Reducing food waste, one bite at a time...but did anyone notice? Irish consumers' evaluation of commercial upcycled foods with and without packaging
- 1UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, Ireland
- 2Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- 3UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, Ireland; Corresponding author.
Abstract
Upcycling food, that is, repurposing food that would otherwise go to waste for human consumption, is an important strategy for reducing food waste. As upcycled foods enter the market, understanding consumer acceptance is essential for their success. This study investigated whether packaging affects consumer perception of two upcycled products on the Irish market: an oat bite bar and a granola containing brewer’s spent grain. A field-based consumer tasting study was conducted with 336 participants in non-controlled environments using a between-subjects design. Participants were randomly assigned to either a blind condition, in which products were evaluated without packaging, or an informed condition, in which packaging was provided during tasting. Participants rated overall liking, purchase intention, willingness to pay (WTP), and completed a check-all-that-apply (CATA) questionnaire. Packaging did not significantly affect overall liking, purchase intention, or WTP. However, granola was significantly more accepted than oat bite regardless of information condition, and both products received positive acceptability scores overall. Participants commonly described both products as “oaty” and “healthy”, while “dry” and “gritty” textures were associated with lower acceptance. Women reported higher WTP than men, although average WTP remained below market price for both products. Packaging also influenced WTP differently across older age groups for the oat bite, but not for the granola. The findings suggest that packaging had limited influence on consumer acceptance, possibly due to unclear messaging, competing information, low consumer interest, or limited consumer attention. Product quality, particularly texture and taste, was the main factor in driving acceptance regardless of information.
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BibTeX
@article{nnadiegbulam2026reducing,
title = {{Reducing food waste, one bite at a time...but did anyone notice? Irish consumers' evaluation of commercial upcycled foods with and without packaging}},
author = {Joy Chidinma Nnadiegbulam and Qamar U Zaman and Niamh Harbourne and Simona Grasso},
journal = {Future Foods},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.fufo.2026.101212},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2026.101212},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Reducing food waste, one bite at a time...but did anyone notice? Irish consumers' evaluation of commercial upcycled foods with and without packaging
AU - Joy Chidinma Nnadiegbulam
AU - Qamar U Zaman
AU - Niamh Harbourne
AU - Simona Grasso
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Future Foods
DO - 10.1016/j.fufo.2026.101212
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2026.101212
AB - Upcycling food, that is, repurposing food that would otherwise go to waste for human consumption, is an important strategy for reducing food waste. As upcycled foods enter the market, understanding consumer acceptance is essential for their success. This study investigated whether packaging affects consumer perception of two upcycled products on the Irish market: an oat bite bar and a granola containing brewer’s spent grain. A field-based consumer tasting study was conducted with 336 participants in non-controlled environments using a between-subjects design. Participants were randomly assigned to either a blind condition, in which products were evaluated without packaging, or an informed condition, in which packaging was provided during tasting. Participants rated overall liking, purchase intention, willingness to pay (WTP), and completed a check-all-that-apply (CATA) questionnaire. Packaging did not significantly affect overall liking, purchase intention, or WTP. However, granola was significantly more accepted than oat bite regardless of information condition, and both products received positive acceptability scores overall. Participants commonly described both products as “oaty” and “healthy”, while “dry” and “gritty” textures were associated with lower acceptance. Women reported higher WTP than men, although average WTP remained below market price for both products. Packaging also influenced WTP differently across older age groups for the oat bite, but not for the granola. The findings suggest that packaging had limited influence on consumer acceptance, possibly due to unclear messaging, competing information, low consumer interest, or limited consumer attention. Product quality, particularly texture and taste, was the main factor in driving acceptance regardless of information.
SN - 2666-8335
ER -