Moldavian consumer perceptions and preferences for plant-based food

Plant-based food (PBF) has developed rapidly in recent years as a response to growing interest in sustainable options, with challenges in consumer beliefs/perceptions. In this study, opinion surveys were carried out to identify Moldavian consumers' perceived benefits/barriers regarding PBF. This study was conducted according to Regulation(EU) 2016/679, the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Technical University of Moldova (TUM) (protocol code 011/2024). Before filling out a questionnaire, participants were informed that their participation in the survey would be made anonymous and that it would be carried out at the TUM and they were told what the purpose of this study was, having to choose if they would voluntary participate or not. An online survey was conducted using the Google Forms platform. Recruitment was carried out by sending email invitations and disseminating the survey on social networks, using the snowball sampling method. The sample size was 186 valid cases, the confidence level was 95% (k=2), p=q=50, and the sampling error was 4.9%. The survey was composed of closed questions and divided into four sections: (1) participants' sociodemographic, economic, and diet factors; (2) perceived PBF knowledge and purchase intention; (3) perceived PBF barriers; and (4) perceived PBF benefits and market extension. Data were analysed with SAS 9.4 software (SAS Institute, USA). Of the participants, 69.7% were women and 63.5% had completed university studies. Consumers (88,9%) had intermediate knowledge about PBF and 79.6 % expressed a desire to consume PBF. An important factor in PBF purchase decision was its positive effect on health and the environment (p˂0.05). Participants (45,3%) experienced barriers with PBF's high price, its low availability and difficulties in changing eating habits. Popular PBFs were meat substitutes, dairy alternatives and beverages (p≤0.05). Conjoint analysis showed that interest towards PBF did not differ between genders but did between participants' age, education and diet (p˂0.05). Future studies for specific PBF groups may offer new outcomes in consumer perception studies.

Acknowledgments: This research was supported by the Institutional Project, subprogram 020405 “Optimizing food processing technologies in the context of the circular bioeconomy and climate change”, Bio-OpTehPAS, implemented at the Technical University of Moldova.