Reimagining beef: Consumer attitudes and acceptance of upcycled animal feed

Increasing environmental and ethical concerns are driving the transition toward more sustainable livestock production systems. However, consumer acceptance remains a critical and underexplored bottleneck, particularly for beef from animals fed agro-industrial by-products. In this context, we investigated Italian consumer attitudes and acceptance of beef derived from cattle fed hazelnut skins (HSs), a by-product of the hazelnut processing industry classified as waste under EU regulation, representing a novel circular economy application. An online survey (CAWI) was administered to 900 Italian beef consumers in 2023. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified five attitudinal patterns: Conscious and Confident, Food Neophilic, Environmentally Concerned, Animal Nutrition Concerned, and Food Neophobic. K-means cluster analysis on PCA scores yielded five consumer segments, characterized by socio-demographic variables and attitudes toward novel foods. Age and sensitivity to sustainability significantly predicted acceptance of HS-fed beef. The Informed, Curious, and Concerned segment (24%) reported the highest acceptability (mean = 5.58/7) and environmental sustainability scores (mean = 5.83/7). The Informed Meat-Eaters segment (14.2%) showed the strongest health benefit perceptions (mean = 5.13/7). Older consumers, concentrated on the Sustainable and Selective cluster, showed more moderate acceptance, moderated by food neophobia. We are some of the first to examine consumer segmentation in the context of beef from farms fed with by-products in Italy. Our findings provide actionable guidance for differentiated communication strategies across consumer segments and inform policymakers on promoting circular food systems.