Consumer Perception of Food Product Packaging Materials Sustainability versus Life Cycle Assessment Results: The Case of Processed Tomatoes—A Quantitative Study in Germany

Abstract

Due to increasing environmental awareness, especially among the young German population, people are increasingly striving to buy food in the most environmentally friendly way. In this context, packaging is becoming the focus of sustainability assessment, not because of its protection against food waste but because of the increasing amount of packaging rubbish. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the packaging material on the environmentally friendly purchase decisions of consumers in Generations Y and Z and whether they can correctly assess the environmental impact of the different materials. For this purpose, an online choice experiment was conducted with a representative sample of 250 German consumers. The respondents could choose between products with different characteristics, such as price, packaging material, label, and origin. The results show that origin is the most important factor, followed by packaging material. With the help of a latent class analysis, the respondents were divided into three segments, which differ in whether origin or material is more important in the sustainability assessment of a product. Furthermore, a lack of knowledge about the environmental impact of specific product attributes among the respondents is evidenced, and a comparison with scientific data from product lifecycle assessments shows that they have difficulties correctly assessing the environmental impact of packaging material.