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One novel strategy to shift food choices in digital shopping environments is to automatically recommend healthier alternatives when an unhealthy choice is made. However, this raises the question which alternative products to recommend. This study assesses 1) whether healthier food swap recommendations are effective, even though the unhealthy choice was made in the presence of visible FOP nutrition labels, and 2) how the similarity of the alternatives influences the acceptance of food swap recommendations. Based on a pre-test, similarity of the recommendation was operationalized in terms of animal-based versus plant-based options. A randomized controlled trial (healthy food swap recommendation conditions: none, similar animal-based, dissimilar plant-based, or mixed animal- and plant-based) with 428 Dutch participants was conducted in a simulated online supermarket. Additional healthier food swap recommendations improved the nutritional quality of the final basket compared to only providing Nutri-Score nutrition labels (-1.7 mean FSA score, p < .001, medium Cohen's d = -0.48). Compared to the dissimilar condition, acceptance of an alternative was more likely in the mixed (odds-ratio = 2.78, p = .015) and in the similar condition (odds-ratio = 2.24, p = .048), but the nutritional quality of the final basket did not differ between treatment conditions. Individuals in treatment conditions who did not receive any recommendation (i.e. only made healthy choices) had higher Nutri-Score familiarity and general health interest than individuals who received recommendations. This suggests that for individuals with higher knowledge and motivation FOP nutrition labels were sufficient, whereas for individuals with lower knowledge and motivation additional food swap recommendations can improve dietary choices. Food swap recommendations may act as meaningful reminders by disrupting the automatic choice process and triggering individuals to rethink their (unhealthy) choice., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

People's responses to products and/or choice environments are crucial to understanding in-store consumer behaviors. Currently, there are various approaches (e.g., surveys or laboratory settings) to study in-store behaviors, but the external validity of these is limited by their poor capability to resemble realistic choice environments. In addition, building a real store to meet experimental conditions while controlling for undesirable effects is costly and highly difficult. A virtual store developed by virtual reality techniques potentially transcends these limitations by offering the simulation of a 3D virtual store environment in a realistic, flexible, and cost-efficient way. In particular, a virtual store interactively allows consumers (participants) to experience and interact with objects in a tightly controlled yet realistic setting. This paper presents the key elements of using a desktop virtual store to study in-store consumer behavior. Descriptions of the protocol steps to: 1) build the experimental store, 2) prepare the data management program, 3) run the virtual store experiment, and 4) organize and export data from the data management program are presented. The virtual store enables participants to navigate through the store, choose a product from alternatives, and select or return products. Moreover, consumer-related shopping behaviors (e.g., shopping time, walking speed, and number and type of products examined and bought) can also be collected. The protocol is illustrated with an example of a store layout experiment showing that shelf length and shelf orientation influence shopping- and movement-related behaviors. This demonstrates that the use of a virtual store facilitates the study of consumer responses. The virtual store can be especially helpful when examining factors that are costly or difficult to change in real life (e.g., overall store layout), products that are not presently available in the market, and routinized behaviors in familiar environments.

Cultured meat is an unfamiliar emerging food technology that could provide a near endless supply of high quality protein with a relatively small ecological footprint. To understand consumer acceptance of cultured meat, this study investigated the influence of information provision on the explicit and implicit attitude toward cultured meat. Three experiments were conducted using a Solomon four-group design to rule out pretest sensitization effects. The first experiment (N = 190) showed that positive or negative information about cultured meat changed the explicit attitude in the direction of the information. This effect was smaller for participants who were more familiar with cultured meat. In the second experiment (N = 194) positive information was provided about solar panels, an attitude object belonging to the same sustainable product category as sustainable food products such as cultured meat. Positive information about solar panels was found to change the explicit attitude in the direction of the information. Using mood induction, the third experiment (N = 192) ruled out the alternative explanation that explicit attitude change in experiment 1 and 2 was caused by content free affect rather than category based inferences. The implicit attitude appeared insensitive to both information or mood state in all three experiments. These findings show that the explicit attitude toward cultured meat can be influenced by information about the sustainability of cultured meat and information about a positively perceived sustainable product. This effect was shown to be content based rather than merely affect based. Content based information in a relevant context could therefore contribute to the commercial success of cultured meat., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Immersive virtual reality techniques present new opportunities for research into consumer behavior. The current study examines whether the increased realism of a virtual store compared to pictorial (2D) stimuli elicits consumer behavior that is more in line with behavior in a physical store. We examine the number, variety, and type of products selected, amount of money spent, and responses to price promotions