OBJECTIVE:
In times when consumers' health and healthy eating has become a central priority in the European Commissions' mission to protect the interests of consumers the European legislation has put a big emphasis on the regulations concerning functional foods in the European market by adopting a list of authorised health claims which have been scientifically proven.
There is an increasing number of studies dealing with consumers' perception of health claims and their understanding all of which have considered different factors influencing consumers' responses. However none of these studies has considered the possible impact of the food label's context factors such as brand, colour, image or the 'bio' sign.
The aim of the present study is to determine whether such factors in combination with other possible influential sources of information which are not part of the food label like mass media influence the level of understanding of health claims and the way consumers perceive them.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:
480 respondents from Germany participated in the study. Margarine spread bearing a health claim of a less popular functional ingredient was presented to the participants who were divided into 16 groups (N=30 per group) and each group was presented with a different version of the product based on the variations in the levels of the chosen food label's context factor stimuli.
Consumers‟ attitudes towards the health claim were measured as well as the level of their understanding of the claim. A repeated measures factor was also used by giving the respondents to read a newspaper article explaining the benefits of the functional ingredient after which their attitude and understanding were re-evaluated.
RESULTS:
The newspaper article proved to be substantially determining factor both with respect to positively influencing consumers' attitudes and as a risk factor in their understanding of the claim. The presence of 'bio' sign on the product's label together with a darker colour were also found to have a significant positive influence on consumers' perceived credibility of the health claim.
The results also showed that when the bio product was from a famous brand it increased the risk of misunderstanding of the health claim. Additionally, the usage of bright colour and famous brand together as well as bright colour and image in combination were also shown to represent a factor which decreased the probability of misunderstanding.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Background
1.2. Research questions
1.3. Delimitations
1.4. Organisation of the remainder of the study
2. Literature Review
2.1. Main definitions
2.1.1. What is a health claim?
2.1.2. What is a functional food?
2.1.3. Quality attribute and quality cues
2.1.3.1. Quality attributes
2.1.3.2. Quality cues
2.1.3.3. Quality attributes versus quality cues
2.1.4. Food package and food label
2.2. Theoretical background
2.2.1. Conceptual framework on how health claims affect consumers
2.2.2. Total Food Quality Model
2.2.3. Dual processing models
2.3. Previous studies on food label’s context factors
2.3.1. Imagery
2.3.1.1. Studies of general nature
2.3.1.2. Studies on food as general product category
2.3.1.3. Studies on foods with functional ingredients
2.3.2. Brand
2.3.2.1. Studies on food as general product category
2.3.2.2. Studies on foods with functional ingredients
2.3.3. Colour
2.3.3.1. Studies of general nature
2.3.3.2. Studies on food as general product category
2.3.3.3. Studies on foods with functional ingredients
2.3.4. Production process
2.3.4.1. Studies on food as general product category
2.3.4.1. Studies on foods with functional ingredients
2.3.5. Non-label information
2.3.5.1. Studies of general nature
2.3.5.2. Studies on food as general product category
2.3.5.3. Studies on foods with functional ingredients
2.4. The special issue of consumers’ understanding of health claims
3. Research design
3.1. Conceptual Framework
3.1.1. Hypotheses
3.2. Research methodology
3.3. Materials and methods
3.3.1. Choice of functional ingredient
3.3.2. Choice of carrier product, brand and package colour
3.3.3. Choice of a health claim
3.3.4. Stimulus material, survey design and procedures
3.4. Measurement scales
3.4.1. General health interest
3.4.2. Food-related disease
3.4.3. Attitudes towards functional foods
3.4.4. Credibility of the health claim
3.4.5. Attitudes towards the product
3.4.6. Purchase intentions
3.4.7. Measurement and quantification of understanding
3.4.7.1. Benchmark
3.4.7.2. Measurement
3.5. Data analysis
3.5.1. Mixed-design Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA)
3.5.1.1. General considerations
3.5.1.2. Grand mean centering
3.5.2. Mixed-design Multinomial Logistic Regression
4. Results
4.1. Sample characteristics
4.2. Reliability and validity of the measurement scales
4.3. Initial data screening
4.4. Split-plot ANCOVA
4.5. Quantifying understanding and Mixe-design Multinomial Regression
5. Discussion
6. Managerial implications
7. Limitations and recommendations for future research
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this thesis is to investigate how various contextual factors—specifically food label design elements (such as brand, imagery, and colour) and non-label external information (e.g., newspaper articles)—influence consumer understanding of health claims and their subsequent attitudes toward food products containing less popular functional ingredients. The research aims to identify whether these extrinsic factors act as moderators or risk factors that lead to consumer biases or misinterpretations of health benefits.
- The influence of food label context factors (brand, image, colour) on consumer perception of health claims.
- The role of external, non-label information in shaping consumer attitudes and belief formation.
- Mechanisms of consumer bias (e.g., "halo effect," "magic bullet effect") in the context of functional food ingredients.
- The impact of individual consumer differences, such as health interest and attitudes toward functional foods, on information processing and interpretation.
