[Rediscovering Food Waste]⑨ 8 out of 10 Koreans Say "What is Food Upcycling?"

Asia Economy 'Food Upcycling Awareness Survey' Results
85% Unaware of Food Upcycling... Only 17% Have Purchase Experience
Improving Product Competitiveness in Taste and Price Is the Top Priority

Efforts to reduce food waste are actively underway worldwide, but awareness of food upcycling remains significantly low in South Korea. There is also a considerable negative perception that products reborn through food upcycling are foods made from food waste.

According to a 'Food Upcycling Awareness Survey (200 men and women aged 20-59 nationwide, conducted from August 5 to August 7)' commissioned by Asia Economy to the market research firm Macromill Embrain on the 26th, only 22.5% of respondents said they knew about food upcycling. Meanwhile, 46.0% of respondents said they had 'never heard of it,' and 31.5% said they had 'heard of it but did not know the concept.' This means that 8 out of 10 people do not know about food upcycling.

8 out of 10 Koreans say, "What is food upcycling?"

As awareness is low, few people have purchased food upcycling products. 83.5% of respondents said they had 'never purchased' such products. However, 85% of consumers expressed an intention to buy in the future, mostly citing reasons such as 'it seems to help protect the environment (84.1%),' followed by 'it seems healthy (19.4%)' and 'I can express my values through consumption (19.4%).'

The biggest barrier to consumer purchases was 'lack of knowledge about food upcycling products,' at 43.3%. This was followed by 'negative image of using food waste (33.3%),' 'concerns about lower quality (33.3%),' 'concerns about hygiene (30.0%),' 'concerns about safety of products with new technologies (6.7%),' and 'doubts about significant carbon reduction effects (6.7%).'

Regarding price, 57.5% said they would purchase food upcycling products if they were cheaper than regular products, and 40.0% said they would buy if prices were similar. Only 2.5% said they would buy even if the products were more expensive than regular ones. This indicates that to activate the food upcycling market in the future, it is necessary to raise awareness while improving product image, trustworthiness, and pricing.

"Nutritional superiority does not directly translate to sales"… The conclusion is 'taste'

Experts pointed out that enhancing the competitiveness of food upcycling products is the top priority. Considering the conservative nature of taste preferences, for the food upcycling industry to take root properly, it is important not only to raise social awareness of eco-friendly value consumption but also to secure the competitiveness of the products themselves, such as attractive taste and price comparable to conventional foods.

Amanda Oenbring, CEO of the Upcycled Food Association (UFA) in the United States
[Photo by Onyu Lim]

Amanda Oenbring, CEO of the Upcycling Food Association (UFA) in the United States, emphasized product competitiveness, especially taste. Although the nutritional strengths of upcycling foods have already been revealed, nutritional superiority does not necessarily lead to increased sales. She said, "For example, pizza dough made from brewers' spent grain, a byproduct of beer brewing, contains more fiber and protein than regular dough," but added, "Since the competitors of upcycling foods are conventional foods, ultimately, taste is what matters." She further stated, "Rather than emphasizing the concept of upcycling food, it is important to communicate that these products are no different from regular foods and to grow the market through excellent taste so that more consumers can experience them."

Sonoko Tokairin, director of Oisix, a Japanese fresh food distribution and sales company, also noted, "Consumers are well aware that environmental problems are worsening due to discarded food and other factors," and added, "Instead of approaching it as an environmentally friendly product, highlighting that it is a delicious product with new forms of value will help increase the value of food upcycling and expand the market."

Even in Europe, where food upcycling is growing as a core field of food tech, satisfactory consumption results proportional to high awareness have not yet appeared. This is because the taste of food upcycling products has not yet surpassed that of existing products. Viveka Olin, professor of Food Engineering at the University of Copenhagen, said, "Despite a high level of understanding of food upcycling, many cases do not lead to consumption due to taste or price," emphasizing, "Ultimately, if the product tastes good, people will buy it even if it is expensive, so taste is the most important."

Professor Vibeke Orlien, Department of Food Engineering, University of Copenhagen
[Photo by Eunmo Koo]

She pointed out that the taste issue must be resolved on two levels: chemical improvement and adaptation to unfamiliar flavors. Professor Olin said, "Animal proteins such as whey or milk have a soft texture, allowing for various texture expressions, but plant protein blend products tend to have a relatively hard and coarse texture," adding, "Improving the chemical texture of plant-based upcycling protein products to be similar to animal products is a priority."

Regarding aversion to unfamiliar tastes, she pointed out that food upcycling products are made from unfamiliar ingredients like brewers' spent grain. She explained, "Research shows that children need to try a new taste 10 times and adults more than 20 times to learn it," adding, "This shows that even people who actively consider environmental impacts in food consumption need conscious effort to become accustomed to it."

CEO Oenbring emphasized that a virtuous cycle of 'companies-government-investment' must be established to create competitive products that capture both taste and price. From this perspective, she also analyzed that the growth potential of the Korean food upcycling market is very large. She said, "The U.S. achieved bottom-up growth centered on entrepreneurs who value conscious consumption, but Korea is seeing top-down government support alongside the emergence of startups," calling it "very encouraging that innovative companies and supportive government have met." She predicted, "If investors supporting distribution also join in, Korea could become a model country for food upcycling."

"Korean market should start by persuading large B2B customers focusing on raw materials"

Compared to Europe, where the spread is relatively slow, it was suggested that South Korea's food upcycling industry should start with a business-to-business (B2B) model focusing on raw materials, such as grain flour from the Danish company Circular Food Technology and broths and stocks from Reduced. Aviaaya Rehman-Andersen, CEO of Circular Food Technology, said, "To change the food system, large customers are needed," adding, "Since food upcycling products are new ingredients, large food manufacturers should use them first to increase consumer experience and then expand to restaurants and individual consumers."

Lorenzo Tirelli, head of research and development (R&D) at Reduced, also advised, "For startups, a business-to-consumer (B2C) model inevitably causes difficulties in marketing and sales," recommending, "It is better to focus capabilities on product and process improvement through transactions and collaborations with large B2B customers." Instead of small emerging food upcycling companies directly persuading consumers, they should provide high-quality raw materials to large companies, which actively market them to spread the philosophy and experience of food upcycling.

Professor Olin said, "Food upcycling is a new idea that shows materials that were not well utilized or eaten before can be used as good food," adding, "Through such ideas, we should learn about the value of food and its various possibilities." She emphasized, "When accurate terms and expressions are used, correct awareness can spread and take root, so it is important to communicate that food upcycling products are not low-quality foods made from waste but high-quality new foods with added environmental value."

※ This project was supported by the Press Promotion Fund, funded by government advertising fees.