Researchers from the University of Helsinki and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) went to Kouvola to investigate whether people could be persuaded to choose a vegetarian option at lunch.
The study was carried out in Kouvola, southeast Finland, because the researchers wanted to get outside what they termed the "veggie bubble" of the capital where vegetarian dishes are likely to be more popular than in provincial regions.
The team used a few different methods to find out how readily diners at the Rosso chain restaurant in Kouvola would a choose a pea-and-broad-bean pasta dish for their lunch.
"We were particularly interested in lunch choices because it is a good path to making everyday meals more plant-based," says Hanna Konttinen, Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology at the University of Helsinki.
During the first week of the study, vegetarian food was not particularly highlighted by the restaurant. During the second week, its visibility on the menu was enhanced by using a green background, and in the third week, the vegetarian pasta lunch option was also marketed through digital channels, such as social media.
According to Konttinen, none of the methods stood out as particularly effective in the study.
"This was only a pilot study. We didn't really find that any of these had a significant impact on whether people chose vegetable pasta or another pasta dish," she explains.
Habit drives choices
What the study did find is that that certain groups of people were more likely to choose a vegetarian option than others.
"Customers who are willing to experiment, vegetarians and people with higher levels of education," are the three groups listed by Konttinen as those who most often ordered the vegetarian option for lunch.
Konttinen looks at the results of the study from the perspective of social psychology. According to her, it was important to conduct the study specifically at lunchtime.
"Lunch choices are made quickly and are driven by habit," she points out.
According to Konttinen, the aim of the project is to promote the increased cultivation and use of domestic pulses, such as beans, lentils, and peas, throughout the food chain.
Positive feedback was received from the hungry folk who participated in the study.
"It was interesting to note that all pasta dishes were rated very positively and the vegetable pasta dishes received very similar average ratings as the other pasta dishes," says Konttinen.
15.42: Corrected spelling of Kouvola.
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