Excerpt from the Book
2.4. THE SPECIAL ISSUE OF CONSUMERS’ UNDERSTANDING OF HEALTH CLAIMS
In a research by Roe et al. (1999) four main biases of consumers in their mechanism of understanding health claims were found. The so called ‘magic bullet’ effect occurs when consumers infer inappropriate other health benefits due to the health claim which are not referred to or implied by the health claim message. For example a magic bullet effect takes place when from a claim about preventing cardiovascular disease consumers also conclude that the product should help in the prevention of cancer. Another prominent effect was the so called ‘halo effect’ which is characterised by incorrect inferences about the presence of other product quality dimensions due to the health claim. For example because of a claim about the product being low in cholesterol a wrong inference is made that the product is also low in fat (Leathwood et al. 2007)
The so called ‘positivity bias’ occurs when due to the mere presence of a health claim on the product consumers perceive this product as healthier or supreme in quality in general in comparison to other products in the same product group. An ‘interactive effect’ effect was also revealed which takes place when due to the health claim message some important and possibly unfavourable for the product nutritional facts are ignored by consumers. Some of these effects have been further researched in the literature with various, sometimes contradicting outcomes. Worth noting is that in some of the following studies referred to often the effects of the ‘positivity bias’ are considered as a more generalized ‘halo effect’. This is perhaps due to the fact that both the ‘halo effect’ and the ‘positivity bias’ involve overgeneralisation effects either about nutrient contents that are not part of the product but inferred by consumers (or vice versa – part of the product but inferred by consumers not to be) or generally increased healthiness perceptions and often these overgeneralisations are interrelated. According to van Trijp and van der Lans (2007) empirical evidence suggests the presence of ‘halo effects’ in terms of overgeneralisations related to healthiness and non-featured nutrient content, while the ‘magic bullet’ effect in terms of generalisation of disease risks prevention has not been revealed.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the problem statement regarding health claims on functional foods, defines the research questions, and outlines the scope of the study within the German market.
2. Literature Review: Discusses key definitions, theoretical frameworks (Total Food Quality Model, Dual processing models), and previous research on imagery, brand, colour, and non-label information.
3. Research design: Details the conceptual framework, hypotheses, research methodology, and the experimental design involving a mixed-model (split-plot) factorial approach.
4. Results: Reports the statistical findings from the split-plot ANCOVA and the mixed-design Multinomial Logistic Regression analysis concerning consumer understanding and attitudes.
5. Discussion: Interprets the key findings, including the substantial influence of the newspaper article, the interaction between colour and bio-attributes, and the implications for consumer understanding.
6. Managerial implications: Provides recommendations for regulators and food manufacturers on how to manage label context and external communications to ensure accurate consumer understanding.
7. Limitations and recommendations for future research: Discusses the study's constraints, such as geographical focus and measurement challenges, and suggests paths for future research including multi-level modeling.
Key Words
Functional foods, health claims, understanding, attitudes, food label, extrinsic cues, brand, bio, colour, image, newspaper article, ANCOVA, Multinomial logistic regression, EFSA, European commission
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The study investigates how contextual factors, such as design elements on food packaging and external information from mass media, influence how consumers interpret health claims for less common functional food ingredients.
What are the central thematic areas?
The research explores extrinsic cues on food labels (brand, imagery, colour, bio-labels), the impact of mass media information, consumer motivation, and the cognitive biases (like the halo effect) that affect health claim comprehension.
What is the primary objective or research question?
The study seeks to answer two main questions: 1) How do different aspects of food labels affect consumer attitudes and understanding of health claims for less popular ingredients? 2) How does external, non-label information influence these same attitudes and understandings?
Which scientific methods were employed?
A quantitative approach was used with 480 German participants. The method utilized a mixed-model (split-plot) factorial design, analyzed through ANCOVA and mixed-design Multinomial Logistic Regression, alongside a quantification of open-ended survey responses.
What does the main body cover?
The main body covers the literature review of existing definitions and theories, the development of the conceptual framework, the specific materials (stimulus design, survey methodology), the statistical analysis of experimental data, and a discussion of the observed findings.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include functional foods, health claims, extrinsic cues, brand influence, packaging colour, consumer bias, ANCOVA, and multinomial logistic regression.
How do newspaper articles influence consumer perception in this study?
The study found that the newspaper article acted as a powerful "determining factor." While it positively influenced consumers' attitudes and perceived credibility of the health claim, it also increased the probability of misunderstandings (a risk factor), especially concerning health benefit expectations.
What is the significance of the "bio" sign and packaging colour?
The presence of a "bio" sign combined with darker packaging colours created a "halo effect," significantly increasing the perceived credibility of the health claim among participants, suggesting consumers establish mental links between these visual cues and product quality.
- Quote paper
- Plamen Marchev (Author), 2013, Brands, colours, images and the "bio"-sign. Influences of food label's context factors upon consumers' understanding of health claims and their attitudes towards them, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/315365
