The Vegan Revolution: Opportunities and Differences Across Countries

Abstract

Adopting a vegan diet can be beneficial in addressing public, health, and environmental concerns associated with increasing levels of meat consumption. However, veganism remains an underdeveloped area of investigation. The majority of studies on dietary lifestyles have focused on vegetarianism and there are only a limited number on consumer adoption of vegan diets and cultural differences in this regard. To close this gap, the study investigates consumers’ cognitive structures for adopting a vegan diet through exploring the hierarchical linkages between vegan product attributes, consequences of vegan product consumption and consumer values in two countries. The data were gathered via semi-structured laddering interviews with vegan consumers in Spain and Israel. These interviews were complemented with projective and enabling techniques to facilitate the elicitation of initial product attributes. The findings of the study reveal that the cognitive structures behind vegan consumption are comprised of abstract (e.g., eco-friendliness) and tangible product attributes (e.g., freshness), functional (feeling healthy) and psychological consequences (feeling guilt-free), as well as terminal (achievement) and instrumental values (self-direction). The study discusses implications for marketing and policymaking.