Cow-free cheese: German consumers increasingly open to precision fermentation-based products

05 Aug 2024 --- Many German consumers are open to trying and buying precision fermentation-based (PF) cheese, researchers at the University of Göttingen, Germany, have found. Some 57% of those surveyed were willing to try the cheese, 24% said they would accept it as a substitute for dairy cheese and 14% were willing to pay more for it.

The team examined how consumers accept PF cheese after learning about the potential opportunities and risks of the technology, including its relation to sustainability, impact on agriculture and product quality (consistency and naturalness).

Consistent quality and environment and animal protection emerged as the most influential benefits contributing to consumer acceptance.

“Our study shows that consumers in Germany are open to cheese from precision fermentation if they are informed about the benefits and high quality of the product,” says Dr. Sarah Kühl, first author and chair for marketing for Food and Agricultural Products at the University of Göttingen.

“However, it is important to design the communication carefully to address concerns about the impact on traditional agriculture.”

Dr. Sarah Kühl, first author and chair for marketing for Food and Agricultural Products, University of Göttingen (Image credit: Marco Bühl).The study surveyed nearly 2,000 participants online and was conducted in collaboration with LI Food – Landesinitiative Ernährungswirtschaft Niedersachsen and the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL).

Consumer acceptance
The findings, published in the international journal Future Foods, state that, in general, access to information has only a minor influence on whether consumers would try or buy PF cheese. 

However, the reference to the technological genetic modification of the microorganisms required for the production process leads to a “slightly significantly lower” willingness to try the product.

The researchers note that providing more and detailed information about the technology increased the acceptance of PF cheese among the respondents. Moreover, information about the technology’s existing use in other products (similarity heuristic) also raised acceptance.

Corresponding products are already on the market in the US, while authorization in Germany and the EU is still pending.

Taste was found to be the dominant factor in cheese purchasing, with 95% of consumers deeming it “extremely important” or “important.”

Some 64% considered good animal husbandry an important aspect, while the type of packaging (28%) and a certain brand (24%) were the least distinguished aspects.

Additionally, “81% of the participants had never heard of the term precision fermentation before we introduced the information, and another 16% had heard of it but did not know what it meant.”

Animal welfare and farmer livelihoods
When informed of the consistently high quality of the products and advantages in terms of the environment and animal welfare, the participants showed more willingness to try PF cheese.

Sustainability aspects such as reducing the number of cows kept in stables and global deforestation due to less feed requirements (land use), as well as reduced negative impacts on the environment (nature), were seen as “great benefits” of the technology (31%).

However, when informed about the possible risks of farmers losing their source of income due to the new technology or large companies exerting too much power on the market, the respondents showed reduced willingness to buy and pay for such cheese.

Precision fermentation is gaining momentum amid animal welfare and farmer livelihood concerns.“A possible explanation may be that agriculture and farmers are valued by the public and awareness of their importance has also increased since the COVID-19 pandemic,” notes the study.

Concerns over the market power may be due to consumers viewing the dominance of large corporations in the food industry unfavorably, fearing potential “monopolistic practices” and a lack of competition

Meanwhile, risks regarding biodiversity, landscape and quality/naturalness of the cheese were perceived as “rather small.”

Advancing novel foods
The study reinforces the importance of communicating tangible benefits, such as animal welfare, sustainability and consistent quality, to increase consumer receptivity to PF cheese. 

It also underscores the need to address concerns related to farmers’ livelihoods and corporate market power enhance greater consumer trust and confidence in novel food innovations. 

“Highlighting the potential for fostering small start-ups over integration into large-scale industrial operations could promote innovation and diversity within the industry,” states the study.

Additionally, the researchers call for efforts to ensure that traditional farmers’ voices and needs are not overlooked in the transition toward precision fermentation.

By Insha Naureen