Europeans warm to food innovation but appetite for cultivated meat and precision fermentation falls

European consumers became slightly more open to food innovation in 2025, but willingness to try precision-fermented dairy, cultivated meat and insect protein declined, according to new research from the EIT Food Consumer Observatory.

• Overall openness to innovative food products rose from 28% in 2024 to 31% in 2025, based on responses from nearly 20,000 consumers across 18 European countries.
• Among consumers who trusted the food system, 38% were open to innovation, compared with just 6% among those reporting low levels of trust.
• Willingness to try precision-fermented dairy, cultivated meat and insects as a protein source fell between 2024 and 2025 despite the increase in overall openness.

Published on 20 August, Trust in innovation: Between familiarity and fear formed the third issue of EIT Food Consumer Observatory’s 2026 Trust Report series and examined how trust, familiarity and cultural perceptions influenced attitudes toward new food technologies.

The results revealed a contrast between consumers’ attitudes toward food innovation in general and their willingness to try some of the technologies being developed across the sustainable protein sector.

Overall openness to innovative food products increased from 28% in 2024 to 31% in 2025, although EIT Food said acceptance remained low. At the same time, willingness to try several specific technologies declined, including precision-fermented dairy, cultivated meat and insects as a protein source.

Trust in the food system emerged as a major dividing line. Among consumers who trusted the food system, 38% were open to innovation, compared with only 6% among those with low trust.

Familiarity, age, personal values and cultural narratives also influenced how consumers responded to new food technologies.

Younger consumers remained the most receptive group. Nearly two in five consumers aged 18–34 said they were open to new food products, compared with fewer than one in five among those aged 55 and over.

Trust also affected consumers who already expressed an interest in healthier or more sustainable diets.

Among consumers with a strong intention to eat a healthy diet, 32% of those with high trust in the food system were willing to try new technologies, compared with 8% among those with low trust. Among sustainability-oriented consumers, willingness rose from 10% in the low-trust group to 35% among those with high trust.

The research covered attitudes toward a range of technologies, from personalized nutrition and high-tech indoor farming to precision fermentation and cultivated meat.

EIT Food said unfamiliar technologies could conflict with cultural, personal or religious values, while emotional responses including unfamiliarity and disgust could also hold back acceptance.

“Food innovation will only succeed if consumers trust the people and systems behind it,” said Klaus G. Grunert, Professor of Marketing at Aarhus University and Lead of the EIT Food Consumer Observatory. “The report shows that curiosity about innovation is increasing, but unfamiliar technologies still face significant barriers. To build acceptance, innovators need to move beyond technical explanations and show clearly how new foods are safe, useful, enjoyable and relevant to people’s everyday lives.”

The findings pointed to transparency and familiarity alongside tangible consumer benefits such as taste, health, enjoyment and relevance to everyday life as important considerations when communicating unfamiliar food technologies.

For precision fermentation and cultivated meat developers, the findings suggested regulatory approval would not necessarily translate into consumer acceptance. Although Europeans had become marginally more receptive to food innovation overall, declining willingness to try both technologies showed the commercial challenge of turning that openness into demand.

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