Some work, such as that led by the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, has responded to the question as to who is eating seaweed in the U.S. This study builds on top of such work to assess what types of seaweed products people prefer, and why. A nationally representative panel was contracted through Centiment, a marketing research firm, to target consumers from across the country (n=2,035). Brayden worked with an industry advisory team, consisting of 6 seaweed-related businesses, to draft a survey that answered their questions about seaweed consumers.
The survey’s focus lies around 10 individual products that include seaweed. The products were selected by the industry advisory board. They were then rated by survey respondents as to their likelihood to purchase them. Following each product, respondents were also asked both why they would purchase the product, and why not. This reveals not only which types of seaweed products were preferred – but why there were preferred as well. Preliminary findings show that respondents preferred products that were convenient, ready-to-eat, and had a base product that they already liked (e.g. seaweed teriyaki sauce - meaning they already liked teriyaki sauce, and thus liked the combined product). Additional questions explored respondents’ seaweed consumption patterns, diet, sociodemographics, and more.