From Feed to Feast: Influencer and Follower Interactions Regarding Plant-based Consumption on Social Media

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. This study examines social media associations and sentiments on plant-based ingredients through case studies of influencers in Denmark and selected export countries. This study evaluates the influence of social media influencers’ (SMIs) content on consumer engagement and socio-cultural factors associated with plant-based ingredients. This study is based on publicly available posts from ten selected micro SMIs (followers 10k to 100k) and macro-SMIs (followers 100k to 1 million) and followers’ interactions to their posts from Instagram Graph API from 31 December 2023 to 31 December 2024 from Denmark, Spain, United Kingdom and Italy. SMIs were selected based on their promotion of plant-based food consumption, for instance through cooking recipes and lifestyle content. A sentiment analysis is conducted using a Lexicon-based approach and Python for coding and analyses to assess followers’ attitude towards plant-based ingredients and sustainable food consumption, focusing on the engagement regarding the SMIs posts. The research underscores the significant growth of digital ecosystems and provides strong insights on promoting more eco-conscious consumption patterns and advancement in sustainable food transitions through SMIs engagement globally.