Increasing consumer trust in alternative proteins 

As the alternative protein industry matures, it faces a new challenge: trust. While early adopters embraced innovation, today’s consumers are asking tougher questions. What exactly goes into these products? How are they made? Are they really healthier or more sustainable?

Concerns around food processing and unfamiliar ingredients are growing – often fuelled by headlines, social media commentary, and organized pushback from critics, including some in the conventional meat sector. For plant-based, fermentation-derived, and cultivated brands, consumer trust isn’t a bonus. It’s essential.

In this article, we explore how alternative protein brands can build trust by understanding consumer concerns, communicating transparently, and using certifications, storytelling, and ethical sourcing to offer reassurance and clarity.

Understanding consumer concerns

Today’s consumers are more aware – and more skeptical – than ever. Studies show that many are wary of ingredients they don’t recognize and techniques they don’t understand.¹ Terms like ‘ultra-processed’ are now mainstream and often misapplied to plant-based or precision-fermented products.

The concern often comes down to unfamiliarity. Ingredients such as methylcellulose or fermentation-derived proteins are perfectly safe – but their names can trigger suspicion if consumers don’t understand what they are or why they’re used.

Adding to the challenge is the spread of misinformation. Social media posts frequently frame alternative proteins as ‘unnatural,’ and organized campaigns have sought to undermine public trust. A 2023 investigation by The Guardian uncovered how meat industry lobbying groups worked to reframe plant-based foods as less healthy and more processed than conventional meat.²

Yet skepticism doesn’t equal rejection. A 2023 ProVeg survey across 10 European countries found that many consumers are open to reducing their intake of animal-based products – and that clear information about ingredients, nutrition, and sustainability can strongly influence purchase decisions.³

Crucially, transparency affects buying behavior. Edelman’s Trust Barometer found that when people trust a brand’s values and openness, they’re more willing to buy from it – even if they don’t fully understand the science.⁴

Strategies for building trust

Building trust isn’t about slogans. It’s about consistency, credibility, and clarity at every stage of the product journey. Here are five strategies successful brands are already using:

1. Transparent communication

Openness builds credibility. Brands should explain how their products are made, what their ingredients are, and why they’ve been chosen. UK plant-based brand THIS uses blog posts, social content, and FAQs on its website to break down its ingredient choices in plain language. Similarly, Oatly explains its process and values directly on pack, combining transparency with personality.

Visual aids – like packaging icons, QR codes, or ingredient explainers – can support clarity at the point of sale.

2. Education through storytelling

Storytelling helps humanize innovation. Eat Just used engaging video content to explain how mung beans became a plant-based egg, making science feel simple. New Roots connects traditional fermentation with modern production to explain its plant-based cheese.

Clear stories that explain how, where, and why a product is made – and who’s making it – are key to building emotional connection and trust.

3. Certifications and third-party validation

Certifications help translate trust into action. For consumers navigating unfamiliar categories or ingredients, independent labels offer quick reassurance that a brand’s claims – whether about sourcing, sustainability, or product integrity – are backed by standards.

A recognized certification can boost confidence not just in what the product is made from, but in how it was made and why it can be trusted. For brands working with newer food technologies, these labels help close the gap between curiosity and confidence.

Here are four key labels relevant to alternative protein brands:

• V-Label: A widely recognized European vegetarian and vegan certification used in over 50 countries. It helps standardize vegan and vegetarian claims, making it easier for consumers to understand what they’re buying – especially in multilingual or cross-border markets.
• Certified Plant-Based (Plant Based Foods Association): This is one of the most recognized plant-based certifications in the United States. It verifies that a product contains no animal-derived ingredients and meets defined standards for plant-based composition. It’s especially useful for brands that want to communicate clearly to flexitarians or transitioning consumers.
• Soil Association Organic: One of the UK’s most respected organic certifiers, the Soil Association label signals that a product meets strict standards around farming methods, ingredient sourcing, environmental impact, and animal welfare (for relevant categories). For plant-based brands using organic ingredients, this can help position the product as natural, clean, and ethical.
• Clean Label Project: This US-based certification evaluates products for contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, and plasticisers – focusing on long-term exposure risks often overlooked by conventional testing. It appeals to health-conscious consumers looking for transparency beyond the ingredient list.

