conducted, the researchers have made the decision to collect samples from consumers within the range of their own ages to shorten the time and resources spent to gather them. The minimum sample size for research with semi-structured interviews for primary data collection is between 5-25 according to Saunders et al. (2016). Further, the researchers have chosen to have an equal amount of men and females on the basis to get an equal distribution of the results and eliminate any overrepresentation from either side. The equal distribution also gives the researchers a chance to investigate if any differences exist between the sexes.
For this study a non-probability judgmental sampling technique has been implemented. A judgmental technique allows the researchers to select the participants that are best fitted for the research purpose based on their own judgment, unlike probability sampling where each participant would have had an equal chance of being selected (Malhotra et al., 2012). According to Saunders et al. (2016), this sampling technique is often used when the research works with a small sample size. Further, as stated by Malhotra et al. (2012), this technique is
28 inexpensive and convenient as well as useful when broad population inferences are not required.
Shortly, this research will consist of 16 interviews with an equal distribution of Swedish males and females between the age of 22 and 30. All of the participants have been selected by the researchers following a non-probability judgmental sampling technique.
3.5.4 Choice of Questions
For this study, the researchers created a number of questions that can be seen in Appendix A. In a semi-structured interview, the questions are created before the interviews and are referred to as an interview guide, meaning that the questions might change order or be altered to fit the specific interview (Saunders et al., 2016). The questions should be based on previous knowledge and research, as well as cover all the topics that the study is exploring (Kallio, Pietilä, Johnson & Kangasniemi, 2016).
The main goal of the interviews was to explore the suggested factors presented in the proposed research framework, whether they were important or not, as well as uncover if there were additional factors affecting the participants’ attitudes and intentions. In order to do this, the authors created discussions about sustainability and plant-based dairy alternatives. The interview guide was adapted to fit the ongoing interview, where some questions were reformulated, some questions where added, some removed, all to create a better flow, and to uncover as much as possible.
Furthermore, the interviews were divided into two major sections covering the factors suggested affecting attitudes and intentions separately. The beginning of the interview contained some general questions to generate a discussion and to ease the transition into the more specific parts of the interview. The interviews ended with some general questions about attitudes and intentions in an effort to explore the relationship between attitude and intention as well as to uncover information that might have come to the participant’s mind during the interviews.
The first major part of the interviews was regarding the attitudes held by the participants and can be linked to the first research question; “What are the attitudes, and what factors influence
29 attitudes towards plant-based alternatives to dairy products?”. There was a total of five suggested factors from the proposed research framework to be explored in the first section of the interview; subjective norms, health consciousness, taste, knowledge, and environmental concern. Further, the questions were constructed to generate general answers that allowed for more elaborative follow-up discussions.
The second major part of the interview was regarding the participants’ intentions and can be linked to the second research question; ”What are the purchase intentions, and what factors influence intention to buy plant-based alternatives to dairy products?”. There were two suggested factors from the research framework that was explored in this section of the interview; price and availability. Similar to the questions in the first part of the interview, they were also constructed to create elaborative discussions.
3.5.5 Pretest
Prior to the actual interviews, the researchers found it necessary to conduct a pretest to strengthen the quality and execution of the following empirical data collection. A pretest, or what is also known as a pilot-test, allows the researchers to test the interview guide and necessary equipment to make sure everything is in order for a smoother interview process. It also allows for the questions to be tested to spot any errors that could lead to a failure of obtaining the data that the researchers are trying to acquire. In addition, it is recommended that the participant in the pretest should be taken out of the same population as the interviewees (Malhotra et al., 2012), which for this study is Swedish citizens between the age of 22-30. The pretest participant was indeed taken out of that specific population and the test was conducted. The interviewee was removed from the sample of this study based on that it was solely conducted as a pretest and hence will not affect the outcome of the findings.
What the authors wanted to identify by conducting the pre-test, was mainly related to the questions. It was of importance to find out whether the questions were understandable, and also whether the questions were fully sufficient to discover the valuable information needed to fulfill the research purpose. Indeed, as the pretest was moving forward, errors were noticed. Some of the questions led to misunderstanding and confusion from the interviewee, as well as an error were a couple of questions seemed to generate similar answers. The different devices used for the interviews, such as recording devices, laptops, and software used to conduct online
30 interviews, worked as intended. Before the actual interviews, all of the problems mentioned were resolved.
3.5.6 Ethical Considerations
While conducting research involving the use of participants for empirical data collection, it is important that the researchers make sure that there are no ethical violations. The first step was to ensure the participants that the information collected was confidential and to be used only for the purpose of the research. The second step was to ensure anonymity, and if citations where to be used, no names would be mentioned but instead being replaced and referred to with fictional names in the development of this thesis. The interviews were recorded to be sure that no information would be overlooked or forgotten, this was done with consent from all the participants taking part in the interviews. These actions taken by the authors are, according to Malhotra et al., (2012), necessary to ensure that the interviews are conducted in an ethical manner. In addition, the researchers have no intention of focusing on, or lifting one brand over another, but rather explore what the interviewees are stating.
3.5.7 Execution of Primary Data Collection
Interviews should be conducted in an environment that creates a feeling of comfort and relaxation for the interviewee, as it can increase the willingness to be more reflective, open, and honest (Malhotra et al., 2012). It is also suggested that the location of the interviews should be of convenience for each of the interviewees. Seeing the importance of the two mentioned criteria, the authors held the interviews in locations based on the wishes of the interviewees. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of the interviews were conducted through video calls on Skype. The advantage that the authors noticed by conducting the interviews through Skype were that every interview conducted in that manner took place in the participants’ own residences. Needless to say, both of the criteria were fulfilled; the location was of convenience, and the environment was notably of comfort.
A total of 16 interviews were conducted, of which 11 were held through Skype while the other 5 took place in a group room at Jönköping University. The 5 of the interviews held at the university were all given other suggestions on locations and asked whether they had other preferences that would be more convenient to them, but the university was not seen as inconvenient for either of the participants as the location was familiar to them. As mentioned,
31 all the participants were Swedish. So, to further increase the feeling of comfort, the authors decided to conduct all the interviews in their native language. The interviews were thereafter translated into English.
As recommended by Saunders et al. (2016), all interviews began with a brief explanation of the topic, followed by how the information gathered would be used and for what purpose. After this introduction all participants were informed about their full anonymity and also asked for consent to be recorded. Taking these steps at the beginning of an interview, will according to Saunders et al. (2016), lead to increased credibility as interviewers, but also strengthen the confidence of the participant. Regarding the questions, all interviews began with the researchers showing a picture of a variety of different plant-based dairy alternatives to the participant, who then was asked if any of the alternatives were recognized. It led to a good discussion, followed by a smooth transition into the more detailed questions. The questions were probed to each participant to generate more in-depth answers and to increase the significance of the gathered empirical data (Saunders et al., 2016).
3.6 Interpretation and Data Analysis
It has been argued that qualitative data analysis can be time-consuming, complex, and also frustrating, especially for researchers with less experience due to the lack of distinct guidelines easily followed (Azungah, 2018). However, as suggested by Malhotra et al. (2012), there are four important steps to take in order to fully analyze the collected empirical data and draw presentable conclusions. The four steps involve assembling the qualitative data, reducing data, displaying data, and ultimately assessing the quality of the data. All these steps will be defined in the upcoming sections together with how the researchers applied them in this study.
3.6.1 Data Assembly
The first step in the process of analyzing the data is the data assembly. It is the gathering of data from different sources such as notes taken during the interviews, reflections from the researchers who were involved during the interview, theoretical support from secondary data, and audiotape recordings from the interviews, to name a few (Malhotra et al., 2012).
As mentioned in the section regarding ethical considerations, the researchers used an audio device to record the interview sessions to make sure that no information was left out or
32 forgotten. On the basis that the interviews were conducted in the native language of the participants, the recordings have been carefully translated from Swedish to English. Furthermore, to be certain that no data was lost, or misinterpreted, the researchers put a lot of focus on the rewording during the translation process. The translated transcripts were then used in the process of analyzing the data.
3.6.2 Data Reduction
The second step is data reduction. Involved in this step is the organizing and structuring of the collected empirical data. It also means that some of the empirical data needs to be removed due to a possible irrelevancy in regard to the purpose of the study. The interviews did indeed contain information that was of no relevance to this study. Consequently, the researchers did what is called coding to filter out the data (Malhotra et al., 2012). This process involves bringing together the participants’ responses that share similarities in ideas, concepts, or themes, and then labeling the data based on what the researchers find to be a meaningful categorization (Malhotra et al., 2012).
