The whole beast: Consumers’ perceptions of and willingness-to-eat animal by-products

•Social norms and culinary-based drivers act as drivers for eating animal by-products.•Food disgust sensitivity is a barrier for eating animal by-products.•Emphasising food waste is likely not a good strategy to increase consumer interest. Satisfying the global demand for proteins and avoiding food waste are global challenges. Promoting the consumption of animal by-products might contribute to the solution. The goal of our study was to investigate the role that different factors play for consumers’ willingness to engage with animal by-products. For this, an online survey and experiment with consumers was conducted (N = 260). While food disgust sensitivity works as a barrier, social norms and culinary-based drivers increase people’s willingness to engage with animal by-products. To expand consumer interest, measures could focus on increasing familiarity and reducing negative expectations regarding the sensory qualities of the product.