Tell someone a snack is 'plant-based' and they probably won't want it. Tell them after they've eaten it, and they’re 37% more likely to buy it again.
March 25, 2026
Original Paper
Highlighting the plant-based nature of a highly liked meat alternative after tasting increases future plant-based choice
SocArXiv · 53ubk_v1
The Takeaway
Consumers have such strong negative expectations of vegan food taste that the label 'poisons' the experience. By delaying the label until after a successful taste test, researchers found they could shatter these mental barriers and effectively shift people toward more sustainable diets.
From the abstract
Plant-based meat alternatives could facilitate a more sustainable plant-rich diet, but their (repeated) uptake is lagging, partially driven by negative taste expectations that hamper sampling. Here, we investigated whether a direct positive plant-based taste experience could overcome these negative expectations and boost subsequent plant-based choice. In a field study (n = 889) at a large Dutch festival, participants unknowingly ate a tasty plant-based version of a traditionally meat-based snack