3.6.3 Data Display
When the qualitative data is properly categorized and reduced, the remaining data should be summarized and presented. At this stage the data can appear to be messy and hard to understand. For that cause Malhotra et al. (2012) suggest that in order to make the data more accessible and easier to understand, the researchers can make use of graphs and spreadsheets. Further, the data display also allows the public to get a view of how the researchers have put together the data received from the participants taking part in the interviews, and how the researchers have chosen to categorize it (Malhotra et al., 2012). Thus, a spreadsheet was constructed by the researchers and can be seen in Appendix B, where all the data is gathered. Furthermore, each factor is visually displayed under their respective section in the empirical findings.
3.7 Data Verification
It is imperative that the researchers conduct the study in a rigorous and methodical manner to obtain meaningful and useful results. The researchers have to demonstrate that the data analysis has been done in a thorough and consistent manner. Moreover, the methods used when analyzing the data have to be revealed so that the reader can determine whether the research is
33 credible (Nowell, Lorelli, Norris, White & Moules, 2017). Further, Bryman (2012) argues that the data used in a study must be valid and reliable, and as further suggested by Lincoln and Guba (1985), assessing validity and reliability of the findings in qualitative research is done through trustworthiness. Trustworthiness follows four different criteria in qualitative research, which are credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. These four criteria parallel with internal validity, external validity, reliability, and objectivity (Bryman, 2012) which will be described in the upcoming section, as well as their applicability to this research.
3.7.1 Data Trustworthiness
The first mentioned criteria, credibility, signifies how well the findings can be linked to social reality (Bryman, 2012). Furthermore, there are several explanations to what the aspect of social reality is, meaning that the determined acceptability of others is based on the credibility of the results the researchers arrived at. As argued by Lincoln and Guba (1985), credibility is the most important criterion in terms of establishing the trustworthiness of a qualitative study. The researchers of this study used a technique called triangulation to verify the credibility of the empirical data. Triangulation involves the use of more than one method or source of data and can more broadly be explained as an approach that analyses its data from multiple viewpoints as well as from multiple observers and theoretical perspectives (Bryman, 2012). This study, which was conducted by two researchers, ensures triangulation based on the allowance of two observers and viewpoints during the collection and analysis of the empirical data. Moreover, triangulation was also ensured by using multiple theoretical perspectives by adding different interpretations of the theory of planned behavior by Ajzen (1991).
The second criteria, namely transferability, refers to what extent the findings in a qualitative study can be transferred to other contexts with new participants (Bitsch, 2005). Moreover, transferability is facilitated when the researchers provide a detailed description of the context in the study, as well as the selection of participants and their characteristics. Further, Graneheim and Lundman (2003) state that the researchers can only give suggestions regarding the transferability and that in the end, it is up to the reader whether the findings are transferable to another context or not. In order to facilitate transferability, the researchers used a non- probability judgemental sampling technique to make sure that all participants held the same attributes, to be a Swedish citizen between the age of 22-30, to be allowed to partake in the
34 interviews. Further, the participants were equally distributed in terms of males and females to increase diversity and to enhance the transferability of the findings.
Dependability, which is the third criteria, is argued by Lincoln and Guba (1985) to be the addressing of reliability of the study. Hence, Lincoln and Guba (1985) argues that to facilitate dependability, the process of the research and the collection of empirical data should be explained in detail to which it will allow other researchers to replicate the research. The authors of this study ensure this in the methodology chapter in this study, where it is covered what research techniques that have been followed. Further, it also entails details about the collection of the data, as well as details on how the analysis of the collected data was handled.
Confirmability is the fourth and last step to obtain trustworthiness. Confirmability addresses issues of bias and prejudices of the researchers, meaning that the analysis and interpretations of the findings should be conducted objectively by the researchers (Bitsch, 2005). To facilitate this, Bitsch (2005) argues that the interpretations and findings of the research should solely be based on the context of the participants, and free from researcher bias. To ensure objectivity, the research process covered in the chapter methodology needs to be followed correctly (Bitsch, 2005). To ensure minimal researcher bias, the triangulation technique was used. Moreover, the researchers have given a detailed methodological description to further minimize such bias. Additionally, confirmability has been ensured through explanations for why various methods have been preferred over others.
35 4. Findings
This chapter presents the empirical findings collected from the research, where the data has been collected from several interviews. The findings reflect the attitudes and purchase intentions of the interviewees.
4.1 Sample Display
Table 1 serves to present a summary of the sample, where the participants are labeled with the letters M and F, which indicates male and female. Each letter is followed by a number to easier refer to the respective participant. Table 1 also covers the age of the participants, as well as the duration of each interview and whether it was executed through video call or a face-to-face interview. The average duration of the interviews was approximately 44,5 minutes. In the following sections, each factor contains a graph representing how the participants were categorized. Aiming for a better overlook, Appendix B contains all factors and categorizations, as well as where the participants fell within them.
Participant
F = Female Duration M = Male Age In minutes Execution
F1 23 43 Video interview
F2 22 54 Video interview
F3 23 51 Video interview
F4 26 55 Video interview
F5 24 41 Video interview
F6 26 39 Video interview
F7 22 35 Video interview
F8 25 37 Video interview
M1 25 32 Face-to-face interview
M2 27 45 Face-to-face interview
M3 29 51 Face-to-face interview
M4 27 51 Face-to-face interview
36 M5 23 38 Face-to-face interview
M6 24 42 Video interview
M7 30 40 Video interview
M8 24 50 Video interview
Table 3: Sample Display
4.2 General Findings
As the first questions in the interviews were initiated to generate a discussion of the plant-based dairy alternatives, some general findings regarding the products and the participants’ experiences with them were found. These are perceived relevant by the researchers to include in the findings in order to give the full picture of the answers and to introduce the reader to the subject matter.
First, it was found that all of the participants were familiar with some of the products in this category. The possibility of buying milk alternatives was acknowledged by everyone, as well as for butter alternatives. However, it was found that a few of the interviewees were not familiar with plant-based alternatives to yogurt, cheese, and ice cream but rather the existence of these products came as a surprise to them. In addition, it was found that oats and soy drinks, but also almond was the most popular substitutes to cow’s milk.
Second, connecting to Appendix C, which is the picture shown to the participants where a number of examples of products from different brands were presented. Particularly, the brand Oatly was recognized by everyone and was a subject of discussion in several cases initiated by the participants themselves. Several of the consumers expressed that they liked their marketing, design as well as flavors and the fact that they last longer than regular dairy products. As for the remaining brands, all were mentioned to be recognized, but none of the products were recognized by all of the participants as the case was with Oatly. Third, 10 of the participants stated that they currently bought plant-based dairy alternatives, where some did it regularly and some only on occasion.
37 4.3 Factors Influencing Attitudes
This section presents the findings regarding the participant’s attitudes, as well as the five factors, suggested to influence attitudes, which are subjective norms, health consciousness, taste, knowledge, and environmental concern. Other factors that came up while interviewing the target group are also presented. Moreover, to give the reader a better understanding of the findings from each factor, a summary of the findings of each and every factor is presented in a graph at the end of the segment, showing how many of the participants fell under each category.
Categorization has been made by the interpretation of the authors, and for each factor put into three categories as the answers differed and the authors wanted to give the reader a clarification of the participants’ answers. Further, as the factors are quite many, the interpretation of the responses is more easily understood if presented as an illustration, in this case as a graph, at the end of each segment. The graphs also provide explanations as to why some factors are included in the final model, and why some are not. Additionally, distinctions are made between different types of food in the plant-based dairy substitutes category for the factors where relevant differences were found.
4.3.1 Attitudes
When collecting the data from the 16 interviewees within the selected target group, it was found that the majority, more specifically 10 people, had a very positive attitude towards plant-based dairy alternatives. Further, five people had a somewhat positive attitude, and only one person showed a negative attitude towards it.
Many of the interviewees mentioned the benefits of different options in this category when shopping for groceries, which contributed to their positive attitude.
“I think it’s really good. I think that everything that gives us alternatives is good.” (F2).
“I think that it’s good, I’m not against it as certain others. It’s good for those who don’t want to consume animal-based products. And it also works very well with different types of food.” (F6).
38 “I think it’s great that there are new products entering the market, so generally I have a positive attitude. I think it’s great that we’ve found a way to feed people using plants.” (M4).
“It’s good with alternatives. I generally have a positive attitude. I think it’s fun with new options.” (M3).
The most frequent buyers expressed their positive feelings towards the products.
“It’s super good!” (F1).
“I love it.” (F3).