and shelf display, in three product categories (fruit & vegetables, milk, and biscuits). We find that virtual reality elicits behavior that is more similar to behavior in the physical store compared to the picture condition for the number of products selected (Milk: M store  = 1.19, M virtual  = 1.53, M pictures  = 2.58) and amount of money spent (Milk: M store  = 1.27, M virtual  = 1.53, M pictures  = 2.60 Euro), and for the selection of products from different areas of the shelf, both vertically (purchases from top shelves, milk and biscuits: P store  = 21.6%, P virtual  = 33.4%, P pictures  = 50.0%) and horizontally (purchase from left shelf, biscuits: P store  = 35.5%, P virtual  = 53.3%, P pictures  = 66.7%). This indicates that virtual reality can improve realism in responses to shelf allocation. Virtual reality was not able to diminish other differences between lab and physical store: participants bought more products and spent more money (for biscuits and fruit & vegetables), bought more national brands, and responded more strongly to price promotions in both virtual reality and pictorial representations than in the physical store. Implications for the use of virtual reality in studies of consumer food choice behavior as well as for future improvement of virtual reality techniques are discussed., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

At large attitudes are built on earlier experience with the attitude object. If earlier experiences are not available, as is the case for unfamiliar attitude objects such as new technologies, no stored evaluations exist. Yet, people are still somehow able to construct attitudes on the spot. Depending on the familiarity of the attitude object, attitudes may find their basis more in affect or cognition. The current paper investigates differences in reliance on affect or cognition in attitude formation toward familiar and unfamiliar realistic attitude objects. In addition, individual differences in reliance on affect (high faith in intuition) or cognition (high need for cognition) are taken into account. In an experimental survey among Dutch consumers (N = 1870), we show that, for unfamiliar realistic attitude objects, people rely more on affect than cognition. For familiar attitude objects where both affective and cognitive evaluations are available, high need for cognition leads to more reliance on cognition, and high faith in intuition leads to more reliance on affect, reflecting the influence of individually preferred thinking style. For people with high need for cognition, cognition has a higher influence on overall attitude for both familiar and unfamiliar realistic attitude objects. On the other hand, affect is important for people with high faith in intuition for both familiar and unfamiliar attitude objects and for people with low faith in intuition for unfamiliar attitude objects; this shows that preferred thinking style is less influential for unfamiliar objects. By comparing attitude formation for familiar and unfamiliar realistic attitude objects, this research contributes to understanding situations in which affect or cognition is the better predictor of overall attitudes.

Background: Personalised nutrition (PN) may provide major health benefits to consumers. A potential barrier to the uptake of PN is consumers' reluctance to disclose sensitive information upon which PN is based. This study adopts the privacy calculus to explore how PN service attributes contribute to consumers' privacy risk and personalisation benefit perceptions., Methods: Sixteen focus groups (n = 124) were held in 8 EU countries and discussed 9 PN services that differed in terms of personal information, communication channel, service provider, advice justification, scope, frequency, and customer lock-in. Transcripts were content analysed., Results: The personal information that underpinned PN contributed to both privacy risk perception and personalisation benefit perception. Disclosing information face-to-face mitigated the perception of privacy risk and amplified the perception of personalisation benefit. PN provided by a qualified expert and justified by scientific evidence increased participants' value perception. Enhancing convenience, offering regular face-to face support, and employing customer lock-in strategies were perceived as beneficial., Conclusion: This study suggests that to encourage consumer adoption, PN has to account for face-to-face communication, expert advice providers, support, a lifestyle-change focus, and customised offers. The results provide an initial insight into service attributes that influence consumer adoption of PN., (© 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity poses a major threat to public health. Intervention strategies for healthy food choices potentially reduce obesity rates. Reviews of the effectiveness of interventions, however, show mixed results. To maximise effectiveness, interventions need to be accepted by consumers. The aim of the present study is to explore consumer acceptance of intervention strategies for low-calorie food choices. Beliefs that are associated with consumer acceptance are identified., Methods: Data was collected in the Netherlands in 8 semi-structured interviews and 4 focus group discussions (N = 39). Nine archetypical strategies representing educational, marketing and legal interventions served as reference points. Verbatim transcriptions were coded both inductively and deductively with the framework approach., Results: We found that three beliefs are related to consumer acceptance: 1) general beliefs regarding obesity, such as who is responsible for food choice; 2) the perceived effectiveness of interventions; and 3) the perceived fairness of interventions. Furthermore, the different aspects underlying these general and intervention-specific beliefs were identified., Conclusions: General and intervention-specific beliefs are associated with consumer acceptance of interventions for low-calorie food choices. Policymakers in the food domain can use the findings to negotiate the development of interventions and to assess the feasibility of interventions. With respect to future research, we recommend that segments of consumers based on perceptions of intervention strategies are identified.

