There’s considerable evidence that diets containing more plant-based foods and substantially less animal products — meat in particular — are generally healthier, more sustainable, and kinder to animals. As a result, researchers have largely focused on what motivates consumers to reduce their meat consumption or choose plant-based meat alternatives. In comparison, much less attention has been paid to people’s behavior around dairy.

In this context, studying the motivation of the Nordic population to choose plant-based dairy alternatives over animal-based dairy products might be especially relevant. Indeed, Nordic countries, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Finland, are known to have very dairy-rich food cultures. Finland in particular has the highest amount of dairy consumption in the region at almost 400 grams per person per day — not including cheese. Yearly cheese consumption in Finland has risen from around five kilograms per person in 1973 to 26 kilograms per person in 2023.

Thus, researchers set out to explore the social and psychological factors that either prevent or facilitate consumption of plant-based dairy alternatives in Finland. They interviewed 28 Finnish participants between the ages of 18 and 74, representing a variety of social backgrounds and diets. The interviews consisted of two to six questions for each of the following five topics:

1. General views on food, dairy products, and dairy alternatives
2. Use of dairy products and dairy alternatives in everyday life
3. Sustainable and climate-friendly food culture and dairy culture, including dairy alternatives
4. Cheese and plant-based alternatives
5. Dairy-related food waste

The researchers used the social-psychological COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior) model to analyze the interview transcripts. This model aims to identify the elements required for a behavior to occur. When applied to eating, for instance:

• Capability can be psychological (e.g., knowledge of recipes, awareness of different ingredients) or physical (e.g., cooking, digesting)
• Opportunity can be social (e.g., socially approved diets) or physical (e.g., a wide selection of affordable products)
• Motivation can be reflective (e.g., making healthy, ethical food choices) or automatic (e.g., an unconscious trigger from food that looks and smells delicious)

Three main themes arose from the interviews, which the researchers described as “convenience matters,” “socially influenced,” and “balancing between money, conscience, and tastebuds.”

Convenience Matters

Participants deemed milk to be “everywhere.” Convenience mattered a lot in their decisions as milk was usually the default option wherever they went, making it feel problematic to ask for plant-based alternatives (e.g., not wanting to bother others or draw attention to themselves). And while grocery stores usually offered at least some plant-based alternatives, participants felt they weren’t as visible as milk.

Cooking with plant-based alternatives was also seen as inconvenient, as they don’t behave exactly the same way as milk. Participants mentioned needing to learn a few “tricks” to properly cook with them.

Socially Influenced

Participants noted that milk is very heavily marketed, especially in schools. They recalled posters hung up on the walls, visits from milk-promoting non-profits, nurses promoting milk, and milk as the default drink at lunch, and described how this childhood environment influenced their current milk drinking habits.

Peer pressure — namely social acceptance from family and friends — had an important impact on their milk consumption too. However, in some cases, being introduced to plant-based products by others led to greater appreciation and long-term consumption of these alternatives.

Participants also thought that plant-based milks could benefit from more marketing, with a positive rather than an anti-dairy focus (e.g., their benefits).

Balancing Between Money, Conscience, And Tastebuds

Participants placed considerable importance on price and taste. While some just assumed that plant-based alternatives were more expensive, others had first-hand experience with the price discrepancy. Regardless, they all agreed that animal-based dairy products were more affordable. The taste difference was also an issue, but participants who readily consumed plant-based alternatives remarked on how they’d adapted and even come to feel that the alternatives taste better.

Most participants had some knowledge of how milk is produced, which raised ethical concerns regarding its impact on both animal welfare and the environment. However, price and taste were so important that they usually overruled this conflict. Thus, while some participants were motivated by ethical reasons to switch to plant-based alternatives, they weren’t necessarily ready to give up that familiar childhood taste or spend more money.

Limitations

As the authors outline, the study has some limitations to take into account. Firstly, only the analysis was guided by the COM-B model, not the interview design. However, the authors argue that their rich discussions with participants still enabled them to explore capability, opportunity, and motivation factors extensively. Secondly, the research only focused on Finland. The results can likely be generalized to other dairy-rich food cultures, but with caution.

What This Means For Advocates

This study helps advocates understand what elements need to be in place for people to make the switch from animal-based dairy products to plant-based alternatives. The authors emphasize the importance of all three aspects of the COM-B model, as behavioral changes usually require both capability and opportunity coupled with motivation. What’s clear from the findings is that while ethical motivations are sometimes enough to induce a dietary change, consumers usually need the plant-based products to be convenient and cheaper than their animal-based counterparts to consider them.

The authors also argue that physical opportunity (i.e., products exist and are available) should precede motivation as most consumers need to feel they’re able to buy alternatives before ending their milk consumption. The results showed that when alternatives were available and inexpensive, participants were much more receptive to ethical motivations.

Therefore, the focus should be on making plant-based dairy alternatives:

• Tasty and price-competitive
• As visible as animal-based dairy products in grocery stores
• A default option in places like cafes, restaurants, and schools

While social, cultural, and physical environments are largely in favor of animal-based dairy products today, a shift toward plant-based alternatives is already underway — and this growing acceptance should enable even more plant-based consumption in the future.