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Marketing Seaweed

Who are the future seaweed consumers in a Western society, insights from Australia

The purpose of this paper is to profile the consumers who are likely to eat seaweed products in Australia. The paper identifies education, familiarity, food neophobia (FNeo), symbolic value of food consumption, health consciousness, as well as snacking behaviour as significant predictors of likelihood to eat seaweed products. Consumers with a university degree (i.e. undergraduates and postgraduates) are four times more likely to eat seaweed products, and those familiar with seaweed products have a 7.6 higher likelihood to eat seaweed products. FNeo makes the largest contribution to the consumer’s likelihood to eat seaweed.

Publisher: British Food Journal

Author: Dawn Birch, Kare Skallerud and Nicholas A Paul

Year: 2019

Who eats seaweed? An Australian perspective

Current seaweed consumption and attitudes and preferences toward seaweed food products in a Western society are investigated to inform the seaweed industry regarding product development and marketing strategies. A national survey of 521 Australian consumers was conducted. About 75% of respondents had eaten seaweed; however, only 37% had consumed seaweed regularly over the past 12 months. Key drivers include health and nutritional benefits, taste, being natural, safe, and fresh. Critical barriers are lack of knowledge and familiarity, and the perception that seaweed is expensive.

Publisher: Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing

Author: Dawn Birch, Kare Skallerud and Nicholas A Paul

Year: 2019

Factors influencing the consumption of seaweed amongst young adults

Seaweed has been traditionally consumed in Asian and Pacific cultures, yet aside from sushi, is still not commonly eaten in Western societies. Edible seaweeds offer distinct nutritional benefits to terrestrial crops, particularly with respect to mineral and fibre content. Understanding the motivations that drive young Australians to eat seaweed is necessary for food product development and consumer marketing strategies, as well as informing future sustainable production through seaweed aquaculture and wild-harvest practices.

Publisher: Foods Journal

Author: Mikaela Young, Nicholas Paul, Dawn Birch, Libby Swanepoel

Year: 2022

US consumer preferences and attituides toward seaweed and value-added products

This paper provides a comprehensive understanding of US consumers’ preferences and attitudes toward seaweed and value‐ added seaweed products. Specifically, the study focuses on two distinct consumer groups: those who consume seaweed and those who do not. It includes separate analyses for each group to compare their attitudes and examine the characteristics and factors affecting their attitudes. This paper summarizes the different characteristics of seaweed consumers and nonconsumers.

Publisher: Agribusiness Journal

Author: Qiujie Zheng, Christopher V. Davis, Anne Langston Neil, Raymond Bernier and Randy Labbe

Year: 2022

Chapter 15, Utilisation of seaweeds in the Australian market – commercialisation strategies: current trends and future prospects

Australia’s seaweed industry shows significant potential for growth, driven by its rich biodiversity, emerging commercial applications, and focus on sustainability. Seaweed products span food, biofertilizers, cosmetics, and wastewater treatment. Barriers include regulatory challenges, market readiness, and the need for innovation in cultivation and processing.

Publisher: Switzerland Springer Nature

Author: Charu Deepika, Juliane Wolf, Navid Moheimani, Ben Hankamer, Brian von Herzen, Ambati Ranga Rao

Year: 2022

Consumers’ values, attitudes and behaviours towards consuming seaweed food products

Seaweed has great potential as a natural, healthy, and sustainable food. Seaweed as food is novel in Western countries; thus, few studies have focused on the factors influencing consumers’ behavioural tendencies towards seaweed food products. This study aimed to fill the gap by investigating the antecedents for consumers’ attitudes towards as well as their consumption of seaweed food products in a representative sample of Norwegian consumers

Publisher: Food Research International Journal

Author: Florent Govaerts and Svein Ottar Olsen

Year: 2023

Eating Macro-Algae (Seaweed): Understanding factor driving New Zealand consumers’ willingness to eat and their perceived trust towards country of origin

Macro-algae is an umbrella term for seaweed, which is an important ingredient in many novel food products in New Zealand and other Australasian countries. While attitudes, consumption motivation, knowledge, and socio-demographic consumer profiles have been investigated in specific countries in the region, consumer behavior such as willingness to eat and factors driving this behavior have not yet been explored. Therefore, the present study fills this research gap in a New Zealand context and explores predictors of New Zealand consumers’ willingness to eat macro-algae and their perceived trust towards the countries of origin of these products. The symbolic value of food, health importance, food safety concerns, and food fussiness were the factors under investigation.

Publisher: Foods Journal

Author: Meike Rombach and David L Dean

Year: 2024

Lessons learned marketing seaweed products in the US 2024

The report highlights key insights into marketing seaweed products in the U.S., focusing on consumer education, market positioning, sustainability messaging, and addressing barriers like taste and awareness to drive demand for seaweed as a sustainable food source.

Publisher: Seagreen Insights

Author: Mike Blakely and Elaine Blakely

Year: 2024

Marketing Seaweed

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