Cultivated Meat in the Hospitality Industry: Perception and Adoption
Abstract
Cultivated Meat in the Hospitality Industry: Perception and Adoption Abstract As global concerns around sustainability, food security, and ethical consumption intensify, cultivated meat (CM) has emerged as a promising alternative protein source. However, research on CM in the hospitality industry is still lacking. Therefore, this mixed-methods study aimed to fill this research gap by exploring perception towards CM and its potential adoption within the hospitality industry guided by the Stakeholder, Social Exchange, and Trust Theory. The qualitative study (Study 1) involved semi-structured interviews with 14 hospitality professionals to explore hospitality stakeholders’ evaluations, perceptions, and barriers to adapting CM. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded to identify themes and subthemes. The qualitative findings indicated that hospitality professionals viewed CM as an emerging food innovation; They further identified sustainability and food security as key benefits of CM. However, concerns about high production costs, limited product access, and lack of sensory evaluation opportunities hindered immediate adoption. The quantitative study (Study 2) examined how U.S. consumers’ trust in CM influenced their perceived sustainability and food security benefits, and various perceived risks of CM (i.e., health and safety, ethical, hedonic, financial, and sociopsychological), and purchase intention. An online survey was administered to 349 participants, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test evaluate the proposed theoretical framework. The results showed that trust significantly influenced perceptions of benefits and risks but did not directly predict purchase intention. Instead, perceived sustainability benefits, perceived food security benefits, and perceived sociopsychological risks emerged as key mediators linking trust to purchase intention. Overall, this mixed-methods study provided a comprehensive understanding of CM perceptions from both industry professionals and consumers. Findings suggest that chefs and hospitality professionals are pivotal in shaping public acceptance of CM by leveraging their influence to educate, communicate, and provide sensory and experiential evaluations despite fundamental concerns and uncertainties. At the same time, consumer data revealed that increased trust, especially when linked to clearly communicated sustainability and food security benefits, can positively shape perceptions and indirectly drive purchase intentions. These combined insights show that industry leadership and consumer trust are important for the future adoption of CM in the hospitality industry. Keywords: cultivated meat, hospitality industry, perceived benefits, perceived risk, trust, mixed methods