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PurposeThis paper analyses the impact of digitalization in the marketing of geographic indication (GI) products. Specifically, the objective is to provide a systemic and comprehensive view of marketing issues and challenges arising from evolving digitalization in the agriculture sector.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed an explorative cognitive mapping technique on a sample of key informants among Italian companies and a consortium of registered food, spirits and wine products.FindingsThis study describes the key concepts dominant in the discourse of informants concerning digitalization and its influence on the GI market. Three clusters and two loops were also identified to explain the relationship among key concepts, which stress changes regarding the relationship with the consumer, product experience and innovation, and the integration between physical and virtual space.Research limitations/implicationsThis is the first attempt to apply cognitive maps to GIs. However, the study does have limitations: it was conducted on a small number of producers and was restricted to only Italy. Another limitation is that interviews were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.Practical implicationsThe results suggest important practical implications that stress the need for learning and increased digital competences for the efficient embedding of digital technologies in all business areas, increase product value and innovation, and the need for governance in support of digital transformation.Originality/valueThis work creates the new and valuable literature on food marketing and, specifically, on a changing market environment resulting from digitalization, by providing a holistic overview of digitalization in reference to the marketing of GIs.

Objective:To explore the promotion of discretionary foods/beverages and marketing strategies employed by the top three online food delivery services’ (OFDS) Instagram accounts in three countries before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Design:Publicly available data were extracted for the top three OFDS Instagram accounts for Australia, United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA) from March to May 2019 and 2020. Food/beverage items from posts were classified as ‘discretionary’ or from the five food groups (FFG) according to the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Marketing strategies were coded using an existing framework. Posts referring to COVID-19 were coded under four marketing strategies: (i) appropriating frontline workers; (ii) combatting the pandemic; (iii) selling social distancing; and (iv) accelerating digitalisation.Results:From 581 posts, 618 food/beverage items were shown, of which 69 % (427/618) were classified as discretionary. In 2019, the most used marketing strategies were product imagery (unbranded) (137/195, 70 %), links (111/195, 57 %) and sponsorships/partnerships (58/195, 30 %). In 2020, the most used were links (252/386, 68 %), product imagery (unbranded) (179/386, 49 %) and branding elements (175/386, 45 %). The most common COVID-19 marketing strategy was combatting the pandemic (76/123, 62 %) followed by selling social distancing (53/123, 43 %), appropriating frontline workers (34/123, 28 %) and accelerating digitalisation (32/123, 26 %).Conclusions:Following the COVID-19 pandemic, OFDS adapted their marketing, creating content with the theme of ‘combatting the pandemic’. Due to the growing number of discretionary foods/beverages promoted on Instagram, this highlights the need for policy action to counter the potential influence social media platforms have on dietary behaviours.

Guided by the theoretical frameworks of the "health halo effect" and consumer expertise, this research was undertaken to determine how two individual factors, health consciousness and health literacy, differentially influence evaluations of nutrient-content claimed messaging for an unhealthy food (i.e., chocolate) and whether such evaluations are moderated by the reading of the food's Nutrition Facts Label displaying different serving sizes. The research found that health consciousness positively influenced evaluative responses to unhealthy food messaging, and that the positive influence persisted following the reading of a Nutrition Facts label listing a large quantity of unhealthy ingredients per serving size. In contrast, health literacy negatively influenced perceived healthiness and purchase intention when the nutrition label communicated a higher serving size, indicating that subjective and objective expertise work differently. The results advance understanding of the information processing of nutrient-claimed unhealthy foods, and suggest implications for food marketing communication and public health policy.

