Analysis of Circular Thinking in Consumer Purchase Intention to Buy Sustainable Waste-To-Value (WTV) Foods

Abstract

One of the new fronts in food research is related to waste reuse and the impact of by-products on food nutrition intensity. These foods are Waste-to-Value (WTV) products that are suitable for demonstrating the processes of the circular economy (CE), in which another excess material is converted into a new food, generating higher nutritional properties. The manifestation of customer reaction is very strong when buying these products. Consumer findings can strongly support or hinder the development of circular systems through our purchasing decisions. In this way, it is essential to evaluate consumer WTV foods to learn about related consumer habits. Consumers can support or hinder the circular economy with their purchasing intentions. This analysis’s primary objective is to evaluate what different factors can be applied to consumers’ perception in purchasing sustainable WTV foods towards CE. In this study, a well-constructed questionnaire was prepared. Five hundred and forty-four (544) people participated in the survey, of which, 499 samples were analyzed. The primary research question was, “Would the consumer buy a sustainable Waste-to-Value (WTV) food product that affects the environment when it is produced? That is, it does not come from a circular system?” The other question is, how do the origin of products, information on production/nutritional value, consumer education, and certain socio-demographic characteristics affect the value of waste value for sustainable food consumption? According to the research results, in the case of the surveyed consumers, the younger age group (18–35 years old) shows a greater preference for buying sustainable products. It is also a surprising and new result that gender characteristics in this age group do not influence consumption patterns. Women and men showed the same preferences. Our second hypothesis is that education positively affects consumer intentions for sustainable WTV foods and especially organic products. The questionnaire did not confirm this.