What do Asian consumers crave in alternative seafood?
First-of-its-kind survey shows what would motivate consumers in Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea to leave fish in the sea and choose plant-based or cultivated seafood instead.
[Header photo credit: Shiok Meats]
Introduction
The alternative protein industry is experiencing extraordinary growth around the world with more than 1,000 companies now developing products and $5 billion (USD) in global alternative protein investments in 2021 alone. And yet, the alternative seafood industry remains much smaller than the alternative terrestrial meat and dairy sectors, and to date, little research has been done to understand consumers’ attitudes toward alternative seafood.
In 2020, GFI commissioned alternative seafood-specific consumer research in the U.S. and published the findings. In 2021, GFI APAC commissioned similar research in four countries across Asia. The vast majority of the world’s seafood is produced and consumed in this region, so understanding local consumers’ preferences and obstacles as they pertain to alternative seafood consumption will be key to the global industry’s success. For this survey series, we selected Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand, all of which are large consumers of conventional seafood and regional hubs of food tech innovation.
This study—commissioned by GFI APAC and executed by consumer insights company, Getwizer—surveyed 1,000 residents in each of the four countries. Surveys were conducted online among a general population sample, defined as individuals between the ages of 18-65. The surveys were written and conducted in a major local language in each respective country. The study also included soft census quotas to ensure a representative sample of core demographics appropriate for each country (i.e. gender, age, region, income, and ethnicity).
This research is intended to support entrepreneurs, startups, investors, researchers, major food companies, and other stakeholders in creating and marketing products that best suit consumers’ needs and preferences.
Key takeaways:
- Taste is the baseline for both plant-based and cultivated seafood in all four countries.
- Guaranteed lack of mercury and other heavy metal contamination was also a top driver across all countries.
- Concern about potential taste shortcomings as well as the perceived lack of “freshness” and “naturalness” of plant-based and cultivated products were leading barriers to consumption across all four countries.
- Respondents in Thailand were the most enthusiastic about alternative seafood.
- Lack of familiarity and trust indicate that respondents need more exposure to and information about alternative seafood.
- Respondents showed similar levels of interest in plant-based and cultivated seafood in Singapore, Thailand, and South Korea, indicating that there is value in pursuing both alternative seafood options. Respondents in Japan were more enthusiastic about plant-based seafood than cultivated. However, when asked specifically about the barriers to alternative seafood consumption, “nothing would stop me from consuming it” and “I don’t know enough about it” were among the top responses, indicating that this is more of a consumer education gap than an informed rejection.
Consumer familiarity
While mock meat and tofu have existed in all four countries’ diets for centuries, each country has its own perceptions and expectations for next-generation alternative proteins. Understanding consumer familiarity with more technologically advanced meat alternatives can help determine how much more consumer education is needed for products to appeal to consumers.
Respondents answered several questions before being introduced to the concepts of alternative seafood. Prior to that introduction, respondents from Singapore, Japan, and South Korea were less likely to be familiar with plant-based seafood than other plant-based proteins currently on the market. In Thailand, only plant-based beef was less familiar to respondents than plant-based seafood, indicating that across all four countries, awareness of plant-based seafood as a market option remains very low.
How familiar are you with the following?
Total
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
Drivers and barriers
Respondents were asked to select the key barriers and drivers to alternative seafood consumption.
Drivers
Across all four countries, the most important attributes* determining whether or not respondents were interested in buying alternative seafood were taste and a guaranteed lack of mercury or other heavy metals. Health benefits and lack of “fishy” smell were also important drivers across all four countries.
While taste and health were non-negotiable attributes, respondents also placed importance on functional benefits such as ease of cooking, shelf life, and availability at the grocery store. Once taste is achieved and lack of heavy metals is confirmed, there’s value in manufacturing products that can perform in ways that easily fit into consumers’ busy lives.
*This is based on the highest percentage of respondents in each country that marked an attribute “extremely important.”
How important are each of the following in determining whether or not to buy alternative seafood?
Total
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
Barriers
Respondents were asked to identify barriers to alternative seafood consumption before and after they were split into two groups—cultivated and plant-based—and given a brief introduction to the technology. Before the split, respondents were asked which factors might stop them from consuming alternative seafood over conventional seafood. Price was a leading barrier in Singapore and Thailand. In Japan, the leading barrier was simply the desire to have the conventional product instead of the alternative one, followed by a lack of knowledge about alternative seafood. In South Korea, the leading barrier was skepticism about whether the flavour would be similar to conventional seafood, followed by a lack of knowledge.
After respondents were split into groups and given a brief introduction to either plant-based or cultivated seafood, they were asked which barriers might stop them from choosing plant-based or cultivated seafood. Concern about perceived taste was a leading barrier to future consumption of plant-based and cultivated seafood across all four countries.
In Singapore, concern about the freshness and naturalness of both plant-based and cultivated products as well as lack of availability of plant-based seafood in the grocery store were leading barriers after taste. This concern could reflect Singaporeans’ preference for fresh seafood over processed or value-added seafood. Not wanting to try something new was the least significant barrier to respondents in Singapore, who are well-known for their eagerness to explore new foods and flavours.
