Understanding and tackling meat reduction in different cultural contexts: a segmentation study of Swiss and Vietnamese consumers.
Mathilde Delley, Thanh Mai Ha, Franziska Götze, Evelyn Markoni, Minh Hai Ngo, Anh Duc Nguyen, Thi Lam Bui, Nhu Thinh Le, Bao Duong Pham, Thomas A Brunner
Author Information
Mathilde Delley: Food Science & Management, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (BFH-HAFL), Bern University of Applied Sciences, Zollikofen, Switzerland.
Thanh Mai Ha: Faculty of Economics and Rural Development, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Franziska Götze: Food Science & Management, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (BFH-HAFL), Bern University of Applied Sciences, Zollikofen, Switzerland.
Evelyn Markoni: Food Science & Management, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (BFH-HAFL), Bern University of Applied Sciences, Zollikofen, Switzerland.
Minh Hai Ngo: Faculty of Economics and Rural Development, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Anh Duc Nguyen: Faculty of Economics and Rural Development, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Thi Lam Bui: Faculty of Accounting and Business Management, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Nhu Thinh Le: Department of Economics and Marketing, Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Bao Duong Pham: Bac Giang Agriculture and Forestry University, Bac Giang, Vietnam.
Thomas A Brunner: Food Science & Management, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (BFH-HAFL), Bern University of Applied Sciences, Zollikofen, Switzerland.
Objective: This study aims to disclose and compare meat consumer segments in Switzerland and Vietnam, which differ in terms of their socioeconomic and cultural settings (the former is a developed country, and the latter is an emerging one) to develop a set of segment-specific recommendations that might be applied to consumption in comparable contexts, that is, in other developed countries and other emerging economies. Methods: Data were collected through two online surveys: one for Swiss residents from randomly selected households and one for Vietnamese urban residents recruited via snowball sampling. The final sample size was = 643 for Switzerland and = 616 for Vietnam. Hierarchical cluster analyses followed by K-means cluster analyses revealed five distinct clusters in both countries. Results: Three clusters were common to both countries: meat lovers (21% in Switzerland and 19% in Vietnam), proactive consumers (22% in Switzerland and 14% in Vietnam) and suggestible consumers (19% in Switzerland and 25% in Vietnam). Two were specific to each country, namely traditional (19%) and basic (21%) consumers in Switzerland and confident (16%) and anxious (26%) consumers in Vietnam. Conclusion: Relying on voluntary actions, nudging techniques, private initiatives and consumers' sense of responsibility will certainly be useful but will nevertheless be insufficient to achieve a planetary health diet within the given timeframe (the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development). Governments will have no choice but to activate all levers within their sphere of influence - including regulatory measures - and oblige private sector actors to commit to the measures imposed on them. A binding international agenda with common objectives and measures is a judicious approach. Unlike most previous studies, which focused on meat consumption intensity and frequency or diet type to segment consumers, our approach, based on psychographic profiles, allows the identification of segments that share common drivers and barriers and thus the development of better-targeted measures to reduce meat consumption.
