Percepção dos consumidores em relação aos produtos análogos cárneos

Abstract

With the advancement of technologies, companies in the food world are looking to launch meat-like products on the market, which have the texture, color and flavor of foods of animal origin. Consumers look for benefits in these foods that range from health, reduction of environmental problems and religious beliefs related to meat or even personal taste. The objective of this work was to obtain information about the perceptions, knowledge, acceptance and expectations of the consumers towards the meat analogous products existing in the market, through the application of a survey. For this, an online questionnaire was prepared and applied, initially the questions were aimed at verifying the socio demographic characteristics and consumption of meat and substitute proteins. Next, it addressed knowledge, perceptions, acceptance and expectations regarding to analogous products on the market. The questionnaire was sent along with an invitation to participate by email to different regions of the country. One hundred and seventy-one meat consumers from 7 Brazilian states (total of 36 cities), resulting from a non-probabilistic convenience sampling represented by a population of food consumers in the low to medium age group, mostly female, with schooling and income higher than the average of the Brazilian population showed definite beliefs regarding the importance of meat protein in the diet, with a predominance of replacing it with other animal proteins, rather than by vegetable proteins. Respondents claimed to be aware of meat analog products, but with low to medium alleged knowledge. 70% said they had already consumed it and of those who had not consumed it, approximately half would be willing to try it, with women being more likely to try it. For those who would not consume it, the lack of belief that the food has characteristics similar to meat and its products proved to be one of the main reasons. Approximately half of the respondents said they even pay more for the products, but they are not willing to sacrifice sensory characteristics such as flavor and texture, showing that acceptable sensory attributes are fundamental to the success of the products. Of the products consumed, hamburger and ground beef stood out, with sensory characteristics such as flavor and texture being the most positive points listed by the interviewees. It was also verified that there are expectations for similar products of practically all classes, and the industry can expand research in order to offer products that meet these demands.