After taste, respondents in Japan selected that “nothing would stop me from choosing it” as a leading “barrier” to consuming plant-based seafood. Lack of trust was a leading barrier to cultivated seafood consumption. Japanese consumers are known to be health conscious and place importance on products produced in Japan. This could explain the lack of trust in a new technology such as cultivated seafood. In June 2022 (after this survey was conducted), Japan’s Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry selected a group of researchers to investigate the safety of cultivated meat and seafood, signifying that the country is making progress toward developing a regulatory framework for cultivated proteins, which could help reassure skeptical local consumers.
In South Korea, not seeing plant-based seafood in the grocery store was the second leading barrier to plant-based seafood consumption after taste. Preferring to select seafood while it is alive or freshly slaughtered was also a top barrier to consumption across plant-based and cultivated seafood. Additionally, lack of trust and concern about freshness and naturalness were leading barriers to cultivated seafood consumption. Government regulation could play a role in mitigating these concerns. In August 2022, South Korea announced that its national plan will outline a path to evaluate the safety and manufacturing processes of cultivated meat and seafood.
Respondents in Thailand ranked lack of availability in grocery stores as the leading barrier to plant-based seafood consumption followed by concern about taste, freshness, and naturalness. Historically, many Thai consumers have preferred to purchase fish at a wet market rather than supermarket, so that they can find the “freshest” fish by looking at various characteristics (eye colour, smell, etc.)—a traditional practice that is challenging to replicate with alternative seafood. Concern about taste was the leading barrier to cultivated seafood consumption, followed by freshness and naturalness.
Which of the following might stop you from choosing plant-based or cultivated seafood?
Total
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
Appeal and purchase intent of plant-based and cultivated seafood
The table below shows respondents’ sentiments about the two categories of alternative seafood—plant-based and cultivated. Respondents in Japan had the largest difference between the appeal and future purchase intent of plant-based versus cultivated seafood. The majority of respondents in Thailand found alternative seafood—both plant-based and cultivated—appealing and indicated strong future purchase intent. According to a 2022 Mintel report, Thai consumers are increasingly incorporating more plant-based foods into their diets, and in 2022, 24 percent of the surveyed Thai consumers set a future goal to switch from eating animal-based meat to plant-based meat.
One should keep in mind that these responses must be combined with other findings—such as consumer familiarity and product availability—for a fuller picture. For example, based on the table, launching a cultivated seafood company in Japan doesn’t look appealing. However, Japanese respondents’ leading barrier to consuming cultivated seafood was lack of trust and they had the lowest level of familiarity with all of the plant-based products. Therefore, for a cultivated seafood product to be successful in Japan, more resources need to be directed toward consumer education with an emphasis on transparency.
PB: Plant-based C: Cultivated
Benefits of alternative seafood
Taste and lack of mercury are the leading drivers of alternative seafood purchase intent. However, respondents also showed interest in the environmental, health, food safety attributes, and product/functional factors associated with plant-based and cultivated seafood.
Food safety and health
Respondents ranked the health and safety benefits of plant-based and cultivated seafood similarly. As we saw above, lack of mercury contamination was a leading benefit of alternative seafood in all four countries. The second leading food safety and health benefit considerations in Singapore and Japan were alternative seafood’s absence of microplastics and reduced risk of foodborne illness, respectively. In South Korea and Thailand, the second leading food safety and health benefit considerations were a low risk of foodborne illness and richness in omega-3s—an attribute that has become increasingly popular among leading alternative seafood producers in Asia, North America, and Europe.
How important are each of the following in your decision to eat alternative seafood?
Total
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
Clean label = contains few and easily recognisable ingredients
Environmental
There was very little variation in the importance of environmental benefits among respondents. However, saving ocean habitats, reducing plastic waste in the ocean from fishing, reducing environmental pollution and antibiotic use from fish farms, and reducing overfishing were among the top environmental benefits across all four countries. Reducing antibiotic use from fish farms was ranked higher for South Korea and Thailand than it was in Singapore and Japan.
How important are each of the following in your decision to eat alternative seafood?
Total
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
Product/functional
There was also very little variation in the importance of product/functional benefits. Good flavour and texture, product consistency, and ease of preparation were among the highest-ranked benefits across all four countries. South Korea ranked lack of fishy smell and product availability higher than the other three countries.
How important are each of the following in your decision to eat alternative seafood?
Total
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
Appealing species and forms of alternative seafood
Seafood preferences vary greatly from region to region. Understanding which species and forms of seafood are consumed in each of the four countries is imperative when choosing which alternative seafood products to develop and launch in specific countries.
Species
Finding product-market fit is important for both early-stage startups as well as large corporations. This research sought to determine which specific types of seafood consumers are craving. All respondents were asked to select which species they would be interested in purchasing plant-based or cultivated versions of.
Respondents in Singapore were the most interested in plant-based and cultivated salmon and shrimp/prawns, which are among the most commonly consumed species in Singapore.
