Valio – Category use of plant-based meat substitute products

nSight lead a challenging research set up with a very professional manner all the way from research planning to presentation. The results had been analysed very comprehensively and the final report was very insightful and clear! It was a pleasure to work with the insightful, efficient and friendly nSight team!

Laura Penttilä, Consumer Insight Manager

The demand for plant-based protein products has increased rapidly over the last few years. To be able to offer even better solutions to the consumers’ changing eating habits, Valio wanted to deepen its understanding of the plant-based protein products; to study the way consumers use the category overall but also to understand the needs and wishes consumers have towards the products in the category.

In order to serve also the information needs of the Food Service –business sector, the research set up considered both consumers’ and professional kitchens’ viewpoints. The data was collected via quantitative studies among consumers and representatives of professional kitchens. In the analysis stage, storified results were complemented further with the consideration of attitudinal differences between different consumer groups and by comparing the B2B results between public and commercial operators.

Through this project, Valio gained valuable and actionable insights to support its product and portfolio development of plant-based protein products. With the help of the insightful findings, Valio gained very concrete recommendations even to the level of product feature optimization. Furthermore, results provided fuel for Valio’s business development overall by offering understanding of the key challenges and opportunities related to the plant-based protein category.