What matters most in upcycled foods? A conjoint analysis of consumer preferences across indulgent and healthy foods

Food upcycling is a promising way of combating food waste and hunger. As such, previous research has examined an array of upcycled food attributes driving favorable attitudes and purchase intentions, such as price and labels that emphasize environmental or nutritional benefits. However, past work offers limited insight into how consumers make trade-offs among upcycled food attributes and how such trade-offs differ by food type (indulgent vs. healthy). The current study conducted two laboratory-based conjoint experiments ( n = 786) to demonstrate the relative importance of five upcycled food attributes (taste claims, price, environmental, nutritional benefits information, and third-party certification mark). As a result, taste claims were the most important attribute, followed by nutritional benefits, price, and certification mark for indulgent upcycled food. Meanwhile, nutritional benefits information was the most important attribute, followed by taste claims, certification mark, and price for healthy upcycled food. Regardless of food type, environmental benefits information was the least important attribute. Policy makers, upcycled food producers, and distributors should highlight the nutritional (vs. environmental) benefits of upcycled food.