Abstract
The expanding meat alternative market includes plant-based and fungus-based products which aim to mimic properties of animal meat. However, sensory and price parity have not been realized. This study characterized consumers' (N = 152) perceptions of four commercially available plant-based (soy, pea/faba bean) and mushroom-based (shiitake, king oyster) jerky samples in terms of sensory quality, product concept, and willingness to pay. Key textural attributes - toughness, chewiness, and springiness - were evaluated instrumentally and by consumers (9-point hedonic and 5-point just-about-right scales). Effects of main ingredient and protein content information on consumers' expected and experienced product liking and purchase intent were investigated. The Van Westendorp price sensitivity model was used to estimate consumers' willingness to pay for non-meat jerkies (optimal price points and acceptable price ranges). Based on main ingredient information, all samples were expected to be similarly acceptable (near the "like slightly" category). Consumers responded favorably to additional protein information for pea/faba jerky (14g/serving), differentiating it from mushroom-based samples (3g/serving). However, all samples received significantly lower overall liking scores upon blind tasting (ranging 4.5-5.7), indicating that samples did not meet consumers' expectations. The soy-based jerky performed best based on sensory evaluation, and was associated with highest texture liking scores, low instrumental springiness, and intermediate chewiness, tensile and shear properties. Too much chewiness and toughness were common deficits among jerkies. Ingredient/protein information significantly (α = 0.05) improved purchase intent for pea/faba jerky to 47 % after tasting. Optimal price points for all samples were lower than market price but similar to the average cost of beef jerky.