Dietary Restraint and Consumer Consumption Intentions for Low‐Calorie Snacks

Abstract

Much is still unknown regarding the reasons that drive consumer consumption intentions for low‐calorie snacks. This research investigates the impact of individuals with low vs. high dietary restraint inferences of low‐calorie snacks on their subsequent consumption intentions. We conducted a between‐subjects experiment in which we asked participants to indicate their consumption intentions and their hedonic and utilitarian value perceptions for more (almonds) vs. less (goldfish crackers) healthy 99‐calorie snacks. In addition, we measured participants' level of dietary restraint. Results suggest that consumers with high vs. low dietary restraint levels do prefer low‐calorie snacks for different reasons. Hedonic value perceptions explain consumers with low dietary restraint preference for the less healthy snack, while utilitarian value perceptions explain consumers with high dietary restraint preference for the healthier snack. We conclude with a discussion on the managerial and policy implications of our findings.

Effect of ambient scent temperature on food choice: perspectives from the construal-level theory and sensory marketing

“…They were informed of the study's real purpose after the completion of the experiment, and if they still agreed to participate, they signed the consent form; otherwise, they could leave the laboratory, and their data would be deleted. When they answered the survey, two snacks (Goldfish crackers 5 hedonic snack vs raw almonds 5 utilitarian snack; Niculescu et al, 2018) were placed before them, and the quantity of snacks they ate was recorded. We instructed the participants to consume as much of the snack as they wished during the laboratory session.…”