Completing the food waste management loop: Is there market potential for value-added surplus products (VASP)?

Abstract Addressing the social, environmental and economic consequences of food waste has become an urgent issue for governments and industry stakeholders. This study investigates the factors influencing consumer acceptance of novel value-added surplus products (VASP) which could advance industry action to reduce food waste. Consumers' perceptions and potential acceptance of VASP is under-explored in the academic literature. A survey with a panel of 687 consumers in Australia and the UK was conducted to examine the factors that influence consumers' willingness to buy VASP and to identify potential consumer segments. Almost half of the participants are willing to buy VASP, such as a vegetable powder, a snack and a fermented product, with Australian respondents being more likely to buy these types of foods (47%, 51% and 44%) than respondents in the UK (43%, 49% and 39%). Consumers who are price conscious, convenience oriented, status seeking and concerned about the consequences of food waste are more willing to buy VASP than others. Cluster analysis reveals two consumer segments that show promise for the targeted marketing of VASP: the ‘status and convenience seeker’, which is a larger segment in Australia (76%) than in the UK (59%), and the ‘price and environmentally conscious’ consumer, which is larger in the UK (41%) than in Australia (24%). Respondents generally rank ‘other-oriented’ benefits, such as farmers' welfare, as more important drivers of purchasing than ‘self-oriented’ benefits, such as healthy food. The results not only advance the theoretical understanding about consumer acceptance and segmentation of novel products, but also provide a valuable indication of the market potential of VASP, along with positioning strategies to assist marketers and policy makers in preventing pre-consumption food waste.