Background: Sophisticated recommendation systems are used more and more in the health sector to assist consumers in healthy decision making. In this study we investigate consumers' evaluation of hypothetical health recommendation systems that provide personalized nutrition advice. We examine consumers' intention to use such a health recommendation system as a function of options related to the underlying system (e.g. the type of company that generates the advice) as well as intermediaries (e.g. general practitioner) that might assist in using the system. We further explore if the effect of both the system and intermediaries on intention to use a health recommendation system are mediated by consumers' perceived effort, privacy risk, usefulness and enjoyment., Methods: 204 respondents from a consumer panel in the Netherlands participated. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire. Each respondent evaluated three hypothetical health recommendation systems on validated multi-scale measures of effort, privacy risk, usefulness, enjoyment and intention to use the system. To test the hypothesized relationships we used regression analyses., Results: We find evidence that the options related to the underlying system as well as the intermediaries involved influence consumers' intention to use such a health recommendation system and that these effects are mediated by perceptions of effort, privacy risk, usefulness and enjoyment. Also, we find that consumers value usefulness of a system more and enjoyment less when a general practitioner advices them to use a health recommendation system than if they use it out of their own curiosity., Conclusions: We developed and tested a model of consumers' intention to use a health recommendation system. We found that intermediaries play an important role in how consumers evaluate such a system over and above options of the underlying system that is used to generate the recommendation. Also, health-related information services seem to rely on endorsement by the medical sector. This has considerable implications for the distribution as well as the communication channels of health recommendation systems which may be quite difficult to put into practice outside traditional health service channels.

Objective: In light of the emerging obesity pandemic, front-of-pack calories labels may be an important tool to assist consumers in making informed healthier food choices. However, there is little prior research to guide key decisions on whether caloric content should be expressed in absolute terms or relative to recommended daily intake, whether it should be expressed in per serving or per 100 g and whether the information should be further brought alive for consumers in terms of what the extra calorie intake implies in relation to activity levels. The present study aimed at providing more insight into consumers' appreciation of front-of-pack labelling of caloric content of food products and their specific preferences for alternative execution formats for such information in Europe., Design: For this purpose, eight executions of front-of-pack calorie flags were designed and their appeal and information value were extensively discussed with consumers through qualitative research in four different countries (Germany, The Netherlands, France and the UK)., Results: The results show that calories are well-understood and that participants were generally positive about front-of-pack flags, particularly when flags are uniform across products. The most liked flags are the simpler flags depicting only the number of calories per serving or per 100 g, while more complex flags including references to daily needs or exercise and the flag including a phrase referring to balanced lifestyle were least preferred. Some relevant differences between countries were observed. Although participants seem to be familiar with the notion of calories, they do not seem to fully understand how to apply them., Conclusion: From the results, managerial implications for the design and implementation of front-of-pack calorie labelling as well as important directions for future research are discussed.

Information regarding the method of production of food products influences the decision-making process of consumers. The aim of this study is investigate to what extent information about genomics biases consumer decision making. We investigate the exact source of the biasing nature by separating the effect on consumer beliefs and the salience of those beliefs. The effect of information is tested through an information condition concerning two breeding methods, namely classical breeding and breeding enabled by genomics. The results show that consumer preferences are influenced by the information on production technology. More specifically, the consumer preferences change because consumers alter the salience of their beliefs towards the product.

Two studies are reported, which aim to strengthen the scientific underpinning of strategic decisions regarding functional food development, as to (1) which health benefits to claim, (2) with which product (category), and (3) in which communication format. The first exploratory study is a secondary analysis of 10 different health claims systematically combined with 10 different food carriers to evaluate their combined suitability for functional food positioning. The results show that consumers tend to prefer functional food concepts that primarily communicate disease-related health benefits in carriers with a healthy image or health positioning history. Study 2 examines health claim format and systematically varies the way in which specific health benefits are being communicated to the consumer. Two physiologically oriented claims (heart disease and osteoporosis) and two psychologically oriented food claims (stress and lack of energy) are expressed in enhanced function format versus disease risk reduction format. Also, it includes the individual difference variable of 'regulatory focus' and the health status of the respondent to explore how these factors impact health claim evaluation. The results show that consumer evaluations primarily differ to the extent that health claims are personally relevant in addressing an experienced disease state. Framing is important, but its effect differs by health benefit. No strong effects for consumers' regulatory focus were found. Underlying mechanisms of these effects and their implications for the development of functional foods are discussed.

