Beyond «lab-grown»: Trust and terminology shape cultivated meat acceptance
Consumers in the US and Germany are more likely to choose and pay more for cellular agriculture meat (CAM) when it is labeled «cultured» or «cultivated» rather than «lab-grown,» according to a new study. For cultivated meat companies, the findings mean branding and consumer trust are likely to be as important to business success as the technology itself.
The study also identifies food neophobia (reluctance to try new foods) as a major barrier to CAM acceptance, with highly neophobic consumers tending to reject the product regardless of the terminology used.
Katherine Fuller, Caroline Andrews, Larissa Drescher, Jutta Roosen, Shijun Gao, David L. Kaplan, Sean B. Cash. A comparative choice experiment on naming effects for cellular agriculture meat products, Food Quality and Preference, Volume 145,
2026, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2026.105999