'Need to Change' consumers better respond to a dinner food waste intervention than 'Want to Change' consumers

Summary

This study examines household food waste through consumer segmentation, identifying distinct personality traits and environmental awareness. Using a randomised controlled trial, the Too Good to Waste intervention targeted dinner food waste (DFW) in households with children. Weekly self-reported DFW from the participants were collected from week 0 to week 7, and at long-term follow-up in week 52. Respondents were classified into three predefined segments: Need to Change, Want to Change, and Hard to Change. The data was analysed with Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to investigate how the different segments responded to the intervention. The findings reveal that environmental awareness was a key factor at baseline, with participants who reported higher environmental awareness consistently exhibiting lower levels of food waste. The Need to Change profile had the highest initial waste, the lowest awareness, and the weakest feeling of responsibility toward reducing waste, yet achieved the most significant reduction—38% short-term and 33% after one year—likely due to its personality trait of openness to experience. The Want to Change profile started with the lowest waste and strongest motivation, but showed little improvement, suggesting food waste behaviours were already optimised. The Hard to Change profile exhibited moderate waste and limited enrolment in the study. The study highlights that interventions targeting the Need to Change segment may show the greatest potential for impact. The insights are valuable to policymakers and NGOs for designing effective campaigns to reduce food waste.

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DOI : doi.org/10.1016/j.foohum.2026....
NVA : hdl.handle.net/11250/5530222