Objective:To examine the extent to which food and beverage brands exhibit personalities on Twitter, quantify Twitter users’ engagement with posts displaying personality features and determine advertising spending across these brands on Twitter.Design:We identified 100 tweets from 10 food and beverage brands that displayed a ‘personality’, and 100 ‘control’ tweets (i.e. a post by that brand on the same day). Our codebook quantified the following personification strategies: (1) humour; (2) trendy language and (3) absence of food product mentions. We used media articles to quantify other personification strategies: (4) referencing trending topics; (5) referencing current events; (6) referencing internet memes and (7) targeting niche audiences. We calculated brands’ number of tweets, re-tweets, ‘likes’, and comments and report the relationship between advertising spending and retweets per follower.Setting:Twitter posts.Participants:Ten food and beverage brands that were described in media articles (e.g. Forbes) as having distinct personalities.Results:Personality tweets earned 123 013 retweets, 732 076 ‘likes’ and 14 806 comments, whereas control tweets earned 61 044 retweets, 256 105 ‘likes’ and 14 572 comments. The strategies used most included humour (n 81), trendy language (n 80) and trending topics (n 47). The three brands that spent the most on advertising had similar or fewer retweets per follower than the four that spent relatively little on advertising.Conclusions:Some food and beverage brands have distinct ‘personalities’ on Twitter that generate millions of ‘likes’ and retweets. Some retweets have an inverse relationship with advertising spending, suggesting ‘personalities’ may be a uniquely powerful advertising tool for targeting young adults.

Visual imagery is a vital component in consumer perceptions, especially with food products. However, research has neglected the role of imagery types (i.e., representational versus abstract) in those perceptions, especially in relation to two important categorizations of food items: vices and virtues. Three studies demonstrate that consumers respond more favorably when food products are depicted with representational (versus abstract) imagery. However, these effects vary depending upon if the product is a vice or a virtue. Specifically, vice products result in greater purchase intentions when depicted with representational imagery versus abstract imagery, whereas that advantage is attenuated between imagery types for virtue products. Further, visual clarity is revealed as the underlying process, and symbolic meaningfulness and anticipated guilt are ruled out as potential alternative explanations. The findings carry implications for retailers and brands seeking to increase or decrease consumption of vices and virtues, depending on the desired goal.

In recent years, the progress of the culinary business in the city of Semarang has increased. This is marked by the emergence of a lot of business creativity that follows consumer tastes. This creativity can be seen from the variety of culinary product variants sold by culinary entrepreneurs. From the research that has been done, there is still no research that filters and gives grade on food or drink in order to provide prices that are in accordance with the quality of food or drinks. Therefore to address the needs of culinary entrepreneurs, it takes an application of Culinary E-Business that can be a bridge for culinary entrepreneurs in the city of Semarang to receive orders online. It is expected that this application can determine food quality standards that will be marketed through this e-business application by providing grade A, B, and C. labels To determine food grade, this study uses the K-Nearest Neighbor method. By determining the price standards for similar foods, so there is no price competition for similar foods that can lead to the death of food entrepreneurs with small capital. So that it can move the people's economy by providing the means to expand the regional food marketing network, so that food entrepreneurs have a greater chance to develop.

This study investigates tourist attitudes to local food on destination choice, travel motivation, satisfaction and perceived object-related and existential authenticity. Additionally, the mediating effects of authenticity on these relationships is also examined. A quantitative survey (n = 368) by questionnaire was conducted. Data was analysed using factor analysis and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to show that tourist attitudes to local food influence destination choice, satisfaction and perceptions of object-related and existential authenticity. Furthermore, it was found that existential authenticity, rather than object-related authenticity had a greater impact on the relationships between tourist attitudes to local food and destination choice, travel motivation and satisfaction. A clear and influential relationship between tourists’ attitudes to local food and travel behaviour was found. Tourists want an existential authentic local food experience where they can be actively involved. Destinations should emphasise unique regional specialities and highlight the experiential value of local food.

