Estimating the effect of moving meat-free products to the meat aisle on sales of meat and meat-free products: A non-randomised controlled intervention study in a large UK supermarket chain

Abstract

Background Reducing meat consumption could bring health and environmental benefits, but there is little research to date on effective interventions to achieve this. A non-randomised controlled intervention study was used to evaluate whether prominent positioning of meat-free products in the meat aisle was associated with a change in weekly mean sales of meat and meat-free products. Methods and findings Weekly sales data were obtained from 108 stores: 20 intervention stores that moved a selection of 26 meat-free products into a newly created meat-free bay within the meat aisle and 88 matched control stores. The primary outcome analysis used a hierarchical negative binomial model to compare changes in weekly sales (units) of meat products sold in intervention versus control stores during the main intervention period (Phase I: February 2019 to April 2019). Interrupted time series analysis was also used to evaluate the effects of the Phase I intervention. Moreover, 8 of the 20 stores enhanced the intervention from August 2019 onwards (Phase II intervention) by adding a second bay of meat-free products into the meat aisle, which was evaluated following the same analytical methods. During the Phase I intervention, sales of meat products (units/store/week) decreased in intervention (approximately −6%) and control stores (−5%) without significant differences (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.01 [95% CI 0.95–1.07]. Sales of meat-free products increased significantly more in the intervention (+31%) compared to the control stores (+6%; IRR 1.43 [95% CI 1.30–1.57]), mostly due to increased sales of meat-free burgers, mince, and sausages. Consistent results were observed in interrupted time series analyses where the effect of the Phase II intervention was significant in intervention versus control stores. Conclusions Prominent positioning of meat-free products into the meat aisle in a supermarket was not effective in reducing sales of meat products, but successfully increased sales of meat-free alternatives in the longer term. A preregistered protocol (https://osf.io/qmz3a/) was completed and fully available before data analysis.

Does promoting plant-based products in Veganuary lead to increased sales, and a reduction in meat sales? A natural experiment in a supermarket setting

“…The greatest increases in plant-based product sales were observed in stores located in below average affluence areas. These findings align with existing research demonstrating the effectiveness of changing the choice architecture to increase the visibility and accessibility of plant-based meat alternatives at increasing purchases of these products (14,15) , particularly a study conducted in a large UK supermarket change which found that sales of plant-based meat alternative products increased to a greater extent in stores located in average or below average affluence areas compared to stores located in above average affluence areas (15) . Alongside assessing changes in sales of plant-based products, of key interest was understanding changes in sales of meat products.…”

“…The store visit revealed competing marketing cues such as promotional offers on meat products in the same aisle as the plant-based products being promoted through the intervention, but this is reflective of the real-world retail environment, which features food purchasing behavioural cues that are hard to control for, and it is important to study behaviour change within this context. Other studies evaluating the effectiveness of in-store behaviour change interventions have reported inaccuracies and missing intervention elements during fidelity evaluations (15,23) . Given this Veganuary intervention was executed at national level it is expected that the intervention was implemented accurately in a large number of stores, but this cannot be known and is therefore a limitation of the study.…”

“…A subsequent study found pairwise placement and increasing visibility of meat alternative products to be effective at promoting purchases of these products, although no impact on meat sales was noted (14) . A controlled trial estimated the effectiveness of moving https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980022001914 Published online by Cambridge University Press plant-based meat alternatives products to the meat aisle in a large UK supermarket chain, finding that this strategy led to increased sales of plant-based meat alternative products but not reduced sales of meat products (15) .…”

Effectiveness of a Theory-Informed Documentary to Reduce Consumption of Meat and Animal Products: Three Randomized Controlled Experiments

“…This could facilitate measuring outcomes in terms of actual food purchases at that location and could also help generate social norms within local groups. Such designs can enable large sample sizes while reducing the potential for social desirability bias and measurement error [77].…”

Overcoming barriers to sustainable, healthy diets

“…Building on the impact of the accessibility of alternative protein products at the point‐of‐sale, a recent controlled trial in a major supermarket chain across the UK 11 found that a prominent positioning of meat‐free products in the meat aisle led to a 31% increase in sales of meat‐free alternatives (i.e. mince, meatballs, burgers and sausages).…”