Survey of attitudes for millennials who do not consume lamb

Abstract Text: Lamb consumption consists of the smallest percentage of red meat consumption in America. Our objective was to estimate how many Americans do not consume lamb and describe attitudes as to why not. The online survey consisted of demographic information, lamb consumption patterns and experiences. Participants were invited to complete the survey if they were within the millennial population (ages 18 – 34) and residing in the U.S. Participants (n=2,473) were 34.5% male, 65.5% female; 15.9% were ages 18-24, 83.2% were 25-34, and 0.9% were 35; 85.0% were Caucasian (Non-Hispanic), 8.8% Latino or Hispanic, 3.0% Asian or Pacific Islander, 1.3% African American, and 1.8% other. Household income was 7.4% $24,999 or less, 17.9% $25,000-49,999, 20.8% $50,000-74,999, 19.5% $75,000-99,999, and 36.4% made $100,000 or more; 10.3% were not employed, 9.6% were employed part-time, and 80.0% were full-time. Participants reported consumption of the following protein sources either away from or at home: 92.3% chicken, 88.8% beef, 79.0% pork, 79.8% fish, 11% lamb, 92.6% eggs, and 25.8% soy-based products. 70.8% of the participants claimed to have eaten lamb before, and of these participants (n=1,719), 70.8% selected having a positive eating experience with lamb. Although 47.2% of the participants were uncertain how the lamb was prepared, braising (19.1%), grilling outside (12.5%), and pan frying (8.6%) were the most common methods of preparation. 65.1% of the participants would be willing to try lamb again, 23.2% selected maybe, and 11.6% would not be willing to try lamb again. Of the participants who had not tried lamb before (n=716), 60.8% would be willing to try lamb. If lamb flavor were to be improved, 22.4% of the participants would definitely and 47.1% might consume more lamb. If lamb tenderness were to be improved, 23.7% of the participants would definitely and 44.8% might consume more lamb. If eating quality of lamb were to be more consistent, 24.8% of the participants would definitely and 43.8% might consume more lamb. If lamb were to be implemented into the fast food industry, 22.1% of the participants would definitely and only 22.8% might consume more lamb. While 72.8% of the participants selected they had never looked to buy lamb at their local grocery store, 14.4% selected lamb is hard to find and 5.1% selected finding lamb was hit or miss. Opportunities exist to increase the consumption of lamb by converting the millennial non-consumers of lamb.

Keywords: Lamb, millennial, consumer