Purpose This paper aims to offer social marketers an innovative method to promote healthy foods. This method demonstrates the effectiveness of indirect communication in attracting consumers to healthy foods. Further, it aims to offer a way to promote food as healthier with no detrimental effects on its perceived appeal, which are a likely side effect of advertising food as healthy. Design/methodology/approach Four between-participant lab studies (N = 50, 80, 80, 102) included manipulations of food motion vs stillness and then compared ratings of food freshness, healthiness and appeal using self-report measures. Findings Motion increases healthiness evaluation. This increase in healthiness evaluation occurs without reductions in food appeal. These effects are mediated by evaluations of freshness. This occurred across three different food types and two mediums (still images and digital videos). Research limitations/implications The paper provides an effective tool for social marketers wishing to encourage healthier eating. Specifically, it helps address two problems: low effectiveness of prevalent, information-based appeals to encourage healthy eating; and reduced evaluations of tastiness that normally occur when consumers are convinced food is healthy. Social implications Social marketers can use motion as an effective tool to promote food as healthy. Importantly, this indirect communication avoids the potential pitfall of reduced food appeal. This should help encourage healthier eating. The findings also supports the use of indirect cues as an effective approach to promoting social ends. Originality/value Offering a novel, indirect method of enhancing judgments of food healthiness via a simple visual cue. Demonstrating the effect and its underlying mechanism. Providing a way to counter the prevalent “unhealthy = tasty” intuition, a major obstacle to promoting healthy eating. Supporting social marketers’ use of indirect communication to increase the appeal of desirable societal goals. Finally, showing that sensory visual cues can serve as a source of heuristic thinking.

Purpose of ReviewChildhood obesity is a global health concern. And a number of studies have indicated that food promotions affect children’s food attitudes, preferences, and food choices for foods high in fat and sugar, which potentially impacts children’s body weight development. This review showcases how children are affected by food promotions, why companies even target children with their promotional efforts, and what makes children so susceptible to promotion of unhealthy food. In addition, this review discusses how regulations, parental styles, and individual media literacy skills can help to contain the potential detrimental effects of food promotions on children’s health.Recent FindingsThe recent findings indicate that children are affected by food promotions in their preference for unhealthy food and beverages in selection tasks shortly conducted after exposure. Furthermore, results indicate significant effects of food marketing, including enhanced attitudes, preferences, and increased consumption of marketed (predominantly unhealthy) foods connected with a wide range of marketing strategies. Children are particularly vulnerable to promotional efforts and react to it strongly due to their still developing cognitive and social skills as well as their lack in inhibitory control.SummaryThis review proposes an applied focus that discusses pathways for regulators, parents, and educators. In the light of the discussed results, a large number of studies on food promotion indicate that there is need to react. In all these measures, however, it is of relevance to consider children’s developmental stages to effectively counteract and respond to the potential detrimental effects of food promotions on children’s long-term weight development.

Purpose of Review There is abundant evidence that food marketing influences children’s and adults’ food preferences and consumption. As such, exposure to unhealthy food marketing is a widely acknowledged risk factor contributing to the development of overweight and obesity. Less is known about the effects of healthy food promotion on people’s dietary behavior. This narrative review describes research from the past 5 years focused on the effects of healthy food marketing on children’s and adults’ food preferences and dietary intake. Our aim is to gain insight into the potential effects and mechanistic underpinnings of healthy food promotion, thereby building on existing knowledge on underlying mechanisms of the effectiveness of unhealthy food marketing. Recent Findings Only a small number of studies directly examined the effects of healthy food promotion on children’s and adults’ dietary behavior. Most studies targeted children’s fruit and/or vegetable intake and used a variety of marketing techniques, ranging from television adverts to social media influencer marketing. Six out of ten studies found a positive effect of healthy food promotion, indicating that healthy food marketing has the potential to influence dietary behavior. Summary Food marketing is highly effective in stimulating and reinforcing food consumption, in particular for energy-dense foods. Further investigation and experimentation into the efficiency and effectiveness of healthy food promotion are needed to determine how marketing techniques could be used to improve dietary behavior. The healthy food promotion model provides a framework for future research in this area.

This article examines the economic culture of urban food markets in early modern England. It focuses on London between 1590 and 1640 to argue that market regulation, even in fast-growing, commercializing cities, was underpinned by moralized values. It also assesses a largely untapped citywide book of fines, containing payments for regulatory offences. The first section outlines London's market system and regulation, the second looks at enforcement in practice and the third discusses the underlying values. This contributes to our understanding of day-to-day food marketing and proposes that studies of ‘moral economy’ should examine everyday commerce and major cities.

