Investigating the effect of restaurant menu labelling on consumer food choices using a field experiment

Abstract

PurposeThe aim is to explore the impact of new menu labels on consumers' actual meal purchases with a field experiment undertaken in a local restaurant.Design/methodology/approachThe author used a field experiment in a natural eating environment at a restaurant to investigate the effect of restaurant menu labelling on consumers' meal choices and opinions on the use of nutritional labels on menus. The experiment included control and treatment conditions in which we offered customers unlabelled and labelled menus, respectively. After individuals' dining experience, the data on meal choices and attitudes to menu labelling was collected via a brief questionnaire. The author then performed inferential statistical analysis to test differences between the control and treatment conditions and logistic regression analysis to explore further what predicts the probability of labels being influential on meal choice.FindingsThe study finds that the information provided to the consumers on restaurant menus matters. The more useful the information is perceived by consumers, the more likely the labels will influence their choices. Calorie content and the walking minutes to burn those calories on labels were considered the most useful aspect of the menu labels.Originality/valueThe study contributes to a better understanding of the impact of menu labelling on actual meal purchases, as well as the best way to communicate calorie and nutrient information to consumers. The author also shares her experience designing a field experiment with a restaurateur for future research.

The effect of nutrition labels on lunch buffet consumption: a real-life experiment

“…, 2019; Naicker et al. , 2021; Roy and Alassadi, 2021; Erdem, 2022). Generally, nudging methods are considered to guide consumer behaviour towards healthier choices by changing the environment and food choice architecture (Cadario and Chandon, 2020).…”

“…The role of nutrition labelling in helping customers find healthy food alternatives and thus tackle the problems of obesity and dietary-related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, is well-recognised. There are several ways to nudge customers towards better dietary choices, such as changing product placement, posting taste labelling, using front-ofpackage (FOP) nutrition labelling or different nutritional quality labelling, such as colour or energy information labelling (Temple et al, 2010;Hunsberger et al, 2015;Bucher et al, 2016;Turnwald et al, 2019;Thorndike et al, 2019;Naicker et al, 2021;Roy and Alassadi, 2021;Erdem, 2022). Generally, nudging methods are considered to guide consumer behaviour towards healthier choices by changing the environment and food choice architecture (Cadario and Chandon, 2020).…”