Highlights • Study of ANS responses to different degrees of disconfirmation in juice samples. • ANS responses did not capture differences related to the degrees of disconfirmation. • ANS responses seemed related to attention and the orientation response. • Sensory and hedonic ratings of the samples followed assimilation-contrast theory. Abstract Disconfirmations between consumers’ expectations and a product’s actual properties can lead to different responses in consumers. Most researchers study these responses focusing on the final judgement of the product. However, looking at consumers’ physiological responses like those of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) could help complement what is known about consumer reactions and final response to disconfirmed expectations. This study evaluated how ANS responses change when tasting juice samples that were as expected, that differed slightly, or that differed greatly from manipulated expectations and whether these responses vary from those obtained when there is no manipulation of expectations. Eighty-six participants tasted fruit and vegetable juices in two separate sessions. They were divided in two conditions. In Condition A, expectations were manipulated by showing participants the image of an ingredient and then providing them with a juice whose flavour was as expected, differed slightly, or differed greatly from that of the image. In Condition B, each juice was first tasted without explicit information shown beforehand and the image of the ingredient was shown afterwards. The images were the same as in Condition A. Heart rate and skin conductance were measured. To confirm that participants perceived confirmations and large and small disconfirmations when tasting the juices, they rated the samples in different sensory properties before and after tasting them. Results from most of the sensory ratings, except sourness and taste intensity, showed that participants perceived the designed confirmation and disconfirmation of expectations accordingly. Regarding ANS responses, heart rate had a larger increase during the second session than during the first. Skin conductance responses increased in Condition A but decreased in Condition B. In conclusion, our design managed to create confirmations and varying levels of disconfirmations. ANS responses did not capture them but seemed to capture factors like attention and the orientation response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims to better understand the impact of norm-challenging products on consumers’ perceptions of mainstream products and retailers. By showing that sustainable market offerings are feasible, products with sustainability labels, such as Fairtrade and organic products, implicitly question the legitimacy of mainstream brands in the market. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses an experiment, based on scenarios that portray the consumer in a shopping situation for their usual coffee brand when they encounter an organic Fairtrade coffee. The paper distinguishes a situation in which the sustainable and the mainstream products compete, from a situation in which the two brands collaborate. Findings – The results show that norm-challenging products deteriorate perceptions of mainstream products and the companies that produce them but improve the image of retailers that include these products in their assortment. If labelled products are sold under the heading of mainstream brands, they still spill over negatively to other products of that brand but positively to the brand company. Practical implications – The spillover effects of norm-challenging products to mainstream companies are an incentive for mainstream firms to enhance the sustainability of their activities. Originality/value – Whereas much literature has focused on the first steps of creating awareness among consumers for sustainability, this paper is the first that tries to understand how typical consumers of mainstream brands develop preferences for products that are more sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To identify the key determinants of consumer attention to nutrition labels, visual search tasks (present –absent; one – two targets) were used as an effective experimental tool. The main manipulation concerned: set size (number of labels on front of pack); label characteristics (display size, position of the label on front-of-pack, colour scheme); and familiarity with type of the label and its location on the front of pack. Attention capture was faster and more accurate when the label was present rather than absent, with doubled rather than standard display size, and with mono- rather than polychromatic colouring. There was performance benefit when the type of label and its location on the package did not change in two consecutive exposures, suggesting that nutrition logos should be printed in a consistent location on the package. The results confirm our hypotheses that display size, colour scheme, familiarity with the label and its location on the front of the pack are key determinants of consumer attention to labels. These findings are crucial to better understanding consumer attention to labels and thus the impact of nutrition information on healthy food choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding of the determinants of consumer confidence in the safety of food is important if effective risk management and communication are to be developed. In the research reported here, we attempt to understand the roles of consumer trust in actors in the food chain and regulators, consumer recall of food safety incidents, consumer perceptions regarding the safety of particular product groups, personality characteristics, and sociodemographics, as potential determinants of consumer confidence in the safety of food. Consumer confidence in the safety of food was conceptualized as consisting of two distinct dimensions, namely, “optimism” and “pessimism.” On the basis of a representative sample of 657 Dutch consumers, structural equation modeling was applied to simultaneously estimate the effect of the determinants on both “optimism” and “pessimism.” The results indicated that, to