Do health claims add value to nutritional claims? Evidence from a close-to-real experiment on breakfast biscuits

Nutritional claims (NCs) and health claims (HCs) on food products have been introduced as interpretative aids to simplify the information provided on food labelling. However, HCs have been criticised for being unappealing and an information overload on food packages. We aimed to explore whether adding a HC to the associated NC is a good strategy or information overload in a close-to-real non-hypothetical choice experiment with real products and real payments. Consumers’ valuation of two NCs and HCs in breakfast biscuits is measured in two treatments. Treatment A communicates NCs and tests for the external ecological validity of the experiment, while treatment B communicates both, the NC and the associated HC. Results from the willingness to pay estimates showed that consumers are willing to pay premiums for the fat-related HC in addition to the NC while not for the claims related to the fibre content.     

The influence of health claims and nutritional composition on consumers’ yoghurt preferences

The use of health claims on foods with a poor nutritional composition could pose a risk of misleading some groups of consumers in their food choices. This study aimed to explore the influence of the use of claims on consumers’ preferences for yoghurts with a different nutritional composition and the influence of more and less familiar claims on food choices. The study was conducted on 371 consumers using conjoint methodology and further cluster analysis. Fruit yoghurt was used as a base product. We investigated the impact of the following product attributes on consumers’ preferences: presence/absence of a probiotic and fat metabolism claim; sugar content; and fat content. The results suggest that, while consumers generally consider the nutritional composition of yoghurt to be more important than the tested claims, some groups of consumers are more sensitive to the use of health-related statements. We observed the consumers’ generally positive preference for a familiar probiotic claim, and their negative preference for a non-familiar fat metabolism claim. Overall, these results indicate that some groups of consumers are more sensitive to the use of health-related communications and are therefore more exposed to the risk of being misled if the composition of the yoghurt they buy is in fact less favourable. It would be beneficial if nutrient profiles were introduced to limit the use of claims on foods.     

Does taste sensitivity matter? The effect of coffee sensory tasting information and taste sensitivity on consumer preferences

Product sensory information, an external cue, could greatly influence consumer enjoyment of hedonic products like coffee. The question is what type of sensory information, subjective (e.g., aroma, flavor and body) or objective (e.g., origin, varieties and production practices), has a higher impact on consumer product experience accounting for heterogeneous taste sensitivity. We examine this question using a between-subject experiment where participants were either given subjective, objective or no sensory information of a specialty coffee. Participants were classified as either supertasters or other tasters using the 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) paper strip. The results indicate that, compared to objective sensory information and no information, subjective sensory information results in a higher taste rating and a higher preference level for the coffee. More importantly, subjective information positively influences PROP supertasters’ purchase likelihood for coffee, without necessarily affecting their bitterness perception of the coffee tasted.     

Spin versus fair speak in food labelling: A matter of taste?

The article sheds new light on sensory elements in legal cases concerning misleading food labelling. It presents the findings of a qualitative review of 821 cases on misleading food labelling registered in 2002–2007 by the Danish food authorities. The cases show that sensory tends to be backgrounded by other arguments more easily verbalized. A taxonomy of the sensory dimensions of the cases is set up and different sensory aspects are analyzed in order to establish to what the extent and how sensory variables can be integrated into experimental setups for testing the misleading potential of food naming and labelling solutions with a view to promoting “fair speak” principles for in-store food-to-consumer communication. The study is part of the cross-disciplinary research project “Spin or fair speak – when foods talk” which aims at providing new knowledge, tools, and experimental evidence for self-regulation, public control, and innovation in food naming and labelling.     

Nutrition and health claims: Who is interested? An empirical analysis of consumer preferences in Italy

This paper focuses on nutrition and health claims with the aim of verifying if these claims are of interest to different types of consumers, analysing the key variables that characterise their profiles. We performed a face-to-face survey on 240 consumers in charge of grocery shopping for their household in the Milan area (Italy). The analysis is based on two OLS estimation models. Our results suggest two different profiles for consumers interested in products presenting nutrition or health-related claims. Concerning nutrition claims, the analysis outlined a consumer profile particularly focused on household wellbeing. Females, family with young children, and consumers with a higher nutritional knowledge pay particular attention to such claims. Health-related claims, instead, seem to be of interest for those consumers that are older, with limited income, and with a health condition, namely, the most vulnerable segments of population.     

Do men and women really live in different taste worlds?

In this review, I highlight what is currently known about the sensory, psychological, and physical/nutritional, differences between men and women in terms of their sensory-discriminative and hedonic responses to multisensory tasting experiences. However, despite the evidence for there being numerous individual differences in tasting, few neatly support the claim that men and women live in different worlds of taste. Perhaps the only situation in which consumed products directed specifically at men and women would appear to succeed is when they are advertised as providing some sort of nutritional benefit to the end user.     

