EXPLORING THE ROLE OF DIGITAL INFLUENCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY IN SHAPING CONSUMER SENTIMENT TOWARDS PLANT-BASED INGREDIENTS

Introduction: <br/>Consumer acceptance towards plant-based ingredients and alternative proteins is a crucial driver for societal preferences and sustainable food consumption which has potential to impact market growth. <br/>Goals &amp; Objectives: This study aims to analyze citizen-consumer associations, societal acceptance, and sentiments towards plant-based ingredients using social media influencers’ (SMIs) data. This study will also evaluate how SMIs affect consumer emotions associated with plant-based ingredients through their social media content. <br/>Materials &amp; Methods: This study will obtain publicly available datasets from ten selected micro SMIs (followers 10k to 100k) and macro-SMIs (followers 100k to 1 million) and consumer comments to their posts from Instagram Graph API from 31 December 2023 to 31 December 2024 from Denmark, Spain, United Kingdom (UK) and Italy. Major criteria include those influencers who promote plant-based ingredients through cooking recipes and lifestyle content. The sentimental analysis is conducted using a Lexicon-based approach and Python and PyCharm for coding and analyses. Final estimate of posts and comments can only be finalized after the screening process. <br/>Results: This study will provide a more in-depth understanding of consumer attitude and sentiment towards plant-based ingredients and sustainable food consumption and will assess the market potential for plant-based foods in selected countries, focusing on SMI and their impact on buying decisions. Conclusions: The research will underscore the significant growth of digital ecosystems in re-shaping consumer behavior. Further, it will offer strong insights about promoting more eco-conscious consumption patterns and advancement in sustainable food transitions through social media influencer engagement globally.