In Japan, respondents were most interested in plant-based crab and cultivated tuna. Japanese consumers are already familiar with imitation crab—Kanikama—which might explain their interest in plant-based crab. Tuna is a widely consumed, popular fish, and fear around dwindling supply may have contributed to these answers.
Respondents in South Korea were most interested in plant-based and cultivated shrimp/prawns and squid, which are also the most consumed species of conventional seafood. Some of the most popular dishes in the country—served everywhere from school cafeterias to military bases—are squid soup, fried calamari, shrimp ramen, and steamed shrimp with Korean gochujang.
In Thailand, respondents were most interested in cultivated and plant-based shrimp/prawns, the conventional versions of which are key ingredients in Tom Yum soup—a beloved local delicacy.
Imagine that alternative versions of the following species of fish and shellfish were available to you. Which would you be interested in purchasing?
Total
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
Form
In addition to species, understanding which forms and applications of alternative seafood consumers are craving will help with product development. Learning about popular seafood dishes in each region and understanding how and where different seafood dishes are consumed will help manufacturers develop products fit for purpose.
As an omnivore or flexitarian, which form(s) of seafood products have you consumed in the past month?
Total
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
Consumer segmentation by demographic
Respondents were grouped into the following three categories based on how appealing they found plant-based or cultivated seafood and how likely they were to purchase either option.
- Alternative seafood enthusiasts: those who find alternative seafood very appealing and are very likely to purchase in the future
- Alternative seafood interested: those who are neither enthusiasts nor rejectors
- Alternative seafood rejectors: those who do not find alternative seafood appealing and are unlikely to purchase it in the future
Respondents had to answer a series of demographic questions. While we strived to get a representative sample across several different demographic categories, the income spread among survey participants in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea skewed higher than the national median incomes. Given that these insights largely come from a wealthier subset of the population, cost is likely an even more important factor than the data shows. For Thailand, the sample is more evenly spread around the national average income.
In Singapore and Thailand, more respondents were alt seafood enthusiasts than alt seafood rejectors. South Korea and Japan were the opposite. As we saw in the “barriers” section, Japanese and South Korean respondents tended to be less trusting of alternative seafood and more skeptical of products’ naturalness and freshness.
Women were more likely to be alternative seafood enthusiasts, and men were more likely to be rejectors in Thailand, Singapore, and South Korea. In Japan, men were more likely to be alternative seafood enthusiasts than women.
Japan
The vast majority (99.3 percent) of people surveyed were Japanese in nationality, with Chinese, Korean, and Filipino comprising the remaining 0.7 percent.
Singapore
The majority (82.4 percent) of respondents were ethnically Chinese, 8.4 percent were Malay, 5.2 Indian, and 4 percent were from other groups.
South Korea
98.6 percent of respondents were ethnically Korean. Chinese, Vietnamese, and American respondents comprised the remaining 1.4 percent.
Thailand
98.5 percent of the respondents were ethnically Thai, with 0.7 percent Chinese, 0.3 percent Khmer, and 0.3 percent Karen. The majority of the respondents (51.2 percent) were from central Thailand and were therefore more representative of an urban audience than rural.
Dietary preferences
Industry growth is dependent upon plant-based and cultivated seafood’s appeal to consumers other than just vegans and vegetarians, who still comprise a small percentage of the total population in all four countries. The graph below shows each dietary category broken into consumer type—enthusiasts, interested, and rejectors. This data elucidates which consumers are the most enthusiastic about alternative seafood and which need more convincing. It also clearly shows the tremendous opportunity there is amongst flexitarians, pescatarians, and omnivores, as—especially in Singapore and Thailand—large proportions of those consumer segments are interested in alternative seafood.
What is your dietary preference?
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
Respondents who selected “other” had to write in answers: Japan n=20: No preference/restrictions, carnivore; Singapore n=11: Mostly meat, no preference, halal, keto; South Korea n=1: Low sodium diet; Thailand n=3: carnivore
Conclusion
Alternative seafood remains a whitespace in the global alternative protein landscape. The number of companies developing alternative seafood for the U.S. and European markets is growing, but the majority of conventional seafood is produced and consumed in Asia. While conventional seafood has historically been plentiful in Asia Pacific, studies show that the conventional seafood industry as it exists today will not be able to meet growing protein demand in the coming decades. Alternative seafood offers a safer and more sustainable form of seafood production to help satisfy that surging demand.
As we work to shift global food systems to feed our growing population, enhancing alternative seafood’s ability to appeal to Asian consumers is critical. Consumer studies such as this one help alternative protein manufacturers better understand how to appeal to consumers. This study shows that more awareness and education about alternative proteins, in general, are needed in the surveyed countries. Additionally, alternative seafood products need to deliver on taste and incorporate strategic messaging about their nutrition and health benefits, such as their lack of mercury. While ingredient optimisation, sensory testing, and innovative manufacturing techniques will ultimately help products deliver on taste, frequent sampling and targeted marketing campaigns also play an important role in giving consumers a positive impression of alternative seafood flavour.