a considerable extent, both optimism and pessimism about the safety of food arise from consumer trust in regulators and actors in the food chain and the perceived safety of meat and fish rather than other product categories. In addition, support was found for the notion that optimism and pessimism are conceptually distinct, as these dimensions of confidence were partly influenced by different determinants. The results of this study imply that consumer confidence in the safety of food could be enhanced by improving both consumer trust in societal actors, and consumer safety perceptions of particular product groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of food products containing extra or reduced levels of specific ingredients (e.g. extra calcium) that bring particular health benefits (e.g. stronger bones) is still increasing. Nutrition- and health-related (NH) claims promoting these ingredient levels and their health benefit differ in terms of the (legal) strength with which the claim is brought forward and the specific wording of the claim, both of which may differ between countries. Using a large-scale cross-national internet-based survey in Italy (n=1566), Germany (n=1620), UK (n=1560) and US (n=1621), the purpose of the study described here is to investigate consumer perceptions of NH food product claims, across different countries. NH claims are systematically varied as a function of six health benefits (cardiovascular disease, stress, infections, fatigue, overweight and concentration) and five claim types (content, structure-function, product, disease-risk reduction and marketing claim). The general results indicate that consumer perceptions differ substantially by country and benefit being claimed but much less by the claim type. Implications of these findings are being discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Quality Guidance Model was extended beyond sensory properties to include credence motivations like healthiness, environmental friendliness, naturalness, and safety. This Extended Quality Guidance Model was built and tested to explain consumer preferences from consumer perceptions, expert sensory judgments, and metabolite features of tomatoes. The different type of features (sensory, technical, and consumer perceptions) made it possible to explore the actionability of the features in predicting consumer preferences both in-store and upon consumption. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To tempt consumers towards more sustainable food choices, ‘intermediately’ sustainable products (i.e., in between conventional and organic) have been introduced. This poses the managerial question how to best position this range of products. In an experiment with intermediately sustainable meat products, we show that the choice share of these intermediate products is high when price level and physical display signal a consistent positioning of these products. This implies that the effect of layout depends on the price level at which intermediately sustainable products are offered. When these products are offered at intermediate prices, displaying them in a separate section will increase choice (i.e., unique feature positioning). Yet, when intermediately sustainable products are offered at low prices, a mixed display in which intermediately sustainable and conventional products are dispersed will be more effective in increasing choice for the intermediately sustainable options (i.e., comparative positioning). These results show the importance of assortment display in affecting the sales potential of products, and how the most optimal display in-store depends on price level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The role of information context on consumers attention to food labels is explored. [•] Density of nutrition information presented front-of-pack emerged to be crucial. [•] We suggest four measures for enhancing attention to nutrition information. [•] Implications for policy makers and food producers are discussed. [•] To optimize package design and help consumers make well informed healthful choices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Light foods are often perceived as healthier, but less tasty than regular foods. • Consumers are more uncertain about light alternatives. • Product popularity can stimulate choice for light alternatives from existing brands. • Product popularity does not stimulate choice for regular alternatives. • Product popularity is effective in a supermarket context. With the use of virtual reality, this study investigates the potential for popularity cues to stimulate consumers to choose healthier products (versus regular products) within product categories in a supermarket context. Popularity may increase perceived product quality and perceived certainty about that quality. Healthier alternatives (i.e., light products) within a category often have a taste disadvantage compared to regular counterparts as a result of their trimmed down nutrient profiles (low in fat, sugar or salt). Because consumers are more uncertain about the taste of these light products, a popularity cue may have a larger effect on product choice for these options than on the choice for regular products. This hypothesis is tested in an experiment using virtual reality to realistically display a supermarket context. In the main experiment, a sample of 300 consumers was asked to shop for specific groceries, using existing brands and products. The results demonstrate that consumers are more likely to choose light products when these are combined with a popularity cue. In contrast, the popularity cue did not affect choice for the regular alternatives. These results have important implications for research, and for public-policy makers and food retailers that aim to stimulate healthful consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The RRM model matches the performance of its RUM counterpart in a food-choice context. • RRM and linear-in-parameters RUM logit models tend to give the same choice prediction. • Need for acceptance, promotion focus and regret sensitivity favor the RRM framework. • Further studies on the context dependency of RRM and RUM