Plant-Based Alternatives Need Not Be Inferior: Findings from a Sensory and Consumer Research Case Study with Cream Cheese

Abstract

Reliance on animal foods must be reduced to improve planetary and human well-being. This research studied plant-based cheese alternatives (PBCA) relative to dairy cheese in a consumer taste test with 157 consumers in New Zealand. A case study approach used cream cheese (commercially available) as the focal product category (2 PBCA, 2 dairy) and implemented a multi-response paradigm (hedonic, sensory, emotional, conceptual, situational). “Beyond liking” insights were established, including drivers of liking (sensory, non-sensory) and sensory drivers of non-sensory product associations. Two consumer segments were identified, of which the largest (n = 111) liked PBCA and dairy samples equally (6.5–6.7 of 9). In this PBCA Likers cluster, the key sensory drivers of liking were ‘creamy/smooth mouthfeel’, ‘dissolves quickly in mouth’, and ‘sweet’, while a significant penalty was associated with ‘mild/bland flavour’. The non-sensory data contributed additional consumer insights, including the four samples being perceived as differently appropriate for 9 of 12 use situations, with PBCA being regarded as less appropriate. In the limited confines of this case on cream cheese, the findings show that PBCA need not be inferior to their dairy counterparts despite a general narrative to the contrary. Of note, the results were obtained among participants who were open to eating a more PB diet but were not vegetarian or vegan.

Investigation into the Sensory Properties of Plant-Based Eggs, as Well as Acceptance, Emotional Response, and Use

“…Recently, there has been a consumer shift away from animal-based foods [1,2]. The reasons that have been cited for this shift include having a more sustainable or environmentally friendly diet, promoting animal welfare, nutritional benefits, and ensuring global food security [3][4][5][6]. This has led to more consumers following a plant-based diet [7].…”

“…PBAs face many challenges, including high expense, undesirable sensory properties, limited nutritional benefits, and acceptability among consumers [10][11][12][13]. Consumers think that PBAs are expensive [3,14], therefore, lower prices are needed to increase consumer adoption of PBAs. Plant-based diets are promoted for their health benefits [15], but some PBAs are highly processed [16], and many have nutrient profiles that do not meet consumer needs or are quite different from their conventional animal-based counterparts [17,18].…”

“…Consumers who are trying to follow a flexitarian, vegetarian, or vegan diet tend to have more positive attitudes towards PBAs than those who consume an omnivorous diet [21,22]. Many studies have investigated the sensory properties of plant-based beverages [23,24], cheese [3,12], yogurt [25,26], ice cream, or frozen desserts [27,28], and meat products [29,30]. However, although plant-based eggs (PBEs) have been increasing in popularity, there has been a lack of research investigating the sensory properties and consumer acceptability of PBEs.…”

“…To determine the acceptability and the sensory perception of PBEs, hedonic scales and check-all-that-apply (CATA) were used. Hedonic scales and CATA have been used in many studies to evaluate different food items [37][38][39], including PBAs [3,12,23]. Also, temporal check-all-that-apply (TCATA) was used to create a detailed profile of the PBEs [40] as TCATA has been found to not be overly demanding for consumers [41].…”

“…Furthermore, emotional responses to PBEs, as well as consumers proposed uses for PBEs, were investigated. As identified by Jaeger et al [3] product experience is about more than sensory perception, it is also important to evaluate emotional response and to use characteristics.…”