Background Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are a leading cause of death globally. NCD mortality attributable to unhealthy food environments (FEs) is significant. Heavy marketing of unhealthy foods is an important contributor to unhealthy FEs. Aims We examined the extent of commercial food advertising, messaging, and signage on the campus of Ghana’s oldest and largest university. Methods We cross-sectionally collected data on all sighted advertisements. Advertisements/signage were categorised as food or non-food adverts, and as healthy or unhealthy (if they were food). Results Of 503 advertisements recorded, 238 (47.3%) were food ads. Advertised food products were categorised as healthy (38.7%), unhealthy (57.6%), or other/miscellaneous (3.8%). The most advertised food product was sugar-sweetened drinks (37.0%). Different promotional techniques deployed included the use of claim pronouncement, promotional characters, emotional appeal, premium offer, and price promotion. Conclusions The preponderance of unhealthy food advertising on the campus of Ghana’s largest university has public health implications. Advertising may influence purchasing behaviour and consumption of unhealthy foods. Publicity and advocacy that motivate development of local policies to regulate various food promotion activities within this, and other Ghanaian food environments are urgently needed.

Objective:To draw lessons from Fiji regarding the challenges and opportunities for policy initiatives to restrict (i) food marketing to children and (ii) marketing of breast milk substitutes, to inform policy for the double burden of malnutrition.Design:Qualitative political economy analysis of two policy case studies.Setting:Fiji.Participants:Eleven key informants from relevant sectors, representing public health, economic and consumer interests.Results:This study used two policy initiatives as case studies to examine factors influencing decision-making: Marketing Controls (Foods for Infants and Young Children) Regulations 2010, amended in 2016 to remove guidelines and restrictions on marketing in the form of labelling, and the draft Advertising and Promotion of Unhealthy Foods and Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Children Regulation developed in 2014 but awaiting review by the Solicitor General’s Office. Factors identified included: a policy paradigm in which regulation of business activity contradicts economic policy goals; limited perception by key policy actors of links between nutrition and marketing of breast milk substitutes, foods and beverages; and a power imbalance between industry and public health stakeholders in policymaking. Regulation of marketing for health purposes sits within the health sector’s interest but not its legislative remit, while within the economic sector’s remit but not interest. Opportunities to strengthen restrictions on marketing to improve nutrition and health include reframing the policy issue, strategic advocacy and community engagement.Conclusions:Restricting marketing should be recognised by public health actors as a public health and an industry policy issue, to support strategic engagement with economic policy actors.

Food tourism is a growing phenomenon with a particular emphasis on experiencing authentic and traditional local foods, which provides a vehicle for local producers and service providers to develop regional identities, enhance environmental awareness, and conserve traditional ways of life. However, past research indicates that whilst many tourists are interested in local food and drink, a number do not consume any whilst visiting a destination. This study explores why this intention behaviour gap may occur. Five hypotheses are tested using data collected from a sample of 546 respondents recruited via an online panel of visitors to South East Queensland, Australia. Regression analysis explores differences in attitudes, behaviours, barriers and drivers, and concludes an intention-behaviour (purchase) gap is evident. Whilst future visitors had high intentions to purchase local food, past visitors purchased less than might be anticipated. This is possibly due to past visitors holding less favourable attitudes and beliefs than future visitors due to expectations not being met. Key perceived barriers associated with lack of marketing and distribution, inconvenience, price and quality issues, and lack of trust the product is actually local may compound the issue. Practical suggestions are offered to producers, service providers and management on how they may close the intention/behaviour gap through a variety of marketing, distribution and communication strategies. This study provides new insight into why what visitors say they will do may not translate into actual behaviour, an area that has not been explored previously in this context, through studying the drivers/barriers to purchase/consumption.

The article presents findings of research on consumer behavior in the market of foodstuffs assigned quality labels in the Czech Republic. The sample of the research was 444 respondents interviewed in 2016 in front of retail stores. The aim of the article is to identify important factors that influence customers’ decision-making process when purchasing food products, as well as how the order of factors influences consumers’ decisions when they are buying foodstuffs, and learn respondents’ opinions about food products marked with quality labels, including a presentation of specific examples of Czech food quality labels. Based on the research, the most important factors for the customer are the price, origin, and quality of the product. A food quality label was in the seventh position.

