Consumers’ Perspectives Regarding the Nutraceutical Nature of Spirulina: Perceptions of the Nourishing-Naturalness and Tastiness Tablets Vs Flakes

AbstractSpirulina is a good source of protein, and its acceptance could contribute to addressing the health and environmental problems associated with meat consumption. Because of its nutraceutical nature, spirulina is commercially available as tablets or as a food ingredient, which looks like a spiral flake in its natural state. This study uses the appearance of spirulina (flake and tablet) to evaluate consumers’ perceptions of two benefits (nutritiousness and naturalness) to influence expected tastiness. A between-group experiment evaluates the effect of the spirulina flake/tablet on tastiness, mediated by nutritiousness and naturalness. The analysis is conducted using a sequential regression method (PROCESS for SPSS). The results show that spirulina flakes are perceived to be more nutritious than tablets. Next, perceived nutritiousness positively predicts naturalness, improving expected tastiness. The discussion advocates communicating expected tastiness by emphasizing algae’s naturalness and ecological contributions to advance its consumption.Keywords: Algaeconsumer behaviornaturalness perceptionnutraceuticalnutritiousness perceptiontastinessSUBJECT CLASSIFICATION CODES: M30M31 AcknowledgmentsMy gratitude to Granja Mamá Lombriz for sharing their knowledge about spirulina and providing the algae samples.Disclosure statementThere are no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to report.