Fabienne Michel

Last Name

Michel

First Name

Fabienne

ORCID

0000-0003-3105-6747

Organisational unit

03780 - Siegrist, Michael / Siegrist, Michael

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Publications 1 - 7 of 7

The price and nutritional value of meat and milk substitutes on the European market
Siegrist, Armin; Green, Ashley; Michel, Fabienne; et al. (2024)
Overconsumption of animal-sourced foods contributes to environmental and health problems, making a dietary shift essential. One approach is producing substitutes from alternative proteins. However, substitute products should match the nutritional value of animal-sourced foods while being price competitive. This study presents a dataset containing the prices, ingredients, and nutritional composition of almost 2600 substitute products and prices of approximately 7500 conventional products from European supermarket chains. Meat substitutes generally contain more dietary fiber and less saturated fats compared to conventional meat while having lower protein quality and excess salt and sugar. Further, only soy-based milk substitutes have favorable nutritional profiles. Fortification rates among all substitute types should be increased to ensure sufficient micronutrient supply. On average, meat substitutes are 24 to 115 percent more expensive compared to conventional meat, except in Germany, where they are equally priced. Milk substitutes cost on average 35 to 58 percent more than cow’s milk.
Comparing the nutritional value and prices of meat and milk substitutes with their animal-based benchmarks across six European countries
Siegrist, Armin; Green, Ashley; Michel, Fabienne; et al. (2024)
Food Research International
Since overconsumption of animal-sourced foods is directly linked to multiple environmental and health issues, a dietary shift is imperative. One approach to facilitate this change is the production of substitutes for animal-sourced foods based on plant-based or novel ingredients. However, to be a valid alternative, substitute products must match animal-sourced foods regarding their nutritional value while being price competitive. To understand where substitutes currently stand in that regard, this study presents a novel dataset containing the prices, main ingredients, and nutritional composition of almost 2600 substitute products as well as prices of approximately 7500 conventional products sold in major supermarket chains in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Although comparative analyses (non-parametric two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum tests at a 5 % significance level) of the results indicate that the meat substitutes generally contain a higher level of dietary fiber with lower saturated fats, these meat substitutes often also have lower protein quality and higher salt and sugar levels than the conventional products. On average, meat substitutes were found to be 24 to 115 % more expensive compared to conventional meat, except for the German samples where price parity has been reached. Among milk substitutes, only soy-based products have favorable macronutrient profiles. The average price premium charged for milk substitutes compared to cows’ milk is 35 to 58 %. In general, fortification rates of substitutes should be increased to ensure sufficient supplies of micronutrients, particularly among meat substitutes where fortification rates are below 20% except for the Netherlands. Following these results, certain individual products already provide high nutritional value at low costs. However, further improvements are required for substitutes to become a compelling alternative at each scale.
Consumers’ categorizations of dairy products and plant-based milk, yogurt, and cheese alternatives
Etter, Bruno; Michel, Fabienne; Siegrist, Michael (2024)
Appetite
Plant-based dairy alternatives have many benefits in terms of sustainability, animal welfare, and health, but they can only be successful in the market if consumers perceive them as suitable substitutes for conventional dairy. Consumers' expectations for new products are strongly influenced by the food categories into which they place these products. The present study aims to reveal consumers' categorizations of plant-based dairy products to gain insights into their potential as dairy substitutes. In a free sorting task, 100 participants from the German-speaking part of Switzerland sorted a variety of plant-based and conventional animal-based dairy products into groups, indicating their spontaneous similarity perceptions. Additionally, we assessed the participants' characteristics and attitudes toward plant-based dairy products to test potential differences in categorization strategies among consumer groups. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis showed that consumers' mental representations of plant-based dairy and conventional animal-based dairy were clearly separated across a wide range of product types. This pattern was even observed among consumers who ate less meat, had higher exposure to vegan dietary styles, and had less negative attitudes toward dairy alternatives. The results suggest that taxonomic distinctions based on plant or animal origin dominate consumers' perceptions and are likely to hinder the substitution of dairy with plant-based dairy. Nevertheless, they also imply that plant-based products that manage to emphasize shared goals and functional properties akin to conventional dairy products are more likely to form a common goal–derived category in consumers’ minds and thus have better prospects as substitutes.
The shift from meat to plant-based proteins: consumers and public policy
Siegrist, Michael; Michel, Fabienne; Hartmann, Christina (2024)
Current Opinion in Food Science