Do consumers value food products containing upcycled ingredients? The effect of nutritional and environmental information

This study was the first to use a ranking experiment to estimate the effect of nutritional and environmental information on UK consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for biscuits containing an upcycled ingredient, namely, defatted sunflower cake flour. Informing consumers about the nutritional and/or environmental benefits of the upcycled ingredient resulted in a significant increase in their WTP for this new food. Moreover, we found that nutritional and/or environmental information similarly affected individual WTP distributions for the upcycled ingredient towards more positive values. Our findings have important implications for product development and marketing strategies of upcycled food businesses.     

Does the origin of inputs and processing matter? Evidence from consumers’ valuation for craft beer

In this study we aim at exploring consumer valuation for craft beer brewed locally and made with locally grown hops. The research is motivated by the fact that, although existing literature shows that consumers generally pay a price premium for locally produced foods or those made with local ingredients, it is still unclear how consumers value localness of production (i.e., brewing location) over localness of inputs (i.e., hops origin) and whether consumers value these attributes as either complements or substitutes. Moreover, little is still known regarding consumer preference for local ingredients in beer. Thus, we address these research questions by means of a choice experiment survey on craft beer consumers in the State of Indiana, United States. Results show that consumers have the highest willingness to pay for craft beer brewed in-state, but preferences over hops origin are heterogeneous. We find evidence of complementarity between brewing and hops origins among frequent craft drinkers and evidence of substitution between these claims for casual drinkers. Segmenting consumers based on how they define local beer, we find one consumer segment that has the highest willingness to pay for beer brewed in-state and made with hops that are grown in-state. These results can inform product differentiation, marketing, and pricing strategies. They are also relevant to state policymakers supporting local hops production and local brewing.     

Consumer perception of dried dairy ingredients: Healthy,natural, and sustainable?

Conscious consumerism is growing, along with consumer demand for socially conscious dairy products or dairy alternatives. To successfully position dairy products (especially conventional dairy) in this changing marketplace, dairy producers and processors must understand how to strategically use both on- and off-package messaging aligned with consumer perceptions. However, consumer perception of attributes such as sustainable, natural, and healthy is complex, and varies between product categories as well as among products within a category. The objective of this study was to characterize consumer definitions of the terms “sustainable,” “natural,” and “healthy” as they pertain to dried dairy ingredients. To meet this objective, we conducted an online survey with 3 maximum difference scaling exercises to determine the importance of 63 label claims to consumer definitions of the terms sustainable, natural, and healthy. The role of priming with dried ingredient processing information on consumer perception of these terms was also explored. Within the dried dairy ingredients category, there is extensive cognitive overlap between the terms sustainable, natural, and healthy. Priming did not affect consumer definitions of any of these terms. Certification-related claims were considered among the least important claims for consumer definitions of sustainable, natural, and healthy, whereas claims that were simple to read and visualize were considered among the most important. Claims related to animal welfare and happiness or simple, minimal ingredients and processing were considered by consumers to be important for all 3 terms. For each of these terms, there was a cluster of consumers who defined the term primarily by simple ingredients and minimal processing, and another cluster who defined the term primarily by happy cows and conscious farming practices. The terms sustainable and healthy each had a third, unique consumer cluster. This third definition cluster defined sustainability primarily by environmental effects, whereas this cluster defined healthy primarily in fitness and nutrition terms. Age and to a lesser extent, gender, affected importance placed on these 3 terms and also affected definition of the term. Understanding these consumer definitions provides insight on how to formulate marketing and educational messaging to speak to each consumer segment.     

The combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products

The majority of studies examining the effect of nutrition information on food packets (such as the nutrition information panel (NIP), front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) and health claims) have examined each in isolation, even though they often occur together. This study investigated the relationship between FoPLs and health claims since (i) they both appear on the front of packs and typically receive more attention from consumers than the NIP, (ii) they can convey contradictory messages (i.e., health claims provide information on nutrients that are beneficial to health while FoPLs provide information on nutrients associated with increased health risks) and (iii) there is currently scant research on how consumers trade off between these two sources of information. Ten focus groups (n = 85) explored adults’ and children’s reactions when presented with both a FoPL (the Daily Intake Guide, Multiple Traffic Lights, or the Health Star Rating) and a health claim (nutrient content, general-level-, or high-level). A particular focus was participants’ processing of discrepant information. Participants reported that health claims were more likely to be considered during product evaluations if they were perceived to be trustworthy, relevant and informative. Trust and ease of interpretation were most important for FoPLs, which were more likely than health claims to meet criteria and be considered during product evaluation (especially the Health Star Rating and Multiple Traffic Lights). Results indicate that consumers generally find FoPLs more useful than health claims.     

