Things have been busy here at the Center of Excellence in Food, Tourism & Leisure (CoEFTL) from spring through fall of 2025, as we brought to life the two latest Living Labs held within real food environments at The American College of Greece (ACG) and beyond. Part of the EU-funded LIKE-A-PRO project, these consumer-centered ecosystems are designed to bring researchers and European consumers together in order to innovate and co-create insights and solutions for the acceleration and promotion of alternative protein products in the European markets.
Our first two Living Lab iterations focused on either limiting conventional protein (choice editing) or expanding alternative protein choices (choice expansion). Our latest iterations take a step further by exploring the effects of the food environments themselves (choice environment) and even two steps further by examining the influences on food choice beyond the moment of purchase (beyond choice).
I3 Workshop & PoS
Run from April to May 2025, this Living Lab iteration first involved a workshop (April 10) where 12 participants explored how supermarket layouts and restaurant menus influence consumer decisions about alternative proteins. For this, we transformed our faculty lounge into a supermarket corner and a restaurant table with the help of mock-ups, increasing participant immersion.
The supermarket mock ups simulated 1 shelf with exclusively conventional protein products, 1 shelf with exclusively alternative protein products, and 1 shelf with products of both protein categories. Similarly, for the restaurant scenario, we presented the 12 participants with 1 menu with exclusively conventional protein dishes, 1 menu with exclusively alternative protein dishes, and 1 menu with dishes made from both protein categories.
Lastly, the participants also discussed their perceptions of food certification and rating labels (e.g., EU Organic, Fairtrade, Nutri-Score, Planet Score, V-Label) commonly found on European products.
Key Workshop Insights:
- Separated shelves (where conventional and alternative protein food products are each placed on their dedicated shelf or otherwise clearly distinct but still in close proximity to each other) drove higher engagement and equal consideration of both protein types.
- Product transparency emerged as a critical barrier for choosing alternative protein products, as these required more browsing time due to unclear protein sources and potentially misleading packaging.
- Restaurant menus encouraged higher openness to alternative protein experimentation than super market shelves.
- Restaurant contexts reduced time pressure compared to retail environments.
- Familiar, clear and comprehensive labeling (e.g., EU Organic and V-Label) could improve willingness to purchase alternative proteins.
- There is a clear request for information consolidation and score tiers, akin to the Planet Score label.
- Comprehensive nutritional information, particularly protein levels, was highly sought out in label content.
This exploration continued at the actual point of sale (May 26), as our team ventured across 4 AB Vassilopoulos locations to survey 120 shoppers on how this specific food environment influences their alternative protein purchasing choices.
Key PoS Insights:
- Visibility & navigability are prime drivers. Interventions that improve ease of finding AP/healthy options are likely to influence choices.
- The main reason for not choosing alternative protein products was situational. These shoppers could, thus, be convertible with in-store cues (prominent placement, prompts, or reminders).
- Nutritional claims and price are key persuasion levers for alternative protein products; taste remains critical and should be addressed in communications.
- Comprehension ≠ trust: clear label design supports understanding, but credibility (trusted providers, certifications) is needed to convert understanding into purchase behavior.
- Social/sourcing information receives less attention than nutrition or environmental claims. Communications that foreground immediate consumer benefits (nutrition, convenience, price, taste) will likely perform better.
The results highlight the complex interplay between cognitive preferences, emotional barriers, and environmental design in food choice decisions, emphasizing that effective organization and transparency facilitate equal consideration of both conventional and alternative protein options.
I4 Workshop & PoS
Spanning from June to September 2025, with the summer break in between, the fourth Living Labs iteration went beyond the point of purchase, exploring how sustained behavioral transformation occurs through strategic communication, cognitive bias awareness, and comprehensive food literacy initiatives. First, during a workshop (June 23), 12 participants engaged with various campaign posters, shared their opinions on messaging elements, and their experiences on food and sustainable diet education.
The campaign-style posters contained messaging following different communication principles, with the goal to promote alternative proteins. After engaging with the posters, participants took part in a discussion and future envisioning exercise regarding food education touchpoints.
The fourth Living Lab continued on the week of September 15th, at the ACG campus canteen, where 244 participants took part in a survey exploring the aforementioned “beyond choice” points.
Key Insights:
Strategic Communication and Message Design
- The messaging most likely to be perceived as clear and to motivate action involves one or more of the following: highlights benefits, presents achievable goals, makes sensory appeals.
- Top suggestion for improving message effectiveness include emphasizing health benefits, using relatable imagery, emphasizing environmental benefits, and emphasizing taste/texture.
- Fear appeals resulted in low appeal and motivation.
Food Literacy and Educational Pathways
- The main source of food education is the family.
- There is limited confidence in current institutional preparedness for sustainable food education.
- Participants expressed a desire for the comprehensive curricular integration of food education, combined with practical, hands-on skills training.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who brought these Living Labs to life, especially Dipnosofistirion and its staff, for their dedicated support. Special recognition also goes to Professor Toula Perrea, the events’ scientific investigator, and her team, including research assistant Stavroula Ziavras, and student volunteers Polyxeni Damigou, Alkistis Methani, and Danai Petraki, who were integral to completing the Living Labs 4 PoS. We also extend our appreciation to AB Vassilopoulos for the seamless collaboration for the Living Labs 3 PoS.
What’s Next
Insights and learning from all Living Labs so far (I1-I4) are consolidated to be used for a final, refined repetition of each choice architecture. CoEFTL, through the American College of Greece Research Center (ACG-RC) will lead the updated implementation of the “choice editing” intervention. The original took place in April 2024, with the “Meat or Dare!” campaign.
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