The aim and purpose of this paper is to point out to the quality of financial performance and efficiency of food retailers in Serbia, as well as measures for improvement in the future, based on theoretical knowledge and empirical analysis using AHP-TOPSIS methods. The problem of analyzing the financial performance of all companies, which includes trading companies, is very topical, significant and complex. Consequently, mathematical methods and models have lately been increasingly used. With this insight in mind, this paper investigates the financial performance and efficiency of food retailers in Serbia using AHP and TOPSIS methods. Of all the observed optimization criteria (cost of goods sold, operating costs, gross margin and net profit), the most significant was the cost of goods sold. The most efficient food retailer in Serbia is Aman. The Mercator-S Company is inefficient. In order to improve the efficiency of food retailers in Serbia, it is necessary to apply the Western business models (private brand, multichannel sales, organic food sales and others), the concepts of strategic management accounting and to strengthen the digitalization of business.

Since the nineties of the last century, ecological products have become increasingly important in the market, and given that scientists have pro and contra arguments of ecological breeding, the main purpose of this paper was to determine the consumer’s preferences towards ecological food ; the importance of certain characteristics and deterrents on the purchase of organic food ; in the market of Split. For this a survey, we randomly recruited 113 participants in Split, Croatia. Surveyed consumers when purchasing organic food of the greatest importance consider the protection of the environment, and at the least important they retain the taste. The most significant constraint on purchasing organic food of surveyed consumers is the high cost of the product, and the least important is the lack of marketing. Given the size of the sample, surveyed consumers are a typical target group of consumers of organic food.

Objective:To assess the relationship between exposure to social media food messages and self-reported adolescent eating outcomes (including food intake, perceived norms and food literacy).Design:A cross-sectional survey was used to assess reported exposure to core and non-core food messages (including marketing messages) on social media, as well as reported food intake, perceived norms, food literacy, attitudes, self-regulation, among others.Setting:18 secondary schools across Flanders, Belgium.Participants:1002 adolescents 11–19 years of age.Results:Self-reported exposure to food marketing and overall food messages on social media was positively associated with eating attitudes, behaviours, perceived norms and food literacy among adolescents. Interestingly, the relationship between food exposure and intake was shaped differently depending on food type; descriptive norms mediated the positive relationship between non-core food social media exposure and non-core food intake (e.g. indirect effect estimate on self-reported sweets consumption is 0·005,se0·002,P< 0·01), while food literacy mediated the positive relationship between core food social media exposure and core food intake (e.g. indirect effect estimate on self-reported vegetable consumption is 0·01,se0·003,P< 0·000).Conclusions:This study highlights the significance of social media in relation to adolescent eating. There is an opportunity for health professionals to use social media in the promotion of core food among adolescents. We call for relevant policy actions to regulate the marketing of non-core food to adolescents on social media.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore farmers’ intentions to engage in food brand development schemes and identify the factors that impact this. Design/methodology/approach By assuming the utility maximization behavior of farmers, based on data collected from 539 fruit and vegetable producers, this study estimates an intention to participate and a willingness to pay model. Findings Three groups of factors determine the utility the farmers derive and subsequently their engagement in brand development. Farm business characteristics include farmers’ age, the attainment of quality certification and cultivated area, while psychological factors include farmers’ attitudes toward local reflections of the brand, perceptions regarding the need for farm business external support and consumers’ interest, as well as farmers’ commitment to quality requirements. Farmers’ strategies related to the share of products sold by cooperatives and to individually use the brand also determine their engagement in a brand development scheme. Research limitations/implications Future research should distinguish producers according to the marketing channel they choose and their industry, and explore the intentions of intermediate marketers. Practical implications Marketing cooperatives should undertake initiatives to develop local brands effectively, taking into consideration the factors that impact farmers’ engagement, while food marketing firms should properly adapt their purchasing and promotion strategies. Public authorities should formulate a policy mix that enhances farmers’ knowledge related to marketing issues and encourages farmers to strengthen their positions in the marketplace. Originality/value The research reveals a strategic proactive behavior of farmers favoring the development of local brands, and provides insights into the factors that impact farmers’ adoption decisions.

