The role of macronutrient composition at the ingredient and meal level in determining the sustained acceptance of plant-based foods

Funding call

July 2024

Award type

Business interaction vouchers
Awardee
Academic Partners
Awardee
Non-University Partner
Annika N Flynn
University of Bristol
Liesbeth Zandstra
Unilever Foods Innovation Centre Wageningen
Jeffrey Brunstrom
University of Bristol
Rene Lion
Unilever Foods Innovation Centre Wageningen
Alex Sim
University of Bristol
Anne Wanders
Unilever Foods Innovation Centre Wageningen
Other investigators
To be announced.
Description
The importance of consuming a healthy and sustainable diet is widely recognised. One strategy is to encourage people to replace animal meat with a plant-based counterpart. In response, the food industry has innovated in this space, however, consumer demand for these plant-based products has declined, and the reason remains unclear. Separately, our recent research indicates that macronutrient composition influences food preference. Building on this insight, we will adapt our methods to explore whether consumers are rejecting plant-based products because they change the ratio of macronutrients in a meal. Ultimately, this project will deliver the evidence and methods needed to inform the reformulation of plant-based alternatives, thereby enabling the food industry to deliver products that consumers want to consume regularly. In future, we envision building on this proof-of-concept work with a study in which the macronutrient composition of a plant-based product is manipulated and consumer preference is monitored over time.
Project keywords
(1) Preference (2) Plant-based products (3) Macronutrient composition (4) Meals
Outputs
To be announced.
Email contact
annika.flynn@bristol.ac.uk