Effective nutrition labels for fast food consumers

Abstract

Purpose The fast-food market is one area which faces little regulation of visible nutritional information on menus and food packaging to encourage healthy food choices. Additionally, nutritional information’s effectiveness is mostly unknown in the fast-food market. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the effectiveness of various forms of nutritional labelling methods and information by analysing the consumer decision-making process of 248 fast-food consumers. Design/methodology/approach Three discrete choice experiments are used to compare three popular nutritional symbol methods. Consumer preferences for these symbols are extracted using a “choice-based” conjoint analysis, while controlling for price and branding of fast-food products. Findings It is found that a very simple “traffic light signal” is the best signal for suggesting healthiness, with as much as 41 per cent of the importance in consumer decision making (p<0.01), over that of product pricing and even product brand and performs better than more information laden guided daily amounts symbols and health endorsement methods (attributing 27 and 13 per cent in their respective studies). This highlights the fine balance between too much and too little food nutrition information and (most notably) how specific nutritional information methods can be even more influential on food choices than a change in product price might. Originality/value There is currently a lack of research into the use of nutritional cues on influencing fast-food choices. Additionally, most previous studies focus on the isolated effect of nutrition labels.

Analysis of Willingness to Buy A Safe, Healthy and Whole Halal Beef Product

“…This research also shows that labels are important in influencing purchasing decisions. This study is in accordance with the research of Montandon and Colli (2016) who argue that labels are also of consumers consideration when deciding to buy products.…”

“…Ernawati and Suwandojo (2019) argue that product attributes related to quality, price and taste are choices in choosing products. Montandon and Colli (2016) argue that labels are also the choice of consumers to decide to buy products. H3: Product attributes have a positive effect on willingness to buy a product.…”

Personalized coupons for lower-calorie fast-food choices among young German adults and the influence of consumers' nutritional attitudes on promotion effectiveness

“…Furthermore, it is imperative to provide consumers with calorie information of food items, allow them to access such data at the time of food selection and make it easier for them to estimate the calorie content (Chernev and Chandon, 2015). An interactive system of calorie estimation (Mohr et al , 2019) or the traffic light labeling of fast food calorie (Montandon and Colli, 2016) could be used with personalized coupons to provide consumers with accurate calorie information of their menu choices and further encourage them to switch to healthier options.…”

Influencing Factors and Social Media Reflections of Bakery Products Consumption in Romania

“…Therefore, mandatory nutrition labelling can fill this information gap by correcting asymmetric information and turning a good experience or good faith characteristic into quality [19,21]. Consumers' attitude towards nutrition labelling is determined by their interest, knowledge, demographic data, and the current format of the label [22].…”