Public health advocates highlight the role of corporate actors and food marketing in shaping diets and health. This study analyses insider-oriented communications in food industry magazines in the UK to analyse actions and narratives related to health and nutrition, providing insights into relatively overlooked areas of marketing strategy including inter-firm dynamics. From a sample of four specialized food industry magazines covering the main industry segments we identified 319 articles (published 2007–2018) mentioning health or nutrition together with industry actions affecting the food environment. We identified health-related actions and analysed underlying strategies through content and thematic analyses. Health and nutrition have a rapidly growing role in food marketing strategy. Content analysis revealed a focus on ultra-processed foods, as well as product and nutrient-specific trends including increased health-based marketing of snacks and “protein rich” products. Health-related actions predominantly relied on consumer agency rather than invoking structural food environment changes. Thematic analysis identified proactive and defensive marketing strategies. Proactive approaches included large investments in health-related promotion of ultra-processed foods which are made highly visible to competitors, and the reliance on a “credence goods” differentiation strategies. Defensive strategies included a ‘Red Queen’ effect, whereby firms take health-related actions to keep up with competitors. These competitive strategies can create challenges, as well as some opportunities, for public health promotion. Challenges can include undermining efforts to support product comparison and healthier choice, and limiting firms’ engagement in specific health improving actions. Systematic analysis of health-oriented marketing strategies could support more effective public health intervention., Highlights • We analyse a decade of insider-oriented news from UK food industry magazines. • We focus on health-related food marketing strategy and public health implications. • Important drivers include policy, consumer awareness and inter-firm dynamics. • There is potential for misalignment between key strategies and public health goals. • Marketing strategy and inter-firm dynamics monitoring can support effective policy.

Food and beverage marketing is a major driver of childhood obesity, and companies target their least nutritious products to Black youth. However, little is known about adolescents’ perceptions of and responses to racially targeted food marketing. In this qualitative study, we investigated how Black and White adolescents perceived and responded to racially targeted television commercials for food and beverages. We recruited 39 adolescents aged 12–17 years in New York City to watch a series of commercials and then participate in an in-depth interview using a semi-structured interview guide. The research team recorded, transcribed, and analyzed interviews using ATLAS.ti. Overall, participants responded positively to commercials that featured celebrities. They were also able to recognize the commercials and reported they had been exposed to marketing from these companies on social media and in subways/buses. Many participants considered the advertised brands as healthy or able to enhance athletic performance because of their endorsement by or association with athletes. Participants also understood that marketers were using racial targeting in their ads but that targeting did not translate into improved perceptions or responses towards advertised products. These findings suggest the need to empirically evaluate and further explore Black and White adolescents’ responses to racially targeted food marketing.

In the Spring of 2021, a survey of college students’ perceptions and behaviors regarding grocery shopping methods, including online purchases of fresh produce, in the post-response to COVID-19 was conducted. The purpose of this research was to analyze the perceptions of online grocery shopping and identify specific factors that significantly influenced the grocery shopping experience. A sample of 203 responses was collected from undergraduate and graduate students within the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences (CALS) at the University of Florida. Participants perceived in-store grocery shopping as superior in terms of product quality, shopping experience, store loyalty, and hygiene while convenience was perceived as an advantage with online grocery shopping. Participants identified product quality and greater transparency regarding food handling as important concerns and factors when purchasing fresh produce online. Although COVID-19 pandemic caused students to explore various online grocery services, it had limited effect on their purchasing of fresh produce. The implications for this study are far reaching, applicable to industry retailers interested in consumer willingness to pay for online grocery options and in identifying value-adding services that would increase consumer participation. This study also provides baseline data useful to researchers interested in consumer behavior, acceptance, and food marketing.