For those who did not buy plant-based dairy alternatives on a regular basis, but rather when offered by someone else of just occasionally, some of them said:
“I think it’s good, it’s a positive development. I don’t really have anything negative to say about it. I mean it could be hard on the milk farmers but I don’t really know to be honest.” (M8).
“I think it’s good that they exist, for those who want to be more sustainable. I think that those who buy it the most are “young left-wingers”. I guess that people that are lactose intolerant are also more likely to switch to these products. In general I feel that I have a positive attitude towards them. It’s a bit more expensive, a bit more healthy, but not as popular as regular dairy products. But like, for me it doesn’t matter because I don’t buy dairy products anyway, but if I did I would definitely consider buying plant-based substitutes instead.” (M2).
The one respondent that had a negative attitude stated that he was cynical to the product category and motivated it by saying:
“In Sweden I see it as an opportunity for new corporations to establish themselves, make money, and to say what is right and what is wrong to Swedish consumers. They are definitely filling a gap, but I believe that gap is rather small.” (M6).
39 The findings regarding the attitudes also indicate that, predominantly, the participants had positive attitudes towards all of the different plant-based substitutes except for the cheese substitutes.
Figure 1: Attitude findings
4.3.2 Subjective Norms
The findings from the interviews indicated that three of the participants were very affected by subjective norms. The majority, eleven participants, were somewhat affected by subjective norms and two participants claimed to not be affected by subjective norms, which concern the influence of friends, family, social media, and trends. In other words, it shows to what degree people in this target group are influenced by social pressure and what other people think about their actions.
However, for those three who were very affected by subjective norms i.e. stated that they cared a lot about other people’s opinions, the reasons were different. F2 was affected by friends who consume a lot of plant-based dairy alternatives, which made her want to eat it and even feel the social pressure to like it as well. When asked the question whether family and friends affected her attitude towards food she said:
40 “Yes, when I grew up I didn’t think there were any alternatives, but when I moved to Göteborg, everyone ate vegetarian, and so when I hang out with them I do it too, otherwise I feel a bit disgusting.” (F2).
One participant highlighted that rather than being affected by others, she was the one affecting people around her in terms of environmentally sustainable food.
“I would say that I am the one in my surroundings who think most about the environment. I was the one who started eating vegan food, and highlighted these topics.” (F3)
Furthermore, F5 was very affected by her family eating vegan food during her upbringing, which had made her like it and hence have a positive attitude towards it. F1, on the other hand, was affected by family and friends but in the opposite way. Her family and friends consume a lot of meat, which made her not want to eat animal-based food. This view was also the case for another participant, F3.
“I just buy the butter! My partner though is very against these products so I’d probably have to stop buying it if he found out *laughing*” (F4)
“I live with a person who’s very fond of milk, so I don’t buy it as much anymore, but I used to buy Oatly and Alpro, but I try to sneak some things in.” (F5)
Furthermore, F1 also claimed to be very affected by influencers on social media who talk a lot about the vegan lifestyle. Answering the question of whether or not she perceived plant-based dairy alternatives to be a trend she said:
“Yes, it’s super trendy! And I hope it will continue to be. I think it’s because of influencers. I was very inspired by Therese Lindgren for example, since I follow her on YouTube and Instagram. I think that many are influenced by such things, like media, or Netflix and documentaries.” (F1).
In line with the answer from F1, every participant perceived plant-based dairy alternatives to be a trend, but no one stated that they would buy the products due to that reason.
41 “Yes, it’s a bit trendy. Like, have you eaten the new ice cream from Oatly? Yeah, it’s pretty trendy, to keep track of new product releases. Young people are often more environmentally aware, and young people set a lot of trends. But the fact that it’s trendy doesn’t affect me. When I started eating this type of food it wasn’t trendy, but it was because of environmental reasons. But it’s fun that it’s a trend. Some trends are really great.” (F3).
“To be vegan is fashion. So logically, it [the consumption of plant-based dairy alternatives] should increase.” (F8)
Moreover, among those being somewhat affected by subjective norms, many of the participants mentioned social media as one of the reasons why they are aware of plant-based dairy products, and that it contributed to them being interested in the products. That, along with the impact of friends and family eating these types of products, and getting recommendations, was the most mentioned reasons why they had a positive attitude towards the products. Furthermore, the two people not being affected by subjective norms where F7, not having any close people consuming these types of products, and M7, having a very negative attitude towards the product category in general and who despite having friends that like these products were not affected by their opinions.
Figure 2: Subjective norms findings
42 4.3.3 Health Consciousness
Regarding health consciousness as a factor in this study, it refers both to the general perception of plant-based dairy alternatives as healthy products, the perception of nutrition, and issues related to lactose intolerance and other allergies relevant to the product category. The answers of the respondents showed that half of the participants were not affected by health aspects for this product category but were rather affected by other factors. Four people were somewhat affected, and four people considered themselves very health conscious. Participant M2, who considered himself a very health-conscious person, mentioned health as the primary reason for having a positive attitude towards plant-based dairy substitutes, as he perceived them to be more healthy than traditional dairy products.
Further, another participant having an almost entirely vegan diet, compared plant-based non- dairy products to traditional dairy products and articulated that she perceived the plant-based alternatives to be more fresh.
“They feel fresh. And it’s good for the environment, and for the body. I really feel like a more fresh individual, eating plant-based food.” (F3)
When discussing whether she believed that it is more difficult to gain a sufficient amount of nutrition from eating or drinking these plant-based products, due to many people saying that it is, she answered;
“It’s pretty obvious. If it was true that milk is so good for the skeleton, why do so many Swedes have osteoporosis? It’s bullshit. I mean, we’re no calves, we don’t need milk. I feel great actually, incredibly great.” (F3).
Another participant said;
“I don’t believe that at all, I think that it is propaganda from the bigger dairy companies who claim that regular milk is better for the skeleton and so forth. I think it’s about knowledge about what you eat, just like everything else. (M8).”
43 Some of the interviewees were also affected by allergies and other types of illnesses that prevented them from drinking regular milk or eating dairy products. Participant F5 had a positive attitude towards the product due to health reasons, neglecting the statement that it would be difficult to gain nutrition from these products.
“I think that the majority who say they don’t get enough, like proteins, they live on meatballs and macaroni, and I think it’s ridiculous. It’s not about the specific products, but about eating an all-round diet. But if you’re vegan for example you can add some things, but they’re very health-conscious. Because they think more about what they eat. In general, you need more knowledge, and consumers need to be less lazy.” (F5).
A few of the participants believed that there was less nutrition in the plant-based alternatives compared to traditional dairy, but most people did not have that perception, where most people thought the amounts of nutrition were about the same, and some thought they could contain more and better nutrition. From the interviews it was however found that none of the participants did saw regular dairy products as a primary source of nutrition, neither did they see plant-based dairy alternatives as such, but rather these products were seen as smaller parts of a diet.
Figure 3: Health consciousness findings
44 4.3.4 Taste
Regarding taste as a factor, the interviewees answered questions about what they thought about the plant-based dairy alternatives that they had tried, but also how important taste is to them compared to other factors when deciding what food to eat. The answers revealed that 3 of the participants were very positive to the taste, 12 were somewhat positive and 1 was negative.
According to F3, the most important factor as to why she expressed to love the products where, apart from the environmental aspects, the taste. This participant referred back to when these products were not as established on the market.
“It tastes good nowadays.” (F3).
Participant F1 expressed that she liked all of the plant-based dairy substitutes, except for the ones that had a very strong taste of soy.
“I love the soyghurt though, all of the different flavors, the taste of soy is not so strong in them, it’s better than the oatgurt.” (F1).
Another participant had tried one of the plant-based ice creams but did not like it. Therefore, she would later be less likely to buy more plant-based ice creams.
“I also bought the plant-based ice cream because I liked the design, but it didn’t taste so good, and because I didn’t like that ice cream I am more skeptical to other ice creams in the same category because it was also pretty expensive.” (F2).
It is evident that personal preference varies between the interviewees. Some people buy the plant-based alternatives because they think they taste better, and some like traditional dairy products better but are willing to give up some of the taste if they believe that the plant-based products are better for the environment, health, animals, or other factors.
“I think that it is at least as good as real dairy products, apart from the cheese. I think it feels modern. Cow’s milk feels shabby. To drink a glass of milk, it feels like the ’80s. It feels like obvious choices. When I talk about cream, I naturally don’t mean cream from cows.” (F3)
45
“I don’t like products that have a weird aftertaste. But what I like about Oatly is that it tastes a bit like nuts when you have it in the coffee.” (F7)
“Almond milk is too sweet, oat milk is the best one, gives more flavor to the food, and the soy milk is best for coffee.” (F6).
