Tasting the alternative: plant-based meat, consumer captivation and the capitalization of plants in food markets

How do new companies attempt to captivate customers in a food market they are substantially seeking to transform? Plant-based meat has been marketed as a revolutionary food product that will not only transform markets but also provide better health and reduced environmental harms. Building on conceptualizations of captivation, we analyze video ads from leading brands. Our results highlight four modalities of consumer captivation that we refer to as (a) Cali-ology, emphasizing a “West Coast” lifestyle filled by lively gatherings of people enjoying food together; (b) scientism, mobilizing technology and turning chemistry into magic; (c) celebritism, emphasizing health, athletes and a-list celebrities as supporters of plant-based meat; and (d) tasteology, defining sensory knowledge and pleasure as developed by social practices and what is inside foodstuffs. Inferring a transition from matters of concern, such as health and environment, to consumers’ sensory pleasure, these modalities together make up what we term plant capitalization.