Many population exposures in time-series analysis, including food marketing, exhibit a time-lagged association with population health outcomes such as food purchasing. A common approach to measuring patterns of associations over different time lags relies on a finite-lag model, which requires correct specification of the maximum duration over which the lagged association extends. However, the maximum lag is frequently unknown due to the lack of substantive knowledge or the geographic variation of lag length. We describe a time-series analytical approach based on an infinite lag specification under a transfer function model that avoids the specification of an arbitrary maximum lag length. We demonstrate its application to estimate the lagged exposure-outcome association in food environmental research: display promotion of sugary beverages with lagged sales.

This paper aims to identify which Schwartz values and regulatory focus orientations influence consumer behavior on the food market in the domain of preference for domestic products, which is closely related to consumer ethnocentrism. The CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviews) method was applied. The sample consisting of 1000 respondents was representative for the Polish adult population in terms of sex, age, education, place of living (rural vs. urban), and region. The willingness to pay (WTP) a higher price for domestic products was affected by the tradition and universalism values. Consumer value orientations and regulatory focus were more powerful in explaining the WTP than demographic or socio-economic variables. The theories of value orientations and regulatory focus were found to be more relevant for men than for women, as reflected in adjusted regression determination coefficients. Finally, the promotion regulatory focus was a significant predictor of the WTP among men, but not among women. Based on my findings, it is recommended (1) to emphasize the following elements in marketing communications in order to stimulate the purchases of domestic food products: appeals to tradition, customs, ecology, being natural; (2) to take into account the Schwartz values in consumer segmentation on the food market; (3) to differentiate marketing communications for domestic food products on the basis of gender segmentation: in messages addressed to male consumers, arguments appealing to the promotion orientation should be used more frequently.

Important institutions, such as the World Health Organization, recommend reducing alcohol consumption by encouraging healthier drinking habits. This could be achieved, for example, by employing more effective promotion of non-alcoholic beverages. For such purposes, in this study, we assessed the role of experiential beer packaging sounds during the e-commerce experience of a non-alcoholic beer (NAB). Here, we designed two experiments. Experiment 1 evaluated the influence of different experiential beer packaging sounds on consumers’ general emotions and sensory expectations. Experiment 2 assessed how the sounds that evoked more positive results in Experiment 1 would influence emotions and sensory expectations related to a NAB digital image. The obtained results revealed that a beer bottle pouring sound helped suppress some of the negativity that is commonly associated with the experience of a NAB. Based on such findings, brands and organizations interested in more effectively promoting NAB may feel encouraged to involve beer packaging sounds as part of their virtual shopping environments.

Background: This study describes the rationale, adaptation, and final protocol of a project developed to address the increase in obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NR-NCDs) in Ghana. Code-named the Measurement, Evaluation, Accountability, and Leadership Support for NCDs (MEALS4NCDs) project, it aims to measure and support public sector actions that create healthy food marketing, retail, and provisioning environments for Ghanaian children using adapted methods from the International Network for Food and Obesity/NCDs Research Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS).Methods: The protocol for this observational study draws substantially from the INFORMAS' Food Promotion and Food Provision Modules. However, to appraise the readiness of local communities to implement interventions with strong potential to improve food environments of Ghanaian children, the MEALS4NCDs protocol has innovatively integrated a local community participatory approach based on the community readiness model (CRM) into the INFORMAS approaches. The setting is Ghana, and the participants include health and nutrition policy-makers, nutrition and food service providers, consumers, school authorities, and pupils of Ghanaian basic schools.Results: The study establishes a standardized approach to providing implementation science evidence for the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Ghana. It demonstrates feasibility and the innovative application of the INFORMAS expanded food promotion and food provision modules, together with the integration of the CRM in a lower-middle income setting.Conclusion: The research will facilitate the understanding of the processes through which the INFORMAS approach is contextualized to a lower-middle income African context. The protocol could be adapted for similar country settings to monitor relevant aspects of food environments of children.

