The effects of product claims on vegan dog food. Understanding the role of framing on purchase intent

Amidst the rise of vegan food production and consumption across western cultures, academic attention is directed at vegan alternatives to meat-based pet food, an industry with a sizeable carbon footprint. A new field of interest, research focuses mostly on matters of nutritional adequacy, with little attention yet devoted to consumer perception and behaviour in the context. Recognizing its relevancy for consumer adoption, this study examines to what extent the framing of vegan dog food influences purchase intention among Dutch adult dog owners. Drawing on theories of marketing, psychology and consumer behaviour, the study connects insights from the field of vegan human food and pet food marketing. A comprehensive theoretical model is built, explaining hypothesized framing effects with cognitive dissonance theory, which in turn is linked to consumers’ vegan identity and dog-related self-extension tendency. In a unifactorial between-subjects online experiment, three attribute-specific claims for each of the major motivations for veganism (ethicality, sustainability and health), a combination frame combining all three and one framing-free condition were created. Utilizing a digital survey, participants (N = 193) reported levels of vegan identity, self-extension tendency and cognitive dissonance in the kibble-purchasing environment, before being subjected to one of the various frames, after which purchase intention and product attitude were measured. Results revealed that no effects of framing were found, while both a direct effect of vegan identity on cognitive dissonance and a moderating role of self-extension tendency confirm and contribute to prior research. Additional analyses, conducted to interpret the lack of framing effects found, revealed the interplay of one’s vegan identity, personal diet and dog food currently purchased on both participants’ processing of the product claims and subsequent personal perception of the product’s nature as healthy, sustainable and ethical. Understanding the direct effect of personal perception in the conceptual model and important individual factors can contribute to better understanding the role of framing in the vegan dog food consumer context for academics and practitioners alike.