The Impact of Environmental, Nutritional, and Animal Welfare Labeling of Plant-Based Cream Cheese on Consumer Perception.

Plant-based alternatives (PBAs) to dairy products are increasingly positioned as nutritionally beneficial, sustainable, and ethical food choices; however, consumer acceptance of PBAs remains limited, partly due to sensory challenges and uncertainty surrounding effective product communication strategies. This study investigated the influence of environmental, nutritional, and animal welfare labeling on consumer perception of plant-based cream cheese (PBCC). A total of 114 consumers evaluated the same commercially available PBCC under four labeling conditions: blinded (control) and with statements about nutritional benefits, environmental benefits, and animal welfare. Participants completed hedonic evaluations of appearance, flavor, texture, and overall liking; check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions for sensory and emotional attributes; and a willingness-to-purchase question. Prior to sensory testing, participants also completed word association tasks and comment questions to assess baseline perceptions of PBCC. Sensory properties, particularly creaminess, smoothness, and spreadability characteristics, emerged as central drivers of consumer expectations and acceptance. Labeling significantly influenced consumer responses despite the product remaining unchanged. Nutritional and animal welfare claims significantly increased overall liking compared to the control (p < 0.05), while animal welfare labeling also significantly improved the texture liking and willingness to purchase scores. Environmental labeling produced comparatively weaker effects. CATA results demonstrated that nutritional and animal welfare labels were associated with more favorable sensory and emotional responses, supporting the presence of a label-induced halo effect. These findings suggest that strategic nutritional and ethical messaging may enhance consumer acceptance of PBCCs. The results provide valuable insight for the development and marketing of plant-based dairy alternatives. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The findings of this study provide insight for manufacturers and marketers of plant-based alternatives seeking to improve consumer acceptance of plant-based cream cheese. Results demonstrate that nutritional and animal welfare labeling can positively influence consumer perception, overall liking, and willingness to purchase, even when product formulation remains unchanged. Animal welfare claims showed the strongest positive influence, indicating that ethical messaging may resonate more strongly than environmental sustainability claims for this product. However, sensory properties remain important, as smoothness, spreadability, dairy-like characteristics, and the absence of aftertaste were identified as critical drivers of acceptance.