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The purpose of this study comes from the need of defining improved durability values and the realization of a good traceability management for selected vegan cheeses has suggested the comparison between a processed cheese and its analogous version without animal-origin raw materials. The durability should be studied at a well-defined temperature, probably agreed among the food producer and the food processor. In addition, the traceability system should consider many components and related suppliers.

A supply chain risk assessment analysis has been carried out with relation to two different products: an analogue cheese and a vegan cheese-like preparation. Raw materials and ingredients have been evaluated (production method and origin; geographical identification), with the aim of identifying simplified food.

An assessment of food supply networks has been carried out. In the first situation (analogue cheeses), the ingredient “cheeses” shows an important complexity: five suppliers with a related six-interconnection hub. On the other side, vegan cheeses are obtained from 11 ingredients (a challenging hub); four of them may be produced from 2–5 components of different origin (five total hubs). Tested processed cheeses are represented by means of a linear food supply network with two hubs (cheeses and “arrival” show degrees 6 and 9, respectively). Networks concerning vegan cheeses include five different hubs: four complex raw materials (degree: 2, 3, 4 and 5) and the “arrival” step (degree: 12).

The information load of vegan cheeses (two hubs, degrees >> average degree) appears high if compared with processed cheeses (two hubs), although the complexity of networks appears similar. Vegan cheeses may seem technologically simpler than processed cheeses and be sometimes questioned because of important traceability issues. Adequate traceability countermeasures in terms of preventive monitoring actions should be recommended when speaking of vegan cheeses. Anyway, a centralized manager would be always required.

Discusses the non‐dairy alternatives to milk and dairy products. Looks at a range of products suitable for the “vegan dairy” and compares the nutrient profiles with those of traditional milk and dairy products. Concludes that vegans should choose non‐dairy alternative products which have been fortified. The way forward is to expand the range of fortified “vegan dairy” products, to increase the availability of these foods and, in time, to reduce their price.

The aim of this study was to compare the organoleptic attributes and meltability of selected, commercial dairy-free imitation cheeses (DFICs) with those of their dairy counterparts to thus determine whether commercial DFIC needs to be further developed.

Market research was conducted to determine the availability of DFICs in the United Kingdom (UK) and thus select the varieties to assess. Mild cheddar was chosen for its popularity wide availability in the United Kingdom and Italian-style hard cheese for its complex organoleptic profile. The organoleptic attributes and melting properties of the chosen DFIC products were assessed by using descriptive sensory evaluation and their meltability was assessed using the Arnott test, respectively.

109 different DFICs were found; most of them (74%) presented coconut oil as their primary ingredient. None of the assessed DFICs assessed could mimic the organoleptic attributes of their dairy counterparts accurately; however, one of the non-dairy mild cheddar samples was regarded as potentially acceptable by the assessors of the sensory evaluation assessors. Nonetheless, the meltability of this sample was significantly lower than that of mild cheddar cheese.

The findings indicate that, to obtain products that can mimic the organoleptic attributes and meltability of cheese more accurately, further development is required for the DFIC varieties assessed.

No academic publications have explored and investigated commercial DFICs with similar ingredients to those found in commercial DFICs; the commercial importance of these products may augment in the short term owing to the reported growth in the number of vegan individuals in the UK and in Europe.

This paper aims to strengthen the process of design thinking by aligning it with netnography, specifically auto-netnography, which this paper asserts is particularly suited to the task of studying and enriching the actions of “designerly types” who seek to fashion monetisable businesses.

This paper conducts an auto-netnography with a structure divined from established design thinking theory – that of empathising, defining, ideating, prototyping and testing – to afford an understanding of how a popular health food influencer designs a successful vegan restaurant.

This paper illustrates the empathetic relationship between a long-term audience member and an entrepreneur/designer/marketer. The intimate cultural analysis reveals the nature of their symbiotic entwinement. In a way that few other methods could, the method shows how this sense of reciprocity, deepens over time.

Conducting an auto-netnography is a prolonged and difficult task. Nonetheless, by revealing the rituals, expectations, roles and routines of content creators, designers and followers, this paper illustrates exciting possibilities for the enactment and development of design thinking in the marketing field.

