Healthvertising on Food Packaging and Its Impact on Consumers: A Systematic Literature Review

This systematic literature review aims to provide an overview of the use of health claims in food packaging and its effect on consumers in the context of social marketing. The search was conducted in the Web of Science database and 62 relevant papers were selected after the protocol selection. Our analysis identified two main themes that emerged across the papers: health claims practices and consumer behavior. The results show an emphasis of health-related claims on packaging, either from a social perspective through the use of healthy communication techniques, or from a commercial perspective, with package claims leading to a health halo effect. This halo effect conveyed by health claims that trigger consumers and although not necessarily misleading or false, it can both misguide consumers via package or product characteristics such as price, shape, colors, or sustainability and prevent consumers from making healthy/healthier choices. There are many loose ends for future research, such as the use and effect of unnatural colors and biased names, or how added food ingredients (AFIs) impact calorie, taste, and health perception. Moreover, it is vital for future research to understand the combination of several healthy communication techniques in food packaging. Public policy recommendations for social good are also provided.