Dairy and Plant-Based Dairy Alternative Consumption Across Food-Related Consumer Segments: Food Involvement, Sustainability Orientation, and Health-Oriented Profiling

Background/Objectives: Consumption of dairy products and plant-based dairy alternatives (PBDAs) can be examined within broader configurations of food-related orientations rather than as isolated product choices. This study aimed to identify food-related consumer segments based on food involvement, attention to on-pack product information, and sustainability-related food-choice orientations, and to characterise these segments in relation to reported consumption frequencies of dairy products, PBDAs, and meat, fish and legume dishes, as well as health-oriented food-choice criteria. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1508 Polish adults responsible or co-responsible for household food purchasing. Principal component analysis was used to identify underlying food-related dimensions, and the retained component scores were entered into a two-step cluster analysis. Differences between clusters were examined using chi-square tests and one-way ANOVA. Results: Six dimensions were retained: sustainable and ethical choices, meat reduction, food involvement, product-information importance, shopping-list use and food-waste avoidance. Five clusters were identified, reflecting distinct configurations of these dimensions. PBDA and legume-dish consumption were most frequent in the sustainability and meat-reduction-oriented cluster, although dairy products and meat remained part of the reported diet. High food involvement and label/quality attention co-occurred with a more conventional consumption pattern, whereas PBDA and legume-dish consumption were lowest in more conventional and lower-sustainability clusters. The low-engagement cluster showed a more selective pattern of PBDA and legume-dish consumption. Conclusions: This study identified five food-related consumer segments and showed that reported PBDA consumption was embedded in heterogeneous dietary patterns rather than functioning as a simple substitute for dairy products. These findings indicate that reported PBDA consumption is segment-dependent and cannot be assumed to reflect reduced dairy consumption or a consistently sustainability- or health-oriented dietary pattern.