Cultivating Curiosity: Consumer Responses to Ethical and Product Benefits in Cultured Foods

Abstract

Cultured foods have the potential to profoundly transform the food industry. However, most current research focuses on cultured meat, neglecting other cultured products and begging the question of whether different promotional approaches are suited for certain types of cultured food products than others. To bridge this knowledge gap, we carried out two studies to explore how product type (cultured meat vs. cultured fruit) and benefit type (ethical vs. product attributes such as sensory and nutritional advantages) interact in determining consumers' willingness to try the products. Study 1 findings indicate that emphasizing ethical benefits is more effective for promoting cultured meat, whereas highlighting product benefits is more effective for promoting cultured fruit. We found that curiosity, a strong behavioral motivator, mediates the interactive effect of product type and benefit type on willingness to try. This research underscores the need for marketing messages to be tailored to the distinct cultured product types and enriches the literature on curiosity as an important mechanism in the context of cultured food acceptance.