Background: Even the lowest-impact animal-based food production has a much larger negative impact on the environment compared to plant-based alternatives. The lifestyle change of reducing meat consumption would decrease the negative impact of the food sector. One key obstacle to adopting this more sustainable diet are the inhibitors of the consumption of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). The most commonly identified inhibitors are sensory attributes, price, health concerns, unfamiliarity with PBMAs and unwillingness to change.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain the impact of inhibitors of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) consumption among meat-eaters in Sweden.

Methodology: A quantitative and deductive research strategy was employed as the means of gathering data. The cross-sectional research design was used with the usage of self-completion questionnaires and administered on Facebook and Reddit. The sampling method employed convenience and purposive sampling and resulted in 334 responses (307 valid). The collected valid data was then cleaned, coded and subsequently examined through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. 

Findings: The conducted regression analysis revealed that sensory attributes (H1), health concerns (H3), unfamiliarity (H4) and unwillingness to change (H5) had a significant negative impact on the consumption of PBMAs among meat-eaters in Sweden, thus these hypotheses were accepted. Price (H2) was found non-significant, resulting in the rejection of H2. Conclusion: The most impactful factor inhibiting the consumption of PBMAs among meat-eaters in Sweden was found to be sensory attributes (β = -0.265), followed by unwillingness to change (β = -0.238), health concerns (β = -0.161) and finally the least impactful unfamiliarity (β = -0.113). High prices were not an inhibitor of PBMA consumption among meat-eaters in Sweden.

Conclusion: The most impactful factor inhibiting the consumption of PBMAs among meat-eaters in Sweden was found to be sensory attributes (β = -0.265), followed by unwillingness to change (β = -0.238), health concerns (β = -0.161) and finally the least impactful unfamiliarity (β = -0.113). High prices were not an inhibitor of PBMA consumption among meat-eaters in Sweden.