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.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction.
- Background.
- Research questions.
- Delimitations.
- Organisation of the remainder of the study.
- Literature Review
- Main definitions.
- What is a health claim?
- What is a functional food?
- Quality attribute and quality cues
- Quality attributes
- Quality cues
- Quality attributes versus quality cues
- Food package and food label
- Theoretical background
- Conceptual framework on how health claims affect consumers
- Total Food Quality Model
- Dual processing models
- Previous studies on food label's context factors
- Imagery
- Studies of general nature
- Studies on food as general product category
- Studies on foods with functional ingredients
- Brand
- Studies on food as general product category
- Studies on foods with functional ingredients
- Colour
- Studies of general nature
- Studies on food as general product category
- Studies on foods with functional ingredients
- Production process
- Studies on food as general product category
- Studies on foods with functional ingredients
- Non-label information
- Studies of general nature
- Studies on food as general product category
- Studies on foods with functional ingredients
- The special issue of consumers' understanding of health claims
- Research design
- Conceptual Framework
- Hypotheses
- Research methodology
- Materials and methods
- Choice of functional ingredient
- Choice of carrier product, brand and package colour
- Choice of a health claim
- Stimulus material, survey design and procedures
- Measurement scales
- General health interest
- Food-related disease
- Attitudes towards functional foods
- Credibility of the health claim
- Attitudes towards the product
- Purchase intentions
- Measurement and quantification of understanding
- Benchmark
- Measurement
- Data analysis
- Mixed-design Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA)
- General considerations
- Grand mean centering
- Mixed-design Multinomial Logistic Regression
- Results
- Sample characteristics
- Reliability and validity of the measurement scales
- Initial data screening
- Split-plot ANCOVA
- Quantifying understanding and Mixe-design Multinomial Regression
- Discussion
- Managerial implications
- Limitations and recommendations for future research
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This Master thesis examines the influence of food label context factors and non-label information on consumers' understanding of health claims and attitudes towards them, particularly regarding less popular functional ingredients. The study aims to determine whether factors like brand, color, imagery, and the "bio" sign, along with external information sources like mass media, impact consumers' comprehension and perception of health claims. This investigation seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of how consumers process health claim information, which could inform future regulatory measures and food industry practices.
- Influence of food label context factors on consumer perception of health claims
- Impact of non-label information, particularly mass media, on understanding and attitudes towards health claims
- Understanding the role of less popular functional ingredients in consumer decision-making
- Examining the effect of brand, color, imagery, and the "bio" sign on perceived credibility of health claims
- Exploring the interplay between food label context factors, external information sources, and consumer responses to health claims
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction provides the study's context, research questions, and scope. The literature review delves into key definitions, theoretical frameworks, and previous research on food label context factors and consumer responses to health claims. This chapter also explores the specific issue of consumers' understanding of health claims. The research design chapter outlines the conceptual framework, hypotheses, methodology, and materials used in the study. It also explains the measurement scales and data analysis methods employed. The results chapter presents the findings from the data analysis, examining the influence of food label context factors and non-label information on consumers' attitudes and understanding of health claims.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This thesis focuses on the influence of various factors, including food label context cues, non-label information, and consumer responses, on the understanding and perception of health claims. The study investigates the role of functional ingredients, particularly less popular ones, and how these factors influence consumer behavior. The study uses a mixed-design ANCOVA and multinomial logistic regression to analyze the data, with special attention paid to the influence of brand, bio sign, color, image, and external information sources like newspaper articles. The findings highlight the importance of understanding consumer responses to health claims in the context of food label design, regulatory measures, and food industry practices.
- Citation du texte
- Plamen Marchev (Auteur), 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
