Identifying Areas of Information Asymmetry on Foods Labels

The fierce competition in the food market has put forward the discussion on the provision of information to consumers. With the increasing interest in marketed products and services and raised consumer awareness, the cases of asymmetry between the information supplied by companies and the information required by consumers are also on the increase. Among the instruments to limit the negative effects and risks caused by the existence of information asymmetry as an element of the non-verbal communication between producers and consumers, is the product label. The informative function of product labels is conductive to a reduction of market failures and the risks consumers assume with the purchase and use of products. The purpose of this paper is to identify areas of information asymmetry on food labels in the Bulgarian market and to formulate recommendations for improving the degree of information symmetry in B2C communications. The methodology of the study is based on focus group discussions aimed at identifying the imbalance between consumer expectations regarding the information contained on product labels and the one that consumers would like to find on labels. The expected results are to reveal areas of asymmetry on product labels and to make recommendations to companies to overcome information asymmetry.