Some of the participants talked about taste in comparison to traditional dairy products.
“I can’t really answer this question since I haven't tried any of them, but I would want them to taste like regular milk so I have a hard time seeing me buy them.” (M6)
“I really like oat milk, but if I am looking for milk I wouldn’t buy it, probably. But it does its job.” (F2).
“I’ve tried plant-based butter, and it works. We ate it when we were kids. And the almond milk, I like the taste. I’ve also tried soy, coconut, and rice in this category, also yogurts. I didn’t really like the plant-based yogurts, because I compare them to regular yogurt. You know, when you buy something and you expect it to taste in a kind of way, but it doesn’t. But I believe it could be a question of habit.” (M3).
Furthermore, many of the respondents valued taste highly, but some also valued other factors over taste.
“Taste is very important.” (M3).
“Taste is very important. It’s pretty much the only reason I buy some of the regular dairy products.” (F1)
“Not the most important thing, I have to say. I go for Swedish and eco products first hand, and I usually go after price more than taste.” (F4)
Neither one of the participants expressed that they liked the vegan cheese, although most of them had not tried it or did not know it existed. Furthermore, the plant-based butter was by
46 those that had tried it very appreciated, and the general perception was that it could serve as a replacement to regular butter without any bigger dissimilarities in taste. The plant-based yogurts were also appreciated by most of the participants, but the yogurt made of soy was more popular than the one made by oats. The perceptions of taste for the plant-based ice creams were varied, still, many had never tried it. The plant-based alternatives to cream were very popular among the target group in terms of taste. Lastly, the different alternatives to milk demonstrated a general enjoyment by the consumers, where substitutes made by oats, soy, and almond were the most popular. Lastly, the general perception of taste was good, but it was mentioned several times during the interviews that some of the plant-based alternatives required adding more taste.
Figure 4: Taste findings
4.3.5 Knowledge
Through the interviewees it was possible to see that the majority of the people had little knowledge of plant-based dairy alternatives. 12 people believed that they could have more information about these products. However, only one person had no knowledge at all about the products. The three remaining participants showed much knowledge about the different alternatives in this category.
47 The participants were asked how important knowledge of the products was for them, where everyone said that it would be beneficial but no one expressed that it would be of utter importance.
“I want the information to be there, I’m not that good on the research part myself though. But I want the information to be available if that interest would start to grow. So to answer the question, it is not that important to have knowledge about the food that I eat. I put good faith in everything I hear and read so I just trust that.” (M7).
When asked about what information they held about the product category, some of those within the category little knowledge answered;
“I mainly think about oats and almond.” (M2).
“I don’t think about it that much, but I see them as a standardized products. I think that these products are part of this time and that it is an emerging product segment, that the market has not earlier been as developed, but that it is becoming more developed through a bigger range of different alternatives.” (M3).
“I don’t know that much to be honest, I usually just think about Oatlys’ products whenever I hear that term and that there are those types of substitutes available.” (M1).
One of the participants, who fell in the category much knowledge, mentioned the difficulty of having information about all different types of products when going grocery shopping.
“I don’t think that when you walk around in the grocery store, that you can calculate exactly what product is the best, from an environmental perspective. But you can make some choices, certain criteria. For example that you choose to eat vegan. But it can be difficult to determine what product is more environmentally friendly when you choose between different alternatives. Therefore you should write on the packages what environmental impact the product has. But it’s easy to choose a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, it’s easy and you know that it is better for the environment, so that decision is possible to make.” (F3).
48 Furthermore, the findings revealed that people generally had much more knowledge of the milk substitutes than of the other product categories.
Figure 5: Knowledge findings
4.3.6 Environmental Concern
Regarding the participants’ environmental concern and whether it affected their attitude towards plant-based dairy alternatives, they were first asked what environmental concern means to them, how they understand the term, and if they perceive themselves as environmentally concerned people. This gave the authors a better understanding of what the interviewees meant when speaking of issues in regard to this factor. Five were shown to be very affected by this factor, five were somewhat affected and six were not affected. Regarding environmental concern as a term they said;
“That you as a person are aware of what it takes to contribute to a better environment, for instance recycling. You know, the circle of life.” (M4)
“I think about doing your best to make the environment better and that you’re aware of what is good and bad for the environment.” (F7)
49 “That you try to do something for the environment, you don’t have to be a big environmentalist, but you have some knowledge about how you can contribute sustainably by your own choices.” (M3)
“More than just to be aware. To me it’s also to act, to do something. But today it’s difficult, as a consumer, to compare different alternatives. It’s difficult to know everything about the process, if it’s locally produced, etc. But to learn as much as you can.” (F3)
Explaining what it meant to them, many mentioned making conscious choices in their everyday life that contribute to a better environment such as recycling, flying less, driving less, or choosing the more environmentally friendly food. Regarding food choices, many people mentioned buying locally produced, vegetarian, or vegan food. Interpreting the answers, it is also apparent that many people want to be more environmentally concerned than they currently are.
“I wouldn’t say I’m one of the best or most concerned people, I’m sort of in-between. I don’t always take action but I try to sort my trash, and I and my partner try to eat vegan or vegetarian at least once a week.” (M5)
The participants also got to reflect on who they believe is responsible for environmentally friendly consumption. This question generated different answers, where it was evident that some people believed it was the consumers’ responsibility and some expressed that it was up to the producers, marketers and the politicians, to give consumers options to choose from, and to inform about what is good or less good for the environment.
“Every worldly citizen. It’s every individual’s responsibility since we’re all in the same boat. But I still feel that the bigger responsibility is on the corporations that make products and market them since human psychology is the way it is.” (M7)
“Both businesses and consumers, and the government. It’s also the marketers’ responsibility, where the businesses inform the consumer about why the products are more sustainable. Unfortunately, I believe that interest in profit takes over. A lot of business models are so unsustainable, so a lot more is needed. But the consumer has a big responsibility, to boycott or support businesses. But a lot of people tend to blame it on the businesses.” (F5)
50
Additionally, the findings show that the majority of the participants’ attitudes were more or less affected. For example, one of the participants, who had a very positive attitude overall, was asked during the interview if a part of that positive attitude had something to do with their environmental concern to which the participant answered;
“Very, else I wouldn’t have bought them.” (M4).
In the discussion with participant M5 about their attitude towards the products and their environmental concern, the participant said that;
“I have a positive attitude, and I welcome environmental alternatives.” (M5).
After assembling the data, the authors found that the environmental concern was greater amongst the women taking part in the interviews. Only two of the eight women were not at all affected by environmental concerns compared to four of the eight men. Furthermore, of the men and women affected, only one of the men was very affected compared to four of the women.
Figure 6: Environmental concern findings
51 4.3.7 Additional Factors
The conducted interviews resulted in empirical data showing that the factors subjective norms, health consciousness, taste, knowledge, and environmental concern affected the target population’s attitude towards plant-based dairy alternatives. However, the data also revealed two other factors affecting the attitude amongst a few of the participants, and these two factors were animal treatment and appearance.
The first factor, animal treatment, was mentioned by six of the 16 participants. Some of them said;
“I really think that all of the animal-associated problems, that it’s so good to replace animal- based products with plant-based products as much as we can.” (F1).
“It’s also good so that fewer animals have to suffer.” (M7).
“For me it’s about animal treatment and environmental aspects.” (F5).
“I also think it’s good that people have found other ways to consume or products that protect animals.” (M8)
The second factor that the authors discovered during the conducted interviews was the appearance of the products. The factor was given that name based on the comments and discussions about the packaging and design of the products. A total of 8 out of 16 participants brought it up and some of the comments were as followed;
“I would never buy the ones that have ugly designs. A lot of them are very boring, but Oatly’s packages are always nice, it feels like you know what you get, they’re familiar, you see them often and you like their marketing.” (F2).
“I usually buy Alpro and Oatly because they’re familiar and it’s a safe card.” (F2).
“I think that the design and packaging are very important, and I like Oatly’s.” (F3).
52 “I think Oatly’s packages are a bit fun. I generally believe that it’s important to have a good package, to attract more customers, no one likes a boring package.” (F7).
“Oatly’s products look very appealing to me, kinda trendy. And that’s probably why I don’t recognize the cheeses because they look very grey and boring.” (M8).
Another participant mentioned Alpro’s packaging and design being appealing as well, and when discussing the different brands in the picture that the participants were shown during the interview, several people also said that they did not like the appearance of certain brands’ packaging.
