New survey indicates SA consumers are ready to try cultivated meat products

South Africans are generally open to experimenting with their food and would buy meat cultivated from animal cells on a regular basis. Many are also willing to pay more for these products than their conventionally produced counterparts, according to a new survey.

- Glenneis Kriel

A recent report by North Mountain Consulting Group, titled ‘Consumer Adoption of Cultivated Meat: South African Early Adopters’, indicated that 91% of the 1 087 people who participated in the survey said they were likely to purchase cultivated meat on a regular basis, while 53% reported a high level of interest in the meat.

About 76% indicated that they were somewhat likely to pay a higher price for cultivated meat than they were paying for the conventional kind, whereas 30% were very or extremely likely to do so.

Should cultivated and plant-based meat become widely available in South Africa, early adopters, identified in the survey, revealed that cultivated meat could make up 36% of their future meat intake, compared with 30% for the general population.

Motivations for purchasing cultivated meat included perceptions that it was better for the environment; contributed to local food security; did not harm animals; contributed to wild animal conservation; was healthier; and did not contain antibiotics or pathogens.