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Viewpoint: Effectiveness or consumer acceptance? Tradeoffs in selecting healthy eating nudges

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  • Cadario, Romain
  • Chandon, Pierre

Abstract

Governments and companies that want to promote healthier eating must consider both the effectiveness and the acceptance of the ‘nudges’ given to consumers. Our review of the literature uncovers a wide range of nudges towards healthy eating, from nutrition labeling to portion size reductions, which are found to vary greatly in effectiveness and levels of public acceptance (64% of women; 52% of men). Acceptance of a nudge is inversely related to its effectiveness: only 43% of respondents approved the most effective intervention – portion and package size reductions. Approval levels increased with the perceived effectiveness of the nudge and with the perception that the nudge is good for both health and business (as opposed to only one of the two), especially among respondents who identify as conservatives. To encourage acceptance of the most effective nudge strategies, governments and companies should therefore correct misconceptions about which nudges work best, and should underscore the win-win potential for health and business.

Suggested Citation

  • Cadario, Romain & Chandon, Pierre, 2019. "Viewpoint: Effectiveness or consumer acceptance? Tradeoffs in selecting healthy eating nudges," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1-6.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:85:y:2019:i:c:p:1-6
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2019.04.002
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    3. Pierre Dubois & Paulo Albuquerque & Olivier Allais & Céline Bonnet & Patrice Bertail & Pierre Combris & Saadi Lahlou & Natalie Rigal & Bernard Ruffieux & Pierre Chandon, 2021. "Effects of front-of-pack labels on the nutritional quality of supermarket food purchases: evidence from a large-scale randomized controlled trial," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 119-138, January.
    4. Rafaï, Ismaël & Ribaillier, Arthur & Jullien, Dorian, 2025. "The impact on nudge acceptability judgements of framing and consultation of the targeted population," Behavioural Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 176-191, January.
    5. Julie Metta, 2020. "Promoting discount schemes as a nudge strategy to enhance environmental behaviour," Working Papers 2020.11, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    6. Ammann, Jeanine & Arbenz, Andreia & Mack, Gabriele & Siegrist, Michael, 2025. "Consumer support of policy measures to increase sustainability in food consumption," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    7. repec:osf:osfxxx:f86hv_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Franceschinis, Cristiano & Scarpa, Riccardo & Thiene, Mara, 2024. "Nudging consumers’ choices for niche milk: A real purchase experiment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    9. Alempaki, Despoina & Isoni, Andrea & Read, Daniel, 2023. "Tainted nudge," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    10. Galli, Francesca & Prosperi, Paolo & Favilli, Elena & D'Amico, Simona & Bartolini, Fabio & Brunori, Gianluca, 2020. "How can policy processes remove barriers to sustainable food systems in Europe? Contributing to a policy framework for agri-food transitions," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    11. Zhou, Li & Zhu, Guowei, 2022. "Mind the gap: How the numerical precision of exercise-data-based food labels can nudge healthier food choices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 354-367.
    12. Parekh, Hetvi, 2022. "Nudge Theory: Literature, Effectiveness, Applications, Implications and Recommendations," OSF Preprints f86hv, Center for Open Science.

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