Are the Claims to Blame? A Qualitative Study to Understand the Effects of Nutrition and Health Claims on Perceptions and Consumption of Food

Abstract

Nutrition and Health Claims (NHCs) have been found to influence perceptions of food and consumption behaviour. While previous quantitative research has identified factors that may explain these effects, the current study aimed to address the dearth of in-depth exploration as to the underlying reasons why and how claims may impact upon perceptions and behaviour and the relationships between key factors. Seventy-eight participants took part in 10 focus groups. Discussions were transcribed verbatim and Nvivo 11 was used for thematic analysis. Six themes were developed from the data: 1. Target populations for NHCs; 2. Influence of NHCs on purchasing behaviour; 3. Characteristics/perceptions of products displaying NHCs; 4. Believability of NHCs; 5. Superior yet superficial knowledge; 6. Consumption of products displaying NHCs. Knowledge was a key factor influencing how much individuals believe claims (Believability of NHCs) and their perceptions (Characteristics/perceptions of products displaying NHCs). These perceptions and the characteristics of products displaying claims also impacted believability, as well as purchasing behaviour and consumption. Future research should be cognisant of the role of knowledge and characteristics or perceptions of products in the relationship between NHCs and consumer behaviour, and modelling of these relationships would allow their relative strength to be identified.

Conflicting Messages on Food and Beverage Packages: Front-of-Package Nutritional Labeling, Health and Nutrition Claims in Brazil

“…Nonetheless, the misleading nature of nutrition claims has been depicted in previous studies [45]. Groups with special dietary needs as well as those with illnesses and parents refer to be more likely to benefit from health and nutrition claims and consider that overall nutrition and health claims made them more interested in a product which they considered to be healthy [46]. Restricting, thus, the presence of claims-particularly nutrition claims in foods high in critical nutrients-should be part of regulatory processes that aim to help consumers make healthier choices at the point of purchase.…”

Organic Consumer Choices for Nutrient Labels on Dried Strawberries among Different Health Attitude Segments in Norway, Romania, and Turkey

“…Several explanations may be brought forward from the literature. The first one is that claims have been found to decrease tastiness, attractiveness, and naturalness perceptions [88]. More specifically, respondents in this group may have interpreted the 'more natural nutrients' label as a sign for ultra-processing and less naturality, which are highly in contradiction with their values.…”

“…In this study, the choice task investigating nutrition labels used organic dried strawberries as a case product. Effects of nutrition claims on consumer purchase decisions have been reported to be product dependent in terms of product category [85,88]. Another limitation of the study relates to the packaging design in general and to the label design in particular.…”

“…It is not surprising that HAQ1 did not consider nutrient claim as important, in line with their attitudes. According to the literature, these consumers may lack knowledge: having low nutritional knowledge and/or being unaware that claims are regulated may lead to a disbelief of the label that is seen as a pure marketing tool [88]. Corroborating the importance of knowledge, Dominick and colleagues [89] conducted a national representative survey in the US with 1000 respondents to investigate the effect of an "all-natural" label on a set of nine product categories.…”

“…Another possibility is that these consumers may not have felt in the target group for this product alternative. In a recent qualitative study, Benson and colleagues [88] identified that consumers perceive nutrition claims as mostly relevant and beneficial to specific populations presenting health issues (e.g., diabetes) or in a life phase characterized by the need for nutritional adjustments, such as dieting for weight loss, pregnancy or old age. In line with these results, Berhaupt-Glickstein and colleagues [90] found that health-risk reduction claims increased purchase intentions for green tea particularly in consumers who had modified their diet in the past year due to health concerns.…”