performances are desirable. Abstract In line with findings on post-purchase food-choice regret, one can expect that pre-purchase anticipated regret with respect to forgone (non-chosen) alternatives has an impact on consumer food choices, especially when the choice is considered to be important. The traditional Random Utility Maximization (RUM) models for discrete choices may not fully capture this impact. This study investigates the usefulness and potential in the food domain of a discrete choice model that follows the regret minimization principle, the Random Regret Minimization (RRM) model, as an alternative and complement to existing RUM models. The two models are applied to consumer stated choices of cheese in a choice experiment. The study also investigates whether and to what extent a number of personality traits determine whether particular consumers rather choose according to utility-maximization, or regret-minimization principles. Results show that at the aggregate level the two models have a similar goodness of fit to the data and prediction ability. Still, each of them shows better fit for particular subgroups of consumers, based on personality traits. Hence, the present study reveals a potential for the RRM model applications in the food domain, and adds to the empirical literature supporting previous findings on the RRM model found in other contexts. Further research is needed to explore in which situations and for which consumer segments the RRM model is the most useful model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer choices are often influenced by the default option presented. This study examines the effect of whole wheat bread as a default option in a sandwich choice situation. Whole wheat bread consists of 100% whole grain and is healthier than other bread types that are commonly consumed, such as brown or white bread. A pilot survey (N = 291) examined the strength of combinations of toppings and bread type as carrier to select stimuli for the main study. In the main experimental study consisting of a two (bread type) by two (topping type) between-subjects design, participants (N = 226) were given a free sandwich at a university stand with either a relatively unhealthy deep-fried snack (croquette) or a healthy topping. About half of the participants were offered a whole wheat bun unless they asked for white bun, and the other half were offered a white bun unless they asked for a whole wheat bun. Regardless of the topping, the results show that when the whole wheat bun was the default option, 108 out of 115 participants (94%) decided to stick with this default option. When the default of bread offered was white, 89 out of 111 participants (80%) similarly chose to stick with this default. Across conditions, participants felt equally free to make a choice. The attractiveness of and willingness to pay for the sandwich were not affected by default type of bread. This study demonstrated a strong default effect of bread type. This clearly shows the benefit of steering consumers towards a healthier bread choice, by offering healthier default bread at various locations such as restaurants, schools and work place canteens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edible insects have attracted much Western interest in recent years due to their nutritional and environmental advantages. Consumers, however, remain aversive towards a class of items that is not traditionally considered to be food. While the focus is often on the Western disgust, looking at consumer perceptions in a culture that considers insects to be delicious could provide new insights into the psychological and cultural mechanisms that underpin these evaluations. This cross-cultural qualitative study explores how cultural exposure and individual experience contribute towards the contrasting evaluations of insects as food by those who do and do not eat them. Eight focus groups were conducted across two cultures—four in Thailand where insects are part of the local food culture, and four in the Netherlands where insects are generally not recognised as food. Within these cultures, two groups consisted of individuals who have experience with eating insects, and two groups consisted of individuals with little or no experience with insects as food. Cultural exposure created expectations of which species were more appropriate to eat and how they should be prepared, whereas individual experiences determined whether judgements were made based on memories of past eating experiences or based on the visual properties and item associations. This study provides insights into the acceptance and rejection factors of unfamiliar food items and identifies the factors to be considered when introducing novel food items that are not yet culturally acceptable as food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore (a) whether and how consumers may (over-) interpret satiety claims, and (b) whether and to what extent consumers recognize that personal efforts are required to realize possible satiety-related or weight loss benefits. Following means-end chain theory, we explored for a number of satiety claims the extent of inference-making to higher-level benefits than actually stated in the claim, using internet-based questions and tasks. Respondents (N =1504) in U.K., France, Italy and Germany participated in the study. The majority of these respondents correctly interpret satiety-related claims; i.e. they largely limit their interpretation to what was actually stated. They do not expect a “magic bullet” effect, but understand that personal efforts are required to translate product attributes into potential weight control benefits. Less-restrained eaters were at lower risk for over-interpreting satiety-related claims, whilst respondents with a stronger belief that their weight is something that they can control accept more personal responsibility, and better understand that personal efforts are required to be effective in weight control. Overall, these results indicate there is likely to be a relatively low level of consumer misinterpretation of satiety-related claims on food products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]