The Impact of Voluntary Policies on Parents’ Ability to Select Healthy Foods in Supermarkets: A Qualitative Study of Australian Parental Views

Abstract

Food packaging is used for marketing purposes, providing consumers with information about product attributes at the point-of-sale and thus influencing food choice. The Australian government focuses on voluntary policies to address inappropriate food marketing, including the Health Star Rating nutrition label. This research explored the way marketing via packaging information influences Australian parents’ ability to select healthy foods for their children, and who parents believe should be responsible for helping them. Five 90-min focus groups were conducted by an experienced facilitator in Perth, Western Australia. Four fathers and 33 mothers of children aged 2–8 years participated. Group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim and inductive thematic content analysis conducted using NVivo11. Seven themes were derived: (1) pressure of meeting multiple demands; (2) desire to speed up shopping; (3) feeding them well versus keeping them happy; (4) lack of certainty in packaging information; (5) government is trusted and should take charge; (6) food manufacturers’ health messages are not trusted; (7) supermarkets should assist parents to select healthy foods. Food packaging information appears to be contributing to parents’ uncertainty regarding healthy food choices. Supermarkets could respond to parents’ trust in them by implementing structural policies, providing shopping environments that support and encourage healthy food choices.

Exploring Feeding Practices and Food Literacy in Parents with Young Children from Disadvantaged Areas

“…Parents intended to create positive structures and routines but were often challenged by time, cost, competing priorities, and other external influences, such as marketing and peer pressure. This is consistent with research that has shown the variety of external factors that can influence parents’ feeding practices [ 16 , 30 , 38 , 47 , 48 ]. Education and support that address family and cultural priorities, and that empower parents by providing strategies and building confidence to overcome external influences while also preventing or addressing internalized feelings of shame or guilt can be beneficial.…”

“…For example, just under half of the participants in this study indicated they infrequently introduced new foods to their child. Limited time is a pressure that can result in authoritarian feeding practices that override strategies to develop autonomy [ 18 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ].…”

I Believe It Is Healthy—Impact of Extrinsic Product Attributes in Demonstrating Healthiness of Functional Food Products

“…A significant proportion of purchases are impulse purchases, and packaging plays a key role in this type of purchase [1][2][3]. Various factors can serve as bases for impulse purchases [4], such as a promotion, personal characteristics, the shop environment, demographic, situational, and social factors [5] and also the perceived health effect of the product.…”

Food Marketing as a Special Ingredient in Consumer Choices: The Main Insights from Existing Literature

“…Food labelling and packaging are used to inform consumers about the product’s characteristics, in accordance with legislation, and for marketing purposes [ 29 ], but they may also provide support for healthier choices [ 30 ]. The legislation regulates the information which may be considered for labelling, and this can sometimes be too bureaucratic and may bring about additional difficulties to market strategies.…”