4.4 Attitude - Intention
As previously mentioned, the data revealed that only 1 of the 16 participants had a negative attitude towards the product category, while the other 15 had either a very positive attitude or a somewhat positive attitude. During the interviews, the participants were asked if they thought that a positive attitude would lead to the intention of buying the products. The answers received showed that five of the participants had a negative purchase intention.
Figure 7: Purchase intention findings
53 4.5 Factors Influencing Intention
The findings of the factors suggested to influence purchase intention for plant-based dairy alternatives are price and availability. These were explored to see whether or not they could be seen as obstacles to a positive purchase intention towards plant-based dairy substitutes. In this section, the factors price and availability will be covered. The interviews also revealed other factors that have influenced some participants’ purchase intention. In line with the presentation of the findings of factors influencing attitudes, each section will be summarized with a graph showing a summary of the distribution of findings.
4.5.1 Price
Price is the first factor in the proposed research framework suggested to affect purchase intention. The goal was to find out whether the price of the products affected the participants’ intentions to buy the products. The results were evenly divided were 7 of the 16 participants thought of price as not important, while the remaining 11 thought of it as somewhat to very important as they valued it more highly than other factors. Some argued that the price was of no importance based on the fact that their purchasing of products in this specific category was not a frequent occurrence. When asked if the price affected their intention to buy, one participant said;
“Not really no, like I said I’m not a heavy user so when I finally buy it the price doesn’t matter that much. I value the fact that I can use one package much longer.” (M4).
Another participant, in this case, a more frequent buyer, but who also claimed that price what not important stated that;
“I usually compare prices, but I don’t exactly walk around with a calculator, but I want to be aware of prices. But I don’t compare between dairy and plant-based substitutes.” (F1).
The answers revealed that there was a general perception that the plant-based dairy alternatives were more expensive than regular dairy. Some of the participants were price sensitive in relation to these products, and others valued other factors higher than price which is why they could pay a higher price for the products. Also, some thought that the difference in price was not very big. It was, nevertheless, mentioned by several of the participants that they would
54 consider buying plant-based dairy alternatives instead of traditional dairy if the price was the same, or the price differed less.
Figure 8: Price findings
4.5.2 Availability
The second factor suggested to influence the selected target group to buy the products is the perception of the availability of the product. The researchers wanted to explore the participants’ views of the availability and if it influenced their attitude towards purchasing them. To explore whether this factor was influencing the participants or not, the researchers asked if the products were easy to find in their respective grocery stores. The answers were very similar for all participants, where all stated that the products in this category were indeed available.
“Yes, I do most of my grocery shopping at ICA Maxi and it is very easy to find it there.” (M5)
“Yes, I think so. If I would want to buy some products in this category I know exactly where to look.” (M7)
“Yes, I mean it depends on how well you know the store but I still think they are kinda easy to spot.” (M8)
“Yes, god yes. It’s everywhere.” (F3)
55
“Yes! There are so many products out now. I mean there are big shelves and so on filled with these products so it’s not hard to spot. You don’t exactly have to look for them.” (F4)
“Yes, you can easily see where it is. All of the different products are packed together so it’s easy to get what you looking for.” (F6)
Hence, a follow-up question such as if they would consider going to another store to purchase the products was not necessary. All the participants found these products to be easily accessible across all the different grocery stores that they visited.
4.5.3 Additional Factors
The empirical data gathered during the interviews showed that price, unlike availability, influenced the participants’ intention to purchase plant-based alternatives to dairy. However, during the interviews it became evident that another factor was influencing some of the participants’ intentions, and that factor is curiosity. The last question of the interview was regarding if the participants knew of other reasons that affected their intention to buy alternatives to plant-based dairy alternatives, where some said that;
“I like to buy new things out of curiosity.” (F1)
“It’s exciting to try something new!” (M4)
“but I mean sometimes I do buy stuff that I don’t really know what to expect from out of curiosity.” (M8)
“I’m a very curious person so I like to try out new things that look interesting.” (F4)
Although it was mentioned by only 4 of the 16 participants, the researchers chose to include it as a factor based on the relatively small population size.
56 5. Analysis
This chapter connects the empirical findings with the theoretical framework, where the key findings from the primary data are analyzed with the secondary data from the literature review, as well as the suggested research framework earlier presented in this thesis.
5.2 Factors Influencing Attitudes
Interpreting the findings from the interviews, it is apparent that the general attitude towards plant-based dairy substitutes is positive for the people taking part in this study, implicating that the market for these products indeed has a great potential to be further developed. Moreover, the five factors suggested in the proposed research framework to influence attitudes are found to be important. Two other factors were also found relevant to include, which are animal treatment and attributes. This means that seven factors are found to influence attitude and are to be included in the final model.
5.2.1 Subjective Norms
The findings showed that the majority of the participants were affected by subjective norms, as they were influenced by friends, family and social media to have a more positive attitude. Also, some had people close to them only eating vegan food, which had increased their knowledge about the products, and their positive attitude. This is in line with several authors (Chang, 1998; Povey et al., 2000; Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005) as they found subjective norms to be an important factor for attitudes and furthermore purchase intention. Most of the interviewees did, in fact, say that they were affected by friends or family to some degree as they often got recommendations or the opportunity to try plant-based products which contributed to their positive attitude, which consequently lead to them being more open to buy the products themselves.
This also shows that there is a link between subjective norms and curiosity, as trying these products when eating with friends or family, or receiving recommendations, was shown to increase the curiosity of the products in general. Also, one of the participants said that they felt the need to eat or like the products because other people close to them did, this person however had a somewhat positive attitude towards the products in general, meaning that the participants did not mind choosing the plant-based alternative to dairy, but that the social pressure played
57 an important role. This is supporting evidence that subjective norms is an important factor for attitude and furthermore intention as Ajzen (1991) describes subjective norms to be the degree of social pressure felt by an individual in regards to behavior. Further, relating to Vermeir and Verbeke (2006) stating that someone who has a negative attitude can be affected by social pressure to, despite that, have a positive purchase intention. This was not the case in this study, as the only person having a negative attitude also had a negative purchase intention.
Subjective norms is, as stressed by several authors (Liobikienė, Mandravickaitė & Bernatonienė, 2016; Joshi & Rahman, 2017), also important for purchase behavior, especially for sustainable products, and though this is not the focus of this thesis, it shows the importance of subjective norms in relation to the purchase of sustainable products. Several of the participants talked about the exposure of these products in social media, which contributed to them believing it was a trend. This is further strengthened by Hajli (2014) stating that businesses that interact with consumers through social media have an influence on the consumers’ attitudes towards products or services. Further, Minton, Lee, Orth, Kim and Kahle (2012) highlight sustainability as a social matter, where social media can beneficially be used in this aspect, as consumers can self-select into sustainable lifestyle groups. Interpreting the answers, it is relevant to highlight the fact that social media, influencers, and the publicity of these products were clearly affecting several of the consumers to their attitudes towards the product in terms of both appearance, knowledge and status, which further shows that subjective norms indeed have an important part to play in attitude formation.
5.2.2 Health Consciousness
An important influence on food choice is consumers aiming for a healthy diet (Lennernäs et al., 1997; Kemp, 2011; Irianto, 2016; Yadav & Pathak, 2016). The findings from the interviews showed varied results, as half of the participants were somewhat or very affected by health aspects, and half were not affected at all. Analyzing these results, it is possible to see that for those who were health-conscious, were health conscious because of different reasons, just as discussed in the literature review. Almost all of the participants mentioned medical reasons such as allergies as being a contributor for a positive attitude towards the products, both for those having allergies themselves, and for those who did not, which is supported by Mäkinen et al. (2015), but also some of the participants had the perception that there was less nutrition in the plant-based alternatives, in line with Jeske et al. (2018) and Röös et al. (2018). On the
58 contrary, the participants that had this perception did not mention it being a contributor to them not buying the products and they furthermore expressed that they had little knowledge of the content of the given products, and that they did not worry about those aspects. Other participants believed that plant-based dairy substitutes had the same, or even more, amount of nutrition. Also, several people perceived plant-based dairy alternatives to be healthier, which is contradicting to Mäkinen et al. (2015). However, in line with Hoek et al. (2011) a major reason for those eating plant-based food, and more specifically plant-based dairy alternatives, is the aim of a healthier living. However, interpreting the results of the health consciousness factor, it is clear to see that many people do not know which products are healthier and that there thus is a link between a lack of knowledge and a less positive attitude.
In this thesis, health consciousness includes a variety of different things. Not only does it include the allergy aspect or the amounts of nutrition, but it was found in the interviews that many people felt better when eating the plant-based options and that many were even disgusted by the animal-based products. As the results varied a lot in this aspect, it is not possible to interpret these answers as a general consumer attitude. However, it is possible to say that in this research health consciousness is an important factor in forming attitudes for plant-based dairy substitutes.
