Big business returns on B Corp? Growing with green & lean as any label is a good label

This research contributes to knowledge on consumer-based food label equity (CBFLE) by examining a validity scale accuracy for predicting seafood purchasing choices in health and sustainability contexts.

Two studies were conducted for this research. Study 1, with 301 participants, show fish fillets with sustainability labels, such as B Corp, compared to those without labels. The study showedes that this type of food label did not impact a consumers purchase decision. Study 2, with 200 participants, found similar results when using health-labels, like the American Heart Association Heart-Check. The findings indicate how a consumers’ willingness to buy is influenced by the use of specific labels, within sustainability and health sectors. The full research paper can be found in the Journal of Business Research.

The relative impact of health communication conveyed via quick response codes: A conjoint experiment among young Thai consumers doing grocery shopping

This study examines how smartphone-based health communication, like QR codes, influences young Thai consumers to shop for healthier groceries. In a conjoint experiment with 214 participants, using QR codes to display health labels and high consumer ratings for food encouraged smartphone interaction and increased the likelihood of buying healthier groceries among young Thai consumers. Findings suggest health communication, like QR codes, can be a good investment for brands to increase healthier purchases. Read the full study in Health Marketing Quarterly.

Information, ingestion, and impulsivity: The impact of technology-enabled healthy food labels on online grocery shopping in impulsive and non-impulsive consumers

Unhealthy food consumption is a problem for society, companies, and consumers. This study explores how technology-enabled healthy food labels can impact food choice in an online grocery store context. We conceptualized unhealthy and healthy food choice as a matter of impulsivity problems. Three technology-enabled healthy food labels were derived based on variables that might impact self-control, and their influence on food choice was investigated.

In this study of 405 people, food labels that encouraged self-monitoring, pre-commitment, and social comparison impacted the consumers food choices. For the more impulsive easters, self-monitoring and pre-commitment proved to have a stronger effect. In comparison to non-impulsive eaters, which were more effected by social comparison. Overall, the findings suggest that self-monitoring of previous healthy food choices might be more effective than pre-commitment based on discounts on healthy food products, but these differences were minor. This paper is published at Frontiers in Nutrition.

The relative importance of healthy food labels when shopping for groceries online

Healthy food labels are popular tools to encourage consumers to make healthier food choices. This study, published in Procedia Computer Science, explores how online grocery shopping decisions is influenced by healthy food labels. A conjoint study with 111 participants discovered that factors, such as price, brand and country of origin, had a stronger impact on purchase decisions than healthy food labels. Still, the presence of a healthy food label increased the likelihood of a product being selected. Results of the study also show gender differences, as healthy food labels had a stronger impact on female consumers. These findings present the opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of healthy food labels in influencing consumers food choices. It is evident that simply presenting healthy food labels on products is equally beneficial for consumers, manufacturers, and policymakers alike.