Consumers’ motivations for adopting a vegan diet: A mixed‐methods approach

Abstract

AbstractThe adoption of a vegan diet might have public, health, and environmental benefits; however, still little is known about veganism as the majority of studies on dietary lifestyles have focused on vegetarianism. Hence, in order to address this gap, the present study adopted a sequential and mixed (qualitative; quantitative) research approach based on laddering interviews (n = 20) and a survey (n = 400) to validate the motives for adopting a vegan diet. The results identified seven motives: economic, ethical, health‐related, hedonic, animal empathy, respect for animal rights, and personal accountability. Three motives in particular—(i.e., animal empathy, accountability, and animal rights) appear to be the key determinants of consumer’s self‐identification as vegan‐oriented individuals. The study found five attributes (price, nutritious, freshness; tasty, eco/animal friendly ingredients) of vegan products associated with the afore‐mentioned motives. Food marketers and policy makers could highlight such attributes to encourage the adoption of a vegan diet.