Consumer segmentation based on food-related lifestyles for targeted promotion of legume consumption in Germany

Legumes are central to healthy, sustainable diets, yet consumption in Germany remains far below recommendations and is unevenly distributed across the population. This study investigates how legume use becomes normalized as a daily behavior across lifestyle groups. Building on an extended Food-Related Lifestyle (FRL) framework and a multidimensional behavioral concept of normalization, we operationalize normalization as familiarity with legumes, diversity of legume products used, and frequency of consumption across 56 at-home legume products. A cross-sectional online survey (n = 1998) with quota sampling for key sociodemographic captured legume behavior's, FRL traits, perceptions, and motivators. Exploratory factor analysis yielded seven lifestyle-related constructs. Latent class analysis identified seven segments that differed markedly in normalization indicators: "Responsible Foodies" and "Foodies" showed highest familiarity, variety, and frequency, whereas "Disinterested Penny Pinchers" and "Habitual Eaters" showed the lowest levels. Ordinary least squares regressions indicated that food innovativeness and responsibility, but not involvement, were positively associated with normalization indicators, highlighting openness to novelty and moral concern as key drivers. Principal component analysis of legume perceptions revealed legume-type-driven perceptual structures that were largely shared across segments, indicating a partial perception-behavior decoupling. Willingness to increase intake and motivators differed substantially between segments. Overall, normalization appears as a lifestyle-embedded process shaped by stable orientations and structural conditions rather than by attitudes alone. Theoretically, the study integrates lifestyle segmentation, innovation diffusion logic, and behavioral embedding into a unified account of dietary normalization. The findings inform segment-responsive strategies combining culinary inspiration with affordability, convenience, and digestibility to promote routine legume consumption.