Effects of different nutrition labels on visual attention and accuracy of nutritional quality perception – Results of an experimental eye-tracking study

Front-of-Pack (FoP) nutrition labels are emerging as a prominent public policy tool for promoting healthy eating. In this study, we question how different FoP nutrition labels ranging from more directive (Nutriscore, NS), to semi-directive (monochromatic Guided Daily Amount, GDA) and non-directive (multiple-traffic lights, MTL), affect perceived visual attention and nutritional quality perception. The visual attention was measured by eye-tracing measures, and nutritional quality by healthiness perception and recommended frequency of consumption. Seventy-six participants (N = 76) were randomly assigned in one of three experimental conditions, where they were asked to give estimates on eight different chocolate snack bars. To test whether participants estimates were accurate, we surveyed fifty-six (N = 56) nutritionists and asked for their assessments of the same group of products. The results showed that Nutriscore required least visual attention in terms of dwell-time, number of fixations, and average fixation duration, followed by MTL and GDA. Participants in NS and MTL condition gave significantly higher estimates of nutritional quality compared to experts' estimates. Most accurate estimates came from products with GDA label. Color-coded fields (MTL) required less visual attention, compared to GDA, without adding to visual efficiency. More directive FoP nutrition labels require less visual attention but lead to inflated estimates of products' nutrition quality in the category of less healthy products. In creating public policies, removing the possibility for consumers to process nutritional information and absolute estimates of products' nutrition quality should not be disregarded.     

Consumers’ perception of symbols and health claims as health-related label messages. A cross-cultural study

The package is the first contact between the food and the consumer and an excellent vehicle for communication with the consumer. Visual cues (symbols) on the package can be used to communicate health-related information. Although EU legislation provides for the use of symbols, there could be a still undiscovered or unquantified gap between the consumers’ perception of some symbols and how much these symbols appeal and convince. The objective of this research was to study the perception of symbols and their relative importance, combined with verbal health claims, in perceptions of the product’s appeal and convincingness in two countries, one Mediterranean (Spain) and the other Scandinavian (Denmark). Four symbols were employed in the study: (1) heart-plus-stethoscope, (2) olives (a symbol often used in Spain but not so much in Denmark), and two not directly linked to food products: (3) active person (a person running towards the sun), and (4) gears. Perceptions of these symbols were studied through word association, free listing and conjoint analysis. Three verbal health claims were presented as either benefits or risks in combination with the images. The results showed that the overall idea of the symbols perceived by the participants was similar in both countries but the culture influenced the connotations attached to the symbols. In addition, the symbols on the packaging were found to be more important than the verbal information.     

Unemployment and smoking: does psychosocial stress matter?

Aim: Research indicates that cigarette smoking is strongly associated with unemployment. However, little is known regarding the underlying mechanisms explaining this relationship. The aim of this study is to examine the role of psychosocial factors as potential mediators between unemployment and smoking. Participants: 4002 non-institutionalised, civilian adults living in the Veneto region of Italy. Design: The study was based on a computer assisted telephone interview (CATI). Linear by linear association tests were used to examine bivariate associations between unemployment, psychosocial factors, and smoking. Logistic regression models were developed to analyse the relationship between unemployment and smoking when adjusting for psychological factors. Results: The odds of smoking among the unemployed was 2.78 times (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.68 to 4.62) greater than that of higher managers and professionals controlling for demographic factors. The relationship between unemployment and smoking weakened (odds ratio 2.41, 95% CI 1.43 to 4.05) when psychosocial factors were entered into the analysis. The odds of the inability to control important things in life was 1.39 times (95% CI 1.11 to 1.75) greater, and the odds of emotional isolation was 1.45 times (95% CI 1.06 to 1.99) greater, among smokers compared to non-smokers controlling, for all other factors. Conclusions: Given that the data were cross sectional, firm conclusions cannot be drawn regarding the causal pathway connecting unemployment and smoking. However, this study suggests that psychosocial factors such as the inability to control and emotional isolation may be plausible mediators for the relationship.     

How Do Consumer Attitudes Influence Acceptance of a Novel Wild Blueberry–Soy Product?

ABSTRACT:  Acceptance of healthful foods by consumers is not yet well understood. In this study, 3 formulations of frozen dessert bars were prepared containing both soy and wild blueberries. Soy content was controlled to provide an amount of soy protein that qualified for the health claim for soy and reduced risks for cardiovascular disease. Consumers were asked to complete the Health and Taste Attitude Scales (HTAS) and then evaluate the acceptability of the 3 frozen bar types using a 9-point hedonic scale. One week after the 1st session, the participants returned. Approximately half were given information to read regarding the health benefits of soy protein, the other participants were given no information. The samples were then presented a 2nd time and labeled with their soy protein content. Changes in hedonic scores between sessions were compared and correlated with HTAS ratings. Nutrition information generally did not affect acceptability scores.