Qualified Health Claim Language affects Purchase Intentions for Green Tea Products in the United States

Abstract

Qualified health claims (QHC) describe diet–disease relationships and summarize the quality and strength of evidence for a claim. Companies assert that QHCs increase sales and take legal action to ensure claims reflect their interests. Yet, there is no empirical evidence that QHCs influence consumers. Using green tea as a case study, this study investigated the effects of QHCs on purchase intentions among adults 55 years and older living in the US. An online survey using a between-subjects design examined QHCs about the relationship between green tea and the reduced risk of breast and/or prostate cancer or yukichi fruit juice and the reduced risk of gastrocoridalis, a fictitious relationship. QHCs written by a green tea company generated greater perceptions of evidence for the relationship, greater confidence in green tea and cancer, and increased purchase intentions for green tea than other QHCs. Factors that mitigated the claim’s effects on purchase intentions are: Race/ethnicity; age; importance of health claims; supplement use; health; worry about health/becoming sick with cancer; worry that led to dietary change; green tea consumption; and familiarity with the green tea–cancer. Consumers who made health-related dietary change in the past year and consider health claims important indicated greater purchase intentions than others.

Effects of misleading online advertisements on the purchase intention of mature Chinese consumers for dietary supplements

“…Our findings suggest that AI exerts a strong and positive effect on SI. Advertisements that integrate both information and visual elements tend to elicit short cognitive investment from consumers while effectively stimulating their situational state, which was in agreement with previous studies (Berhaupt-Glickstein et al. , 2019; Polyorat et al.…”

“…Rational and emotional appeals are the two most commonly used approaches for promoting food choices among young consumers of advertised products (Omidvar et al, 2021). Unlike younger consumers, older consumers, influenced by their previous behaviours and preferences, tend to exhibit high acceptance of plant-based natural products with proclaimed health benefits, such as green tea products (Berhaupt-Glickstein et al, 2019). Manipulative advertising is a means of information dissemination that directly affects how consumers receive and process information (Polyorat et al, 2007;Wang, 2006).…”

“…, 2021). Unlike younger consumers, older consumers, influenced by their previous behaviours and preferences, tend to exhibit high acceptance of plant-based natural products with proclaimed health benefits, such as green tea products (Berhaupt-Glickstein et al. , 2019).…”

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

“…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.…”

Nutrition, Choice and Health-Related Claims

“…The last two studies investigated new determinants influencing purchase intention for functional foods. Berhaupt-Glickstein et al [20], investigated the effects of health claims carried by green tea on purchase intentions among adults 55 years of age and older living in the US. Factors that mitigated the claim's effects on purchase intentions were: race/ethnicity, age, importance of health claims, supplement use, health, worry about health/becoming sick with cancer, worry that led to dietary change, green tea consumption and the relationship between green tea and cancer.…”