Consumer segmentation study on food waste prevention

Abstract: The European Commission has committed to halving food waste by 2030 in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3 and proposed legally binding targets to cut food waste by 30% per capita in retail, food services, and households. These goals and the concentration of food waste at household level requires the design of effective actions to prevent food waste, targeted and tailored to the different individual and contextual drivers of individuals’ food waste. This study employs a latent class regression model to categorize European consumers into three distinct segments based on their self-reported frequency of food waste and factors predicting this frequency. Based on the study outcomes, we distinguish between aware food wasters, pragmatic food wasters and unconcerned food wasters. Aware food wasters are sensitive to ethical, environmental, and economic concerns, but still discard food due to behavioural gaps. Pragmatic food wasters prioritize economic considerations but have relatively limited environmental concerns. Unconcerned food wasters, predominantly younger and male, display relatively little awareness of food waste consequences. Cross-country comparisons reveal regional variations in the prevalence of these consumer segments, reflecting cultural, economic and behavioural aspects specific to each country. Based on this evidence, we discuss the potential of targeting and tailoring actions to the segments identified in this report for three types of interventions: information-based actions, tools, and coaching activities. These intervention types have specific benefits regarding the distinct motivation, opportunity and ability factors that define the segments and are expected to be more effective than a `one-sizefits-all approach´. However, further research to verify the effectiveness of targeted and tailored food waste reduction actions is required.