Promoted claims on food product packaging: Comparing direct and indirect effects of processing and nutrient content claims

Food marketers increasingly use a combination of processing and nutrient content claims to convey information to consumers. Further, consumers are more aware of and concerned about how foods are processed as evidenced by the emergence of “clean labels” in promotion and retail store environments. Prior research generally has addressed evaluations of processing or nutrient content claims in isolation. This research extends our understanding of consumer responses to package claims by comparing the differential direct and indirect effects of processing claims, nutrient content claims, and ingredient lists on consumer evaluations. Drawing from activation theory and extant research, results from three studies indicate significant indirect effects on purchase intentions for processing claims and ingredient lists through the mediators of clean label and nutrition evaluations (in parallel), and perceived healthfulness (in serial). These findings suggest clean labels, relative to nutrient content claims, more positively influence how consumers define “healthy” and form purchase intentions.