When consistency signals distinctiveness: How univalent reviews elevate perceived uniqueness and purchase of plant-based meat alternatives

Plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) can mimic the taste and texture of real meat while also mitigating the environmental impacts from their production. Nonetheless, these products have still encountered resistance by customers owing to their unfamiliarity, food neophobia, and low perceived tastiness relative to red meat hedonic characteristics. Thus, drawing on online review valence and expectancy violation theory, the study aims to examine whether online consumer reviews (univalent versus ambivalent) influence purchase intentions through perceived uniqueness, with several boundary conditions shaping this relationship. The findings show that univalent reviews significantly enhance perceived uniqueness and purchase intentions, and this effect remains the same across both high and low brand reputation. Additionally, an advertisement featuring direct gaze strengthens this effect by creating a stronger social bond with audiences. Furthermore, a congruent contextual cue between PBMAs and an advertisement background amplifies the effect because it enables more fluent processing. The study contributes to sustainable marketing literature and offers practical implications for promoting PBMAs adoption.