Consumer consumption intentions of smaller packaged snack variants

Abstract

Smaller snack package variants are ubiquitous in the food marketplace. Although it is assumed that consumers intend to consume less because snacks are placed into smaller packages, consumer intentions are never measured. This research examines dietaryrestrained consumers' consumption intentions of smaller snack package variants found in the marketplace described by snack type (i.e. less healthy, more healthy -as per Guiding Stars® food labelling system) and front-of-package calorie labelling (99 calories, 100 calories). We conducted an online experiment wherein 203 participants were exposed to the aforementioned snack package variants and their consumption intentions were subsequently measured. A regression analysis revealed that consumers who are highly dietary restrained intend to consume more when (a) the snack is relatively healthier and (b) it includes 99-calorie front-of-package labelling. We discuss the idea that dietary-restrained consumers are not likely to view smaller packaged snacks as portion control devices, but rather, as a means to eat more of a healthier food.

Consumption Threshold at Which Virtue Products Become Vice Products: The Case of Beer

“…However, the lack of consumption self-control and reverse consumption self-control obtained in our study for alcoholic beer make this price segmentation and differentiation unnecessary. In fact, dietary-restrained consumers do not view smaller packaged snacks as portion control devices [45]. In consequence, the priority is to distinguish vice and virtue products (according to time-inconsistent preferences) from regular products with no delayed cost, and from light or diet products with delayed reward and no immediate cost (products that do not induce time-inconsistent preferences).…”

The influence of inner packaging’s number cue on consumption

“…Second, we contribute to the packaging cues literature by identifying the quantity of the inner package as a new visual cue. As noted, previous studies showed that the visual cues of packaging such as size (Argo & White, 2012;Liu & Haws, 2020;Payne et al, 2014;Petit et al, 2020;Wansink, 1996), color (Genschow et al, 2012;Valentina et al, 2019), image (Hagen, 2021), material (Deng & Srinivasan, 2013;Singh & Pandey, 2018), and shape (Valentina et al, 2019), can affect the consumer's attitudes about health and their behavior, such as intake and price premium.…”

“…The research on the relationship between packaging and consumption has been mainly concentrated in the field of consumer health and most studies to date have been conducted in the developed countries of Europe and America. Studies have been conducted on visual cues of packaging design, such as shape (Raghubir & Krishna, 1999; Sevilla & Kahn, 2014; Valentina et al., 2019; Wansink & van Ittersum, 2003); color (Felix et al, 2021; Genschow et al., 2012; Herbes et al., 2020; Valentina et al., 2019); form (Huyghe et al., 2017); material (Deng & Srinivasan, 2013; Kowalska et al, 2020; Singh & Pandey, 2018; Werle et al., 2016; Ye et al., 2020); image (Hagen, 2021; Madzharov & Block, 2010) and size (Coelho do Vale et al., 2008; Liu & Haws, 2020; Payne et al., 2014; Petit et al., 2020; Scott et al., 2008; Wansink, 1996), that have demonstrated to influence on consumption quantity (see Table 1). All these studies focus on different visual cues of independent package instead of combined packaging, including inner and outer package.…”

The effects of dietary restraint and portion-control packaging on snack consumption behaviour

“…When a product is presented in a small, single-serving sized portion, the consumer may deem the product as "acceptable" and therefore would not activate any coping mechanisms that inhibit consumption behaviour. Likewise, restrained eaters also perceive "99-calorie" packages to be perceived as a healthier food option (Payne et al, 2014). Conversely, when a product is presented in a larger size, the consumer may deem the product as "unacceptable" and activate the corresponding coping mechanisms to manage their intake.…”