Photo credit: Audun Iversen, Nofima

Siril Alm, an associate professor at the School of Business and economics, UiT The Artic University of Norway has carried out a study with six focus groups among the Norwegian population. The purpose of the study was to unveil which attitudes Norwegian consumers have toward eating seaweed, and what information they are missing about this unfamiliar food product.

The participants were recruited through Facebook, and out of 126 volunteers, 36 were chosen to join digital focus groups based on a questionnaire to represent one segments of consumers who enjoy cooking and tasting new foods, while the others are more conservative in their cooking and consumption. Participants had varied demographics, such as gender, income and place of residence. This week the main findings were presented by Siril in a Teams presentation.

Here are some main findings of the six focus groups:

• Most are positive, curious and motivated to eat seaweed.
• There was generally little knowledge amongst the participants concerning the taste, texture, health benefits and hazards.
• The taste is assumed to be salty.
• Generally, consumers have an easier time to accept seaweed in seafood products and dishes, such as fish burgers and fish soups.
• Seaweed had a natural association with Asian dishes because they have a longer tradition to include seaweed in their cuisine.
• There was some knowledge regarding the umami taste of seaweed and thus a positive attitude to use seaweed as a spice.
• It was mentioned that seaweed is an excellent opportunity for vegetarians and vegans to eat ocean-based products, because all other food they ate where land based.
• Participants had more trust in seaweed products made by manufacturers specialising on seafood products compared to generic manufacturers such as Toro.

The participants discussed the price of seaweed products:

• It was expected that seaweed products are exclusive and expensive.
• It was a willingness to pay extra for seaweed product if it gave an added value, such as documented health benefits or documented a sustainable production.
• Unique seaweed products and products consumed at special occasions could justify a higher price as well.

Environmental impact was discussed as well:

• Seaweed products produced in Norway were preferred to products imported from the Asian market.
• There was little knowledge how kelp was produced, and there was a concern how such production could affect the marine ecosystem, both cultivated kelp and wild kelp.

Surprisingly all groups discussed that seaweed may have a high content of iodine and heavy metals, but no-one mentioned this in a positive setting and as a solution to the general iodine-deficiency among the Norwegian population.

To summarize the findings, participants gave some recommendations to the seaweed industry:

• We need more knowledge regarding taste and texture to understand how it can be used.
• We need more information on how to prepare it (such as recipes).
• We need more knowledge about health benefits and safety.
• We want to know where we can buy seaweed products.

As an immature food ingredient, it appears as the users/consumers need more knowledge about the origin and as a food products, as well as how to prepare seaweed in food.