Certifications also offer operational benefits. They require documented processes, traceability, and third-party audits, pushing companies to formalize and verify their sourcing, production, and labeling practices. This discipline can support investor confidence and regulatory compliance, as well as consumer trust.

For climate-conscious buyers, environmental data is especially important. Quorn, for example, includes certified carbon footprint information on pack, giving consumers a quick, comparable way to assess environmental impact.

In short: certification doesn’t just lend credibility. It simplifies decision-making, especially for cautious or new consumers who want reassurance that what they’re buying is safe, sustainable, and aligned with their values.

4. Ethical and sustainable sourcing

Beyond the reassurances of certification, many consumers want to know where their food comes from. Brands that highlight ethical sourcing, fair labor, sustainable agriculture, or short supply chains are more likely to earn trust.

Plant-based milk brand Plenish uses simple, traceable ingredients (like water, oats, and salt) and positions its minimal processing as a virtue.⁵ Comparatively, Aleph Farms, a growing cultivated meat startup, publishes full sustainability reports and shares how its cultivated meat is produced – engaging NGOs and regulators alike.⁶

These sourcing stories reinforce values while directly addressing environmental and processing concerns.

5. Engaging directly with consumers

Trust is also built through interaction. Brands like Heura monitor and respond to questions on social platforms, address ingredient concerns, and use myth-busting campaigns to clarify misinformation. Health drink brand, Form Nutrition, and others use FAQs and consumer-friendly content to demystify functional ingredients.

Some brands also go further by involving consumers in product testing or factory tours, turning buyers into co-creators.

Case studies – building trust in action

These examples span categories – from legacy meat alternatives to start-ups and deep-tech innovators – but all share one trait: transparency is not an afterthought, it’s a foundation.

Takeaways for food brands

ProVeg International offers the following insights:

• Consumer trust is earned through consistent transparency – in ingredients, sourcing, and values.
• Certifications such as V-Label, Clean Label, and Plant-Based help reinforce credibility.
• Education through stories makes unfamiliar processes more relatable.
• Two-way engagement builds loyalty and addresses misinformation before it spreads.
• Brands that make trust a core part of their identity – not just their marketing – are best positioned to grow.

In conclusion, while trust in food brands is being tested – and for some consumers, is already low – plant-based and alternative protein companies have a clear opportunity to rebuild it. Investing in trust isn’t just wise, it’s essential for long-term success.⁸

For more support on your alternative protein strategy, get in touch with our experts at [email protected] and subscribe to our newsletter and podcast.

1. International Food Information Council. (2022). Perceptions on Processed: Consumer Sentiment and Purchasing Habits. Available at: https://foodinsight.org/perceptions-on-processed-consumer-survey/
2. Carrington, D. (2023). ‘Gigantic’ power of meat industry blocking green alternatives, study finds. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/18/gigantic-power-of-meat-industry-blocking-green-alternatives-study-finds
3. ProVeg International. (2023). Evolving Appetites: An In-Depth Look at European Attitudes Towards Plant-Based Eating. Available at: https://corporate.proveg.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-Protein-European-Consumer-Survey_2023.pdf
4. Edelman. (2022). 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Climate Change. Available at: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2022-trust-barometer/special-report-trust-climate
   
5. https://www.plenishdrinks.com/pages/why-choose-plenish
6. https://aleph-farms.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Aleph-Farms-Impact-Report-2022.pdf
7. https://www.plenishdrinks.com/pages/why-choose-plenish
8. Food Navigator. (2025). Food industry trust in the dumps, but things are looking up. Available at: https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2025/02/25/trust-in-food-industry-low-but-there-are-signs-of-improvement/