HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-CIRCBIO-09: SSH partner on consumer acceptance and market uptake of upcycled and recycled bio-based products

Higher-value bio-based products from upcycling and recycling only succeed if consumers and buyers accept them. Perceptions of "waste-based" products, quality and safety concerns, and willingness to pay a premium are key barriers to market uptake.

Our Consumer Behaviour research group at the University of Murcia offers to join a consortium as the social sciences and humanities (SSH) partner for this topic. We can contribute:

- Consumer and buyer acceptance studies for upcycled/recycled bio-based products

- Willingness-to-pay and preference measurement (discrete choice experiments, surveys, experiments)

- Design and testing of labels, claims and communication that build trust in circular products

- Analysis of the environmental and economic benefits as perceived by consumers, to support exploitation and impact

EU and research experience: participant in the EU COST Action CIRCUL-A-BILITY on circular and sustainable food packaging (Horizon 2020, 2021–2024); Spanish PI of a European Commission project on corporate responsibility (2023–2025); partner in an EUniWell (Erasmus+) project; PI of national projects on the communication of sustainability. Publications on sustainable packaging in Journal of Cleaner Production, Sustainable Production and Consumption and Journal of Product & Brand Management.

Our role: partner or task/work package leader for consumer acceptance, market uptake and communication.

We are looking for: coordinators, technology centres, universities and SMEs developing upcycling/recycling technologies or bio-based products that need a consumer and market acceptance partner.