5.2.3 Taste
Analyzing the findings for the taste factor, it is clear to see that this factor also is important for consumer attitude towards plant-based alternatives. This supports the importance of taste in food choice (Lennernäs et al., 1997; Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005; Kourouniotis et al., 2016). Furthermore, most of the participants had a generally positive attitude towards the products. Nevertheless, as the products included in this study are different types of food made by various plant-alternatives such as soy, oats, rice, and almond, this can explain the diversities in answers. As shown in the findings, personal preference affects the attitude and varies between products. Also, the alternatives can be suitable for different purposes, and some might be disapproved due to personal preference.
In general, however, the importance of sensory appeal when replacing animal-based food with plant-based food (Wansink et al., 2005) applies to the participants of this research as well. Moreover, there were differences in how the interviewees perceived these products, as some
59 understood the products as direct replacements to dairy, meaning that they expected the plant- based options to resemble regular dairy. Contrary, others identified the products merely as other products that they preferred due to them having a different taste. The view on the products, and the individual expectation of taste, is therefore shown to be essential when discussing taste for these particular products. Clearly, familiarity in taste is favored by many and might be an explanation as to why some people do not consume these types of products.
5.2.4 Knowledge
In line with Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005), knowledge was found to be an influencing factor for attitude towards the products. Despite several participants stating that they had little knowledge of the products, the knowledge that they did have were contributors to why they had a positive attitude. All of the participants with much knowledge were found to also have a very positive attitude. This is further strengthened by Wood, Rhodes, and Biek (1998), who states that a high amount of knowledge leads to a stronger attitude. A lack of knowledge concerning the products showed that the participants had a less positive, or close to no attitude at all, towards the products.
As highlighted by Pieniak, Aertsens, and Verbeke (2010), advertisers and promoters should focus more on informing consumers of the products, which was something that several people in the interviews themselves suggested. Several people stated that they would buy the products if they knew that they are more sustainable or healthy. Many also said that they perceived it to be difficult to gather information, especially in the stores when choosing between food alternatives. Last but not least, popular brands such as Oatly can serve as a good example of providing information to the consumer, as it is found to contribute to much knowledge of this product category for the consumers explored in this thesis. These findings show the importance of sharing information with consumers concerning specific products and their benefits.
An interpretation of these findings is that much knowledge influence positive consumer attitude, which further leads to them having a positive purchase intention. One should however discuss further what knowledge means with respect to these products, as the factor might be considered rather obscure. For the interviewees in this research, knowledge was found to include not only knowledge of different products in the category but that of environmental, health, and animal aspects which in this thesis is treated as independent factors as well. Also,
60 this factor meant knowledge of different brands, how they differ in terms of taste or price compared to other products, and what replacing animal-based products with plant-based products could mean for individuals and the society as a whole. Clearly, the knowledge factor is difficult to comprehend, or grasp, as it represents so many elements to consider. It is, nevertheless, an important factor as increasing knowledge increases the likelihood of a positive attitude and furthermore a positive purchase intention for several participants, which is why it is included in the revised model as a factor influencing attitude.
5.2.5 Environmental Concern
As depicted by Kim & Choi (2005), environmental concern is a fundamental determinant of making consumers change their consumption patterns in a more environmentally friendly direction. The findings from the primary data revealed that some did not see themselves as environmentally concerned people, but most of them wanted or tried to be. This might be explained by current literature saying that millennials, born in the 1980s and the late 1990s, are said to be the generation most concerned about the environment (Wang, Wang, Xue, Wang & Li, 2018). Those that did want to be environmentally concerned mentioned making decisions in their everyday life that contributed to a less negative impact on the environment. The role of environmentally friendly food consumption was furthermore shown to be very important for those who did care a lot about the environment. This supports Kim an Choi (2005) highlighting the important relationship between environmental concern and sustainable purchase behavior. As authors suggest, the perception of a less negative impact on the environment is one of the most important factors contributing to the consumption of plant-based dairy alternatives (Hoek et al., 2011; McCarthy et al., 2017) and this was indeed shown to be the case for the participants of the interviews. Thus, it can be concluded that environmental concern should be included as an important factor influencing consumer attitudes in the final model.
There is, in addition, a link between those who are aware of the negative environmental impact that dairy production and consumption contribute to and a positive attitude and furthermore purchase intention. Those who perceived themselves not to be environmentally aware did also not have very strong opinions about the products and were less likely to buy them as they did not see the benefit as important enough. Analyzing the answers, it is also possible to see a diversified opinion on who has the responsibility to contribute to an environmentally friendly consumption, where those believing it is up to the politicians or managers of businesses
61 appeared to make less effort for sustainable actions than those who believed the consumers to have a big power in that aspect. This is in line with previous research saying that individual responsibility is important for sustainable consumption (Conolly & Prothero, 2008).
5.2.6 Animal Treatment
Unpredicted findings from the interviews indicated that several of the interviewees, and their attitude towards the products, were affected by animal aspects. For those who did, it contributed to a positive attitude, since these people believed it was a good thing that replacing animal- based products with plant-based options would contribute to fewer animals having to suffer. This is an aspect mentioned in several studies in the field of vegan diets and lifestyles. Janssen, Busch, Rödiger, and Hamm (2016) portray the motives of consumers who follow a vegan diet and their attitudes towards animal agriculture. These findings showed that animal-related motives played a big part, but also motives in relation to personal well-being or health, and environment-related motives, which is in line with previously mentioned findings in this research. Concludingly, Janssen et al. (2016), as well as Fox and Ward (2008), found that consumers following a vegan diet are often driven by several motives which many authors earlier have disregarded, but a big factor contributing to consumer attitude is in fact animal welfare. Mayfield, Bennett, Tranter, and Wooldridge (2007) highlight the importance for consumers to choose food with ethical concerns in mind such as animal welfare, as they seek food with high quality and safety. One might understand these answers in the way that those who care about certain ethical aspects are more likely to care about other ethical aspects and thus make consumption choice with these in mind.
As current literature on food and vegan diets in general provide many discussions of the animal aspects, this is an aspect not having much focus in research on plant-based dairy alternatives. Analyzing these findings, it is implied that the animal aspect should not be neglected in the research of these type of products and is thus included in the revised research framework as a factor influencing attitude.
5.2.7 Appearance
Appearance was found to be another important factor influencing attitudes. Imram (1999) highlights the importance of appearance as a sensory appeal on consumer acceptance of food products. In the case of this thesis, several people have expressed their positive attitude towards
62 products having an appealing appearance. Further, Bloch (1995) stresses that design or physical form is an important determinant of its marketplace success, as it attracts consumers and adds value to the given product.
The findings from the interviews in regard to this factor are characterized primarily by the appealing packages and designs of Oatly. Almost all of the participants mentioned the brand and its likeability in relation to design. Needless to say, the appearance of Oatlys’ products have contributed to a big part of the target group’s positive attitude towards plant-based dairy alternatives, with support from other brands such as Alpro and Flora. It is clear to see that an appealing package strengthens a positive attitude. This is in line with current literature saying that appearance is important in attitude formation towards products (Kim & Chung, 2011; Shafie & Rennie, 2012). Not only did attractive designs contribute to a positive attitude, but the familiarity of brands was a reason to why several of the participants chose to buy the products, meaning that the trustworthiness of brands increase as consumers are more exposed to the products, which consequently increases positive attitudes and furthermore intention to buy. It is, therefore, added to the revised research framework as an important factor.
5.3 Attitude - Intention
As found in the primary data collection, a positive attitude did in most cases lead to a positive purchase intention. This was the case for 11 of the participants in this study. On the other hand, four of the participants demonstrated a positive attitude and yet a negative purchase intention. This means that a positive attitude does not necessarily lead to purchase intention, but it does in the majority of the cases, and attitude can thus serve as an important driver for purchase intention. As explained in current consumer behavior literature, a positive attitude makes a positive purchase intention more likely (Ajzen, 1991; Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005). This was shown to be the case in this research as well as the interviews revealed that 11 of the 15 people who had a positive purchase intention also had a positive attitude. Additionally, the one participant who showed a negative attitude also showed a negative purchase intention, which strengthens this relationship.
5.4 Factors Influencing Intention
The negative relationship between attitude and intention for the remaining five people that showed a positive attitude but a negative intention, was shown to be primarily due to the price
63 factor. As other reasons such as partners affecting their consumption, current habits, or taste preferences were mentioned only briefly and by less than three people, these are not interpreted as important factors in this study. However, as curiosity for new food, as well as a special curiosity for plant-based dairy alternatives when grocery shopping, was mentioned by several of the participants as to why they would by the products no matter previous attitude towards the products, this is considered an important factor to include as influencing purchase intention. This factor is thus interpreted as a driver for purchase intention.