Designerly types such as marketers and content creators should closely study, listen to and interact with consumers by using a similarly staged process that draws equally from design thinking and auto-netnography.

Prior to this study, existing research has not previously linked design thinking with either netnographic or auto-netnographic research.

Technology-based food innovations are likely to face opposition in consumer acceptance despite certain perceived benefits. This study investigates distrust in scientists as a barrier to cultured meat acceptance and its interplay with positive drivers. For the latter, this study draws upon higher-order values (universalism) and domain-specific innovativeness.

This study proposes a conceptual model, which is empirically tested using an online survey of Austrian consumers (n = 509) and structural equation modelling.

First, this study provides empirical support for the inhibiting role of distrust in scientists on the acceptance of cultured meat. Second, universalism and domain-specific innovativeness both positively impact consumers' behavioural intentions. Third, this study finds that consumers' innovativeness mitigates the negative effect of distrust in scientists on the willingness to try cultured meat, whereas the value of universalism does not moderate this negative effect.

The findings are strategically useful for companies in the innovative food sector in terms of segmentation and targeting. For both companies and policymakers, the impeding role of distrust in scientists for technology-based food innovations depicts an aspect that might be considered relevant to be addressed.

This study adds to the current body of knowledge about consumer acceptance of technology-based food innovations, such as cultured meat, by jointly examining the relevance of human values, domain-specific innovativeness and distrust in scientists as well as their interactions to explain behavioural intentions.

The purpose of this study is to understand how perceived micro-celebrity-product image congruency and product type affect native advertising effectiveness on Instagram. Additionally, the study aims to understand how advertising skepticism and persuasion knowledge affect the effectiveness of native advertising featuring micro-celebrity.

This study was administered online using a 2 (product type: high self-expressive vs low self-expressive) × 2 (micro-celebrity and product congruity: congruent vs incongruent) between-subjects factorial design to test the hypotheses. A total of 186 participants, all Instagram users living in the USA, were recruited using an Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). After screening out 14 respondents who were not Instagram users or did not fully answer the questions, a total sample of 172 valid and complete responses were included for hypotheses testing.

The results revealed that when native advertising featured highly self-expressive products and micro-celebrities with good product image fit, consumers had a more positive attitude toward the ad and the brand, higher source credibility and higher electronic word-of-mouth intention. In addition, advertising skepticism was found to moderate the effect of micro-celebrity-product fit on source credibility.

This study is the first to examine the effect of micro-celebrity and product congruence on native advertising effectiveness. Moreover, the study provides a better understanding of the advertising skepticism and its influence on source credibility. It discusses why a micro-celebrity’s image is a critical factor in shaping attitudes toward native advertising. This study contributes to both the native adverting and influencer marketing literature.

This paper aims to investigates the effect of normative expectations in the purchase process on consumers’ value perceptions for prosocial products (e.g. environmentally friendly products) relative to conventional non-prosocial products. It extends the literature on both prosocial products and regulatory fit.

Five factorial experiments are employed, testing diverse samples, including Dutch university students and American online panel participants from the general population.

Findings show that regulatory fit between the prosocial product orientation and an emphasis on normative expectations in the purchase process (termed prosocial process fit) increases perceptions of prosocial product value (relative to conventional products). This effect is mediated by engagement.

The current research is limited to investigating how value perceptions of prosocial products can be increased (i.e. through prosocial process fit). Future research is warranted that analogously considers conditions that would increase value for non-prosocial products as well (e.g. by creating a fit with a non-prosocial process).

The research shows how prosocial manufacturers and retailers can redesign the purchase process to increase customers’ engagement, perceptions of prosocial product value and prosocial product purchase.

This work serves to explain differences in consumers’ value perceptions for prosocial products. Hence, it shows how socially responsible consumption can be better supported in society.