A reduction in meat consumption would be desirable to promote sustainable diets. Globally, meat consumption is still increasing, and the various meat alternatives introduced in recent years occupy only a small share of the meat market. Since technological solutions alone are not sufficient to reduce meat consumption, policy measures and interventions are discussed. We describe various measures that have been proposed to reduce meat consumption. Based on the evidence from the literature, some of these measures are unlikely to be effective (e.g. labeling) or acceptable to consumers (e.g. taxes). It will be important to focus on measures that are effective (e.g. nudging). However, since consumers tend to be resistant to fundamental changes in their diet, rapid transitions cannot be expected.
A cross-cultural comparison to find the most promising protein sources for milk and cheese alternatives among four European countries
Pronk, Kirsten; Etter, Bruno; Michel, Fabienne; et al. (2025)
Future Foods
The transition to more sustainable diets can be facilitated by substituting milk and cheese with plant-based alternatives. To increase the consumption of milk and cheese alternatives, it is important to understand which protein sources are most accepted by consumers. An online survey was conducted in Finland, Germany, Italy, and Serbia (N = 2036) to assess consumer expectations regarding the taste, healthiness, and environmental friendliness of various protein sources for milk and cheese alternatives. The study also explored the influence of consumption contexts and consumer characteristics on the willingness to substitute milk and cheese. Nuts, including almond, hazelnut, and cashew, were identified as the most promising protein sources across all countries. The study further showed that participants were more willing to substitute milk than cheese and that they were particularly open to substituting milk in coffee. Additionally, individuals with lower food neophobia levels and those who considered health and ecological welfare as important attributes were more likely to substitute. It is recommended that producers and marketers of milk and cheese alternatives focus on preferred protein sources and promote these alternatives for consumption contexts in which substitution is more likely to occur. Through these strategies, familiarity with milk and cheese alternatives is increased and greater acceptance is fostered.
Consumer acceptance of different protein sources for meat alternatives: A multinational study
Pronk, Kirsten; Etter, Bruno; Michel, Fabienne; et al. (2025)
Appetite
A wide variety of alternative proteins have been proposed for use in meat alternatives; however, it is not known how their acceptance by consumers compares. In this study, the most promising protein sources for meat alternatives in terms of consumer acceptance were identified across four European countries. An online survey was conducted among meat-eating participants in Germany (n = 472), Finland (n = 495), Italy (n = 498), and Serbia (n = 488). The participants evaluated 14 different protein sources for meat alternatives, including a wide variety of plant-based proteins, algae, insects, and cultured meat, based on three dimensions: expected taste, expected healthiness, and expected environmental friendliness. In addition, the effect of food neophobia, meat commitment, and meat alternative rejection levels on the consumption of different types of meat alternatives was assessed. Potato, rice, and peas were identified as the most accepted protein sources across the four countries. The results also showed that consumers had low expectations for algae and cultured meat, and that insects were the least accepted. Furthermore, country-specific preferences for certain protein sources were observed.
Which are the most promising protein sources for meat alternatives?
Etter, Bruno; Michel, Fabienne; Siegrist, Michael (2024)
Food Quality and Preference
Meat alternatives have the potential to shift people's diets into a more sustainable direction. To improve consumers’ attitudes to meat alternatives and increase the likelihood of their consumption, it is important to identify the most promising protein sources from a consumer perspective. This study investigated expectations toward 17 specific protein sources applied in meat alternatives and four conventional animal-based protein sources across six rating dimensions in an online survey with 916 participants from the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Additionally, several relevant consumer characteristics, namely food neophobia, health consciousness, preference for naturalness, environmental identity, and consumers’ attitudes to meat and meat alternatives, were assessed. Meat alternatives containing potato, lentil, chickpea, and pea achieved the highest acceptance scores. Other protein sources, such as algae, insects, and different types of cultured meat, did not achieve high acceptance. Multiple regressions were used to investigate further the influence of consumer characteristics. For different types of protein sources, different consumer characteristics were identified as barriers, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing groups of consumers and types of protein sources. The study also showed that people's commitment to meat has no influence on their acceptance of alternative proteins; rather, negative attitudes to meat alternatives are the problem. Future efforts should therefore focus on optimizing the properties of meat alternatives, instead of demonizing the consumption of meat. One way to optimize the acceptance of meat alternatives is to use ingredients that consumers already have positive expectations toward, such as potato, lentil, chickpea, and pea.

Publications 1 - 7 of 7

Fabienne Michel

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