Drivers of plant-based convenience foods consumption: Results of a multicomponent extension of the theory of planned behaviour

Current lifestyles always pose increasing time pressure that can result in unhealthy diets. Our study addresses the role that high-quality plant-based convenience foods can play in promoting healthier consumptions. While convenience foods are in fact often associated with poor nutritional values, the spread of healthy convenience foods could respond to the needs of new lifestyles and promote better food choices. The study is based on a multicomponent model of the Theory of Planned Behaviour that has made it possible to verify how control factors such as cooking skills, product availability, budget, time pressure, and interest in healthy eating can affect the consumption of precooked plant-based foods. The results of Structural Equation Models applied to a sample representative of the Italian population (600 individuals) highlight the presence of a consistent group of consumers (almost 70%) that consider plant-based convenience foods as a useful means to improve their diet. For this cluster, the control factors that significantly influence behaviour are market availability, interest in healthy eating, and time pressure. The advancements in knowledge that this research produces are translated into guidelines for producers, retailers, and policy makers that, in synergy, might encourage consumers to replace unhealthy foods with healthy ones.