5.4.1 Price
Exploring if the price of the products could be a factor influencing purchase intention for the consumers taking part in this research, it is revealed that the majority of the participants answered according to what current literature says. Lennernäs et al. (1997) stress price as an important factor influencing food choice. This was shown to be the case for most of the interviewees, and importantly for those having a negative purchase intention despite a positive attitude towards the products. Hoek et al. (2005) recognize price as a barrier to plant-based food choice. Comparing this to the findings from the interviews, one can see that several people answered that they thought these products were more expensive than traditional dairy products and that they therefore sometimes did not buy the plant-based alternatives. Others were even more determined that price was affecting their decision to not buy plant-based dairy alternatives, despite positive attitudes towards the products.
Interpreting the answers, it is clear to see that despite that almost all of the participants talked positively about plant-based dairy alternatives, many thought that the value of the product was not perceived high enough for them to buy it on a regular basis, or even at all. This can further be strengthened with a study conducted by Dodds, Monroe, and Grewal (1991), who found a connection between an increase in price and a decrease in purchase intention. Thus, price is interpreted as an important factor influencing purchase intention for this product category and is therefore included in the model.
5.4.2 Availability
The findings of the availability factor demonstrated that low perceived availability was not an issue in the case of plant-based dairy alternatives. Hence, it contradicts the current literature that suggests this to influence purchase intention (Vermeir & Verbeke, 2006). Further,
64 Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) conducted a study where purchase intention was measured against products with high perceived availability among the participants, the findings showed no connection between high perceived availability and a positive purchase intention. Hence, as none of the participants showed a low perceived availability of the products, it is therefore excluded from the final model as a factor influencing intention to buy.
5.4.3 Curiosity
During the last part of the interviews, the participants were asked if they knew about other aspects that could influence their intention to purchase plant-based dairy alternatives. One aspect mentioned by several participants was that they were curious about new products, and therefore would be more likely to spontaneously purchase these products when going grocery shopping. According to Loewenstein (1994), curiosity is the desire to know, and it has been argued to act as a motivator in human behavior as it leads individuals to resolve the feelings it creates. Furthermore, in an article written by Smith and Swinyard (1988), it is argued that for one to be curious about a product, three criteria have to be fulfilled. Firstly, the consumer has to be aware of the product. Secondly, the product has to exist within a product category that is relevant for the consumer. Thirdly, the consumer must be uncertain about the attributes of the products.
These criteria have been used in the interpretation of the empirical data which revealed that four of the participants were influenced by curiosity. Further, in a study conducted by Hill, Fombelle, and Sirianni (2016), it was found that curiosity leads to a notably higher purchase intention. Interpreting the findings with previously mentioned theory, the curiosity factor might be explained by the high perceived availability of the products, especially for the participants with little knowledge about the products. The researchers have thus chosen to enlist this as a factor to influence purchase intention, not as an obstacle to purchase intention, but as a driver for the intention to buy.
5.5 Connecting to the Suggested Research Framework
When looking at the findings collected from the interviews and comparing it to the literature review and the theoretical framework, it is possible to say that the findings from this research show much support to already existing literature. A positive attitude makes a positive purchase intention more likely. Furthermore, all the factors from the suggested research framework
65 except for one were found applicable to the explored consumers and considered important to include in the final framework. Nevertheless, the findings also revealed a set of new factors influencing consumer attitudes and intentions towards plant-based dairy substitutes, as well as some differences compared to current literature. The differences in answers might be explained by the diversity of interviewees, where both men and women participated, but also due to these people having different experiences with the products.
Concludingly, the extended TPB-model which was presented as a suggested research framework includes the factors subjective norms, health consciousness, taste, knowledge, and environmental concern influencing attitudes as they support current literature, and also add three new factors which are animal treatment, appearance, and curiosity. Further, as supported by theory it includes price as a factor directly influencing intention, and includes the new factor curiosity, but excludes the factor availability as it was not in line with previous research. Hence, the revised research framework is developed accordingly;
Figure 8: Revised research framework by Hansson & Rosenlöw (2020)
66 6. Conclusion
This chapter presents the final conclusions and answers to the research questions. It also offers relevant theoretical, managerial, and societal implications. Furthermore, it presents recommendations for future research.
6.1 Purpose and Research Questions
Linking back to the beginning of this research paper, the purpose was to:
Explore consumer attitudes and purchase intentions towards plant-based dairy alternatives, as well as the factors that influence attitudes and intentions respectively.
This thesis has focused on two vital steps in forming consumer behavior, which is consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. By conducting 16 interviews with Swedish consumers in the age of 22-30 and analyzing the findings from those with a modified theory of planned behavior (TPB) model, it is possible to determine the different factors influencing both attitudes and purchase intention for plant-based dairy alternatives. The research questions are thus answered as followed;
RQ1: What are the attitudes, and what factors influence attitude towards plant-based alternatives to dairy products?
The attitudes towards plant-based dairy alternatives were found to be very positive for ten of the participants, somewhat positive for five and negative for only one of the interviewed. Hence, it is possible to say that the targeted consumers of this research had an overall positive attitude towards the products. Furthermore, the seven factors influencing attitude for the selected target group were found to be subjective norms, health consciousness, taste, knowledge, environmental concern, animal treatment, and appearance. These findings were in line with the extended TPB-model developed by the authors for the purpose of this research, but also showed to include two additional factors to the suggested five. For the consumers in this research, it can for that reason be said that attitudes towards these products are likely to be formed or changed by things such as other people’s opinions, a desire to have a healthy lifestyle, and avoid sickness. An attitude can also be influenced by ethical concerns regarding animals or environmental issues of current food production and consumption. Furthermore, a positive attitude can be formed simply due to the perception of good taste. Nevertheless,
67 without proper knowledge of the benefits of plant-based dairy alternatives, a positive attitude formation is more difficult to achieve. As these conclusions are based on several types of plant- based products as options to traditional dairy, the outcomes might be different if exploring certain products exclusively.
RQ2: What are the purchase intentions, and what factors influence intention to buy plant-based alternatives to dairy products?
Seven of the participants showed a very positive purchase intention. Furthermore, seven had a somewhat positive purchase intention, and five had a negative purchase intention. The negative purchase intentions are suggested to be explained primarily by price sensitivity. In addition, a curiosity about the products was found to be important for purchase intention. The two factors influencing purchase intention directly are thus, as shown in the revised research framework, price, and curiosity. This implicates that in order for consumers in this target group to buy plant-based alternatives to dairy, the price should be at an affordable level, otherwise a negative purchase intention can be formed despite a positive attitude. Nevertheless, several consumers participating in this research clearly have a desire to know about and try new products in this category, meaning that curiosity is important for a positive purchase intention.
6.2 Implications
6.2.1 Theoretical Implications
This study contributes to existing research within consumer behavior by developing the original TPB-model by Ajzen (1991) and adapting it to fit this specific research purpose, similar to several other researchers finding that an extended TPB-model is more effective than the original (Chang 1998; Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005; Yadav & Pathak, 2016). As depicted by Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005), understanding consumers’ intention to buy food is a complex task. However, an extended version of the TPB-model appeared to be effective also for this topic, as it contributes with a deeper understanding of consumers and what drives their purchase intention in relation to plant-based dairy alternatives. In addition, as current research is conflicting in explaining the relationship between attitude and intention (Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2005) this research also contributes to explaining the connection between these two variables. Moreover, this research explores the important relationship between subjective norms and attitude, as opposed to the original TPB-model by Ajzen (1991). Furthermore, as
68 current research on plant-based dairy alternatives is limited (Röös et al., 2018) and most studies in this field focus on milk substitutes (Jeske et al., 2018) which indeed needs more research (Sethi et al., 2016) it contributes with additional research on several plant-based dairy alternatives. Being among the first researchers exploring the attitudes and intentions of several of the plant-based dairy alternatives, it hopes to serve as a guide for similar research in this field.
6.2.2 Managerial Implications
This research paper provides several valuable insights for marketers and advertisers, as well as brand managers of businesses offering plant-based alternatives, as it explains what drives consumers to buy these types of products, but also what prevents them to. As found in this research, ethical concerns are important to many consumers (Mayfield et al., 2007). This is supported by the findings from the interviews. Hence, it is essential to consider and inform about environmental as well as animal aspects to increase the likeability of these products. Also, many consumers are concerned about nutritional values in relation to plant-based dairy alternatives (Jeske et al., 2018; Röös et al., 2018). This is, consequently, another aspect that should be clearly communicated to the consumers.
