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Seduced by the Label: How the Recommended Serving Size on Nutrition Labels Affects Food Sales

Author

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  • Ossama Elshiewy
  • Steffen Jahn
  • Yasemin Boztug

Abstract

As consumers pay greater attention to nutrition content when choosing food, voluntary front-of-pack labels have become popular tools for food marketers. However, voluntary nutrition labels provide certain freedoms regarding the disclosed information, which can be exploited. A common strategy is to disclose nutrition values based on smaller recommended serving sizes, which presents the nutrition amounts favorably on the label. Problematically, consumers can misinterpret such information and draw biased conclusions regarding product healthiness. This study uses purchase data with 61 products from both healthy (yogurt) and unhealthy (cookies) categories to analyze how recommended serving sizes on nutrition labels affect food sales. In line with our predictions, sales increased after a label introduction in the healthy (but not in the unhealthy) category for products with smaller recommended serving sizes. Since the least healthy versions within the category tend to have smaller recommended serving sizes, nutrition labels can stimulate sales of unhealthier food.

Suggested Citation

  • Ossama Elshiewy & Steffen Jahn & Yasemin Boztug, 2016. "Seduced by the Label: How the Recommended Serving Size on Nutrition Labels Affects Food Sales," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 104-114.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jacres:doi:10.1086/684286
    DOI: 10.1086/684286
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    Cited by:

    1. Jacob Suher & Raj Raghunathan & Wayne D. Hoyer, 2016. "Eating Healthy or Feeling Empty? How the "Healthy = Less Filling" Intuition Influences Satiety," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 26-40.
    2. Nguyen Pham & Naomi Mandel & Andrea C. Morales, 2016. "Messages from the Food Police: How Food-Related Warnings Backfire among Dieters," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 175-190.
    3. Koert van Ittersum & Brian Wansink, 2016. "The Behavioral Science of Eating: Encouraging Boundary Research That Has Impact," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 5-14.

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