This work demonstrates a new kind of regulatory fit based on fit between prosocial products and normative expectations in the purchase process (i.e. moving beyond the types of regulatory fit previously examined in this context, such as with fit between regulatory focus orientation and goal pursuit). The authors use this to provide a much needed explanation for the heterogeneity in the literature regarding the value that consumers experience for prosocial products relative to conventional ones.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the innovation capacity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro enterprises through a theoretical framework that addresses the influence of some internal and external resources – derived from the literature review – on the development of innovation activities and on innovative firm’s results.

Based on a structured questionnaire, the empirical survey has involved 122 SMEs and micro enterprises of the most representative agrifood supply chains in the Campania region: dairy, wine, pasta and olive oil. The data have been then elaborated through the cluster analysis technique in order to explore any meaningful patterns that may exist in terms of the innovation capacity.

This study shows the existence of three clusters/innovation modes: collaborative innovators (CIs), non-collaborative innovators (NCIs), and non-innovators (NIs). Even though CIs represent 16.2 percent of the sample, this cluster shows an increased or stable revenue during 2011-2013 in comparison to the other two clusters.

This study provides a static view in comparison to the longitudinal analysis which could have provided a more dynamic view of the innovation capacity of agrifood SMEs and micro enterprises.

This is the first quantitative study focusing on the factors related to the innovation capacity of agrifood firms in the Campania Region. The study specifically analyses the innovation capacity of SMEs and micro enterprises. Moreover, it offers a comprehensive analysis of internal and external drivers to innovation.

This paper aims to empirically identify foodie features and examine their relevance in segmenting German consumers. Furthermore, this study explored potential differences between foodie segments in terms of food involvement and food knowledge.

Data were collected from 500 German respondents in October 2015 by means of two online surveys using a newly developed version of the foodie instrument based on existing literature. Confirmatory factor analysis, cluster analysis, analysis of variance and post hoc tests were applied to analyse the data.

Six distinct consumer segments were identified: passionate foodies (12.0%), interested foodies (21.5%); moderate foodies (21.7%), traditional foodies (17.1%), light foodies (18.2%) and non-foodies (9.5%). The nutritional knowledge questionnaire suggests that passionate foodies have only an average level of food literacy compared to other segments.

Behavioural traits and socio-demographic characteristics of foodies and other culinary consumer segments could be time-sensitive, thus future research should take a longitudinal approach so that subsequent decision-making is appropriately dynamic.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is a first step towards the development of a new foodie lifestyle scale which will be useful to identify, characterise and develop effective marketing strategies for targeting highly involved food consumers.

Of all industries, agri-food has one of the largest environmental impacts. Reducing the production and consumption of meat, dairy and seafood, and moving to predominantly plant-based diets, is key to lowering our environmental footprint. Veg-friendly restaurants play a key role in this transition as they have the capacity to build a greener dining scene (e.g. positively change consumer opinions towards vegan food). Hence, the purpose of this paper is to understand the entrepreneurial journey of veg-friendly restaurateurs.

The authors employed an inductive-qualitative approach to analyse 12 veg-friendly restaurants in three countries (Spain, Australia and Colombia). In addition to inspecting available data on the restaurants and their menus, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the restaurateurs to uncover (1) the impact of their venture for customers and society, (2) the drivers to establishing their businesses and (3) the challenges faced and strategies used in the management of veg-friendly restaurants.

This work recognises veg-friendly restaurateurs as key actors in building a sustainable future through a greener dining scene. The authors uncover the main drivers of the entrepreneurial journey and propose a multi-dimensional approach to identity and passion as key antecedents of entrepreneurial intention. The authors also discuss how social and sustainable entrepreneurship may be the expression of an activist behaviour. Finally, challenges and strategies to manage veg-friendly restaurants are discussed with directions that contribute to both theory and practice.

A switch towards vegan and vegetarian diets has important implications for ecology, society and the economy. While most research has focused on the consumer side, this paper is unique in understanding how veg-friendly restaurants emerge. This is quite distinctive in the literature regarding sustainable restaurants, which until now, has focused on the managers' adoption of sustainable practices rather than the restaurateurs' entrepreneurial journey. This work additionally builds new insights in the entrepreneurship literature, through uncovering the motivations, experiences and challenges of entrepreneurs that, in most cases, show activist attributes.