Moreover, as plant-based alternatives are often serving as replacements to traditional dairy, the taste factor should be taken into consideration, and beneficially made similar in taste, or exclusively better, as consumers compare it to regular products such as milk or yogurt. This is in line with previous research recognizing the importance of taste as a sensory appeal when replacing animal-based food with plant-based food (Wansink et al., 2005). Further, appearance as a sensory appeal is important in attitude formation towards products (Imram, 1999; Kim & Chung, 2011; Shafie & Rennie, 2012). Therefore, marketers should further focus on appealing designs and more marketing activities in relation to their products as it has been proven effective also for this product category. Further, as depicted by Minton et al. (2012), social media is a successful tool to use for the aim of making consumers become more sustainable. This was notably the case for several of the interviewees of this research as well.
As stated by Wansink et al. (2005), many people are unwilling to buy unfamiliar and unappealing food. Notable from the findings in this thesis, the brand Oatly with its products made by oats has succeeded to reach out to consumers on the Swedish market through their
69 unique and attractive way of marketing their brand through various channels in social media and traditional marketing. By becoming a familiar brand recognized by consumers in the Swedish grocery stores, and sticking out with their attractive packaging designs, they have managed to influence both consumer attitudes and purchase intention for the consumer group participating in this research. The aspect of familiarity can be applied to other brands as well such as Alpro and Flora, which several of the consumers mentioned they knew of and frequently bought. These insights can be found helpful when trying to reach out to the target audience with advertisements, packaging, design, or other marketing activities in relation to this product category but also other types of sustainable product offerings.
Evidently, the sustainable food options not only contribute to the well-being of the planet, but it drives consumer demand as more and more consumers seek sustainable food and ask critical questions about the production of the food they consider buying. Therefore, it can beneficially be used by businesses to offer environmentally friendly products to make profit. As mentioned, environmental sustainability is definitely a trend (Lubin & Esty, 2010) and can beneficially be used as a competitive advantage by businesses (Flint & Golicic, 2009; Lubin & Esty, 2010). A key implication from the findings is however that companies need to inform the consumers of environmental as well as health benefits on packages and on different information channels, as it currently is perceived difficult by many consumers to compare and choose between when standing in front of different alternatives. In accordance with current literature and the authors’ perceptions as well, several of the interviewees expressed that plant-based dairy alternatives are part of a trend and that the product category is indeed increasing and developing.
6.2.3 Societal Implications
The research highlights the power of individuals in relation to sustainable food consumption, as small decisions by many people can make a big impact. It further digs deeper into the mind of the consumers to enrich the reader with a greater understanding of the drivers of purchase intention. As earlier mentioned, it is essential to study the drivers of purchase intention as it what formes actual behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Thus, to take a further step towards changing consumption patterns away from a negative environmental impact and instead move towards the more sustainable options, plant-based food options need more focus, exposure, and research. The increase in alternatives for consumers to choose from has, as shown in the interviews, been very appreciated. A conclusion drawn from these findings is that introducing
70 more sustainable options, rather than preventing people from consuming certain products, is an efficient way of systematically changing consumption patterns.
There are, indeed, numerous ways of implementing sustainable practices in society. This thesis contributes with a bigger awareness of plant-based alternatives, as they generally are more environmentally friendly (Pimentel & Pimentel, 2003; Röös et al., 2016; Poore & Nemecek, 2018). By studying consumers and their attitudes towards these products it has been acknowledged that in the past years they have become more and more incorporated into people’s lives and they are indeed seen as standardized products in the stores, at least for consumers in this age group. This is seen as positive, as welcoming the more sustainable options is one way of implementing sustainable practices in society. Perhaps the environmental focus and the followed popularity of these products, can influence other producers to act and reduce environmental footprint as well.
6.3 Limitations
This research is limited to the targeted population of Swedish consumers at the age of 22-30, which makes it difficult to generalize the finding to other groups of consumers or a larger population. Further, it has been limited to time and resource constraints, and the unfortunate ongoing pandemic affecting society. As the researchers conducted interviews with a total of 16 different people, it was more difficult to schedule meetings, but fortunately, the interviews were not affected negatively as there was still the possibility to meet and keep the recommended social distancing or having the interviews held over video calls. The authors did consider conducting focus groups, but due to the ongoing situation it was not perceived safe to gather several people in a room and holding focus groups over video calls was seen as more difficult. However, the discussion among consumers it would have added to the research would be interesting to see in another study. The lack of research within this product category has further limited this research as relevant information has been difficult to find, especially in terms of actual purchase behavior. The fact that single products were not explored, but several plant- based dairy alternatives can also be seen as a limitation, as well as the non-probability sampling technique.
71 6.4 Future Research
As this research is limited to Swedish consumers in the age of 22-30 and to the Swedish market, it cannot be generalized to other consumers or internationally. It would be interesting to see a study using the same theoretical framework for consumers in another age group, as the results are likely to differ for an older age group, but also for international markets, especially for one that is less developed in terms of sustainable product offerings. This would enable the researchers to get a better understanding of possible cultural differences in relation to the topic.
Focusing on several products increases the knowledge of plant-based dairy alternatives in general but makes it difficult to draw conclusions for single products. Further research is needed on other products within plant-based dairy substitutes other than milk substitutes. Furthermore, research on one specific type of plant and those product offerings could be made to get a clear picture of attitudes and purchase intentions towards them specifically.
The findings from this research implicate several interrelations between the different factors which have not been studied in-depth, as the purpose was to explore attitudes, intentions, and the underlying factors. Therefore, a future implication is to study those interrelations. It would also be of interest to study the actual purchase behavior in relation to these products in a future study, as this research focuses merely on the first steps that form actual behavior.
Lastly, as this research is of a qualitative nature, it would be interesting to see a quantitative research investigating plant-based dairy substitutes. A suggestion is to use surveys in order to reach out to more people. This would give current research another perspective on the topic, and hopefully further understanding of the key underlying factors affecting consumer attitudes and intentions. If doing another qualitative research in relation to this topic, it would also be of value to use focus groups, to achieve a discussion of the products among the consumers.
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82 Appendices
Appendix A - Interview Guide
Questions:
General We are now going to show you some alternatives in this product category. *Shows picture* Q1. Do you recognize any of these products? Q2. Have you tried any of them? a. If yes, what did you think of them? Q3. Do you buy any of these brands? a. If yes, why do you buy them? b. If no, which would you be most interested to buy?
Environmental Concern Q4. What does environmental concern mean to you? Q5. Would you say that you are concerned about the environment? a. What is it that you do that makes you think that? Q6. Would you say that your upbringing has influenced your view on environmental concern? Q7. Do you think that people close to you (such as family and friends) affect your environmental concern today? Q8. According to you, who has the responsibility to contribute to environmentally friendly consumption?
Knowledge Q9. Is it important for you to have knowledge about what you consume? a. If yes, how do you acquire that knowledge? Q10. What do you know about plant-based dairy products, and how do you understand this term? Q11. Do you think that the consumption of plant-based dairy alternatives is increasing?
83 Health Consciousness Q12. Some people think it is difficult to get the same amount of nutrition when eating/drinking plant-based dairy. What is your opinion? Q13. Do you see yourself as a health-conscious person? a. Does that affect your attitude towards plant-based products?
Subjective Norms Q14. Do your family or friends eat plant-based dairy alternatives? Q15. Do your family and friends affect you when it comes to what attitude you have against food? Q16. Do you think that plant-based alternatives to dairy are trendy? a. If yes, do you think that it could be a reason for you buying products in this category?
Taste Q17. How important is taste for you when you buy food, compared to other factors? Q18. What is it about plant-based dairy alternatives that you like or do not like, in terms of taste? If the taste is not so good, would you be willing to buy these products anyway, and in that case why?
Price Q19. Do you compare prices in this food category or do you just buy?
Availability Q20. Do you think it is easy to find products in this category in your grocery store?
Attitude Q21. What is your general attitude towards plant-based dairy alternatives? a. What do you think affects your attitude towards this product category? Q22. How important do you think that a positive attitude towards a product in this category is for your intention to buy it? Intention Q23. Besides your attitude towards the products in this category, do you think there are any other factors that affect your intention to buy them? If yes, what?
84 Appendix B - Examples of Plant-based Dairy Alternatives
(Ica., 2020)
85 Appendix C - Data Display Spreadsheet - Attitudes
86 Appendix D - Data Display Spreadsheet - Intentions
87