Technology-Enabled Healthy Food Labels in the Interaction Between the Marketing Firm and Consumers

The impact of unhealthy food consumption is detrimental to society, firms, and consumers. Although a large body of literature exists regarding physical healthy food labels, there is much less research on healthy food labels that are enabled by technology. This is of interest to both the consumers and the online grocery stores. This book chapter provides a case study on healthy food labels and technology. Previous research related to healthy food labels, the use of technology to present healthy food labels, what factors influence consumer behaviour, and how this phenomenon can be understood through the theory of the marketing firm are presented. Technology-enabled healthy food labels may allow new bilateral contingencies between consumers and firms. Firms may acquire more information regarding changing consumer choices, while consumers may have their needs fulfilled when stores present the appropriate marketing mix. These may result in more profit for firms and more value for consumers. Two technology-enabled healthy food labels derived from behaviour-analytic research illustrate this process. This book chapter later describes what online grocery stores need to consider in their marketing research, marketing intelligence, and marketing mix management when implementing and evaluating these labels. We argue that these two labels may help consumers clarify issues related to food variety and what healthy food promotions are. A marketing intelligence system is proposed to be used when evaluating these labels. At last, healthy food products can be analysed in terms of their structure or function, healthy food labels are a form of promotion and acquire their function based on rules, the price of products with such labels may be estimated using willingness to pay methods, and placement of these labels may also impact consumer choice. The conclusion of this chapter emphasizes that more research on rule-governed behaviour may make the promotion of healthy foods more effective.