A goal-directed approach to promoting insect-based foods through shared features

Consumer acceptance of insect-based foods remains low despite their potential benefits for health and sustainability. One approach to addressing this challenge is to leverage similarities between unfamiliar and familiar foods to shape how they are evaluated in relation to consumption goals, such as taste and health. Drawing on the Shared Features Principle and the Goal-Directed Perspective, we tested whether sharing a perceptual feature with a source food can transfer goal-relevant attributes (taste or health) to a target food, thereby influencing its perceived utility for consumption. Across two preregistered experiments (total N = 341), participants completed a learning task in which two target foods were paired with either a tasty or a healthy source food via a shared colored frame. Experiment 1 employed neutral food items, whereas Experiment 2 used insect-based foods. Following the learning phase, participants' evaluations were assessed using goal-specific semantic differentials, behavioural intention scales, and a Brief Implicit Association Test (BIAT). In both experiments, target foods paired with goal-relevant sources were evaluated as more effective for achieving the corresponding goal. Effects were consistent across self-report measures and, to a lesser extent, on the indirect measure. These findings suggest that simple feature-based interventions can shape food evaluations by modifying their perceived utility in relation to specific consumption goals, even for products that may elicit negative reactions. This approach offers a novel and potentially scalable strategy for promoting the acceptance of sustainable food alternatives.