Food purchase decisions are characterized by habitual purchase behavior and low consumer involvement. The main aim of food marketing is to influence food consumers, for example, through advertising. In order to illustrate the interaction between consumers and marketers, Friestad and Wright (1994) developed the Persuasion Knowledge Model. The Persuasion Knowledge Model postulates that consumers’ dealing with persuasion attempts depends on three knowledge factors: persuasion, agent, and topic knowledge. In this paper, we apply the Persuasion Knowledge Model to food advertising. Based on an online survey with German students (n = 420), a structural equation analysis is used to investigate how persuasion knowledge determinants influence food consumers’ avoidance of the persuasion attempt which is presented as a hypothetical but typical food advertisement. Results show that the dependent variable beliefs about consumers’ avoidance of the persuasion attempt is negatively influenced by consumers’ beliefs about psychological mediators in the advertisement and by consumers’ beliefs about the appropriateness and effectiveness of the persuasion tactic. The determinant consumers’ beliefs about persuasion coping goals and tactics positively influences consumers’ avoidance of the persuasion attempt. From these findings, we derive recommendations for food industry advertisers and consumer education.

The digital marketing of commercial complementary foods (CCF) is an emerging area of concern in Australia. Although research into traditional methods has identified a range of problems, the marketing and messaging strategies employed within digital spaces have gone largely unscrutinized. This study sought to examine the methods used by CCF manufacturers to promote Australian baby foods and brands in a digital space. A multiple step approach was used to assess the CCF brands available in major Australian retailers, the social media platforms they used, and to thematically analyze the text and visual messages contained in posts published over a three-month period. Of the 15 brands identified, 12 had a digital presence, and all of these used Facebook. Four themes emerged from an analysis of 216 Facebook posts, (1) general product attributes, (2) socially desirable attributes (which included messaging related to taste (41%), self-feeding (29%) and fun (19%)), (3) concern-based attributes (including organic status (40%), age targets (39%) and additive-/allergen-free status (18%)) and (4) health-focused attributes (which included messaging related to healthy/nutritious ingredients (45%), and child development/growth (15%). Messages contained in Facebook posts were mostly positive brand/product aspects (Themes 1 and 2) or parental concern-based aspects (Theme 3 and 4). These themes match previous analyses of marketing content in traditional media and should be closely monitored due to the personalized nature of consumer social media interactions.

PurposeThe study adopted a conceptualized technological, organizational and environmental (TOE) model to empirically investigate the factors affecting hotel managers’ attitudes toward intelligent agent technology (IAT) adoption in the hotel food supply chain management (HFSCM) and their intentions for future adoption.Design/methodology/approachIn-person survey was carried out in luxury hotels in Florida.FindingsThe findings indicated that merely 5.7 per cent of hotels are fully implementing IAT. Perceived benefits, reliability, quality of human resources, information intensity and market capabilities had a statistically significant positive impact on hotel managers’ attitudes. However, complexity and cost had a negative influence on hotel managers’ attitudes toward IAT adoption in the HFSCM. Managers’ attitude further positively influences their intention to adopt.Practical implicationsThe validated model helps guide hotel decision makers who are considering IAT adoption in the HFSCM. Hotels that are seeking sources for competitive advantages would better consider the TOE factors in IAT adoption prior to making a decision.Originality/valueThis is the first study that examined IAT adoption in the hotel industry from a theoretical and empirical perspective. The validated model proposed for the adoption of IAT in HFSCM enriched the TOE model and the diffusion of innovations theory.

The aim of this paper is to understand how the practice of package free shopping takes shape and is established. Taking a shopping-as-practice approach, and drawing on an ethnographic study of a Swedish ecological food store, this paper shows that to be able to successfully remove a key artefact - packaging - from the practice of shopping, the practice itself must be reinvented. Developing package free shopping therefore requires the re-framing of the practice of shopping (making it meaningful in a new way), the re-skilling of the consumer (developing new competencies needed for its performance), and the re-materialization of the store (changing the material arrangement that makes this mode of shopping possible). This suggests that the promotion of alternative modes of sustainable shopping is a complicated matter that requires a profound understanding of the practice of shopping.

Public policy makers from around the world (e.g., United Kingdom, Ecuador, and Chile) have launched different initiatives to emphasize the importance of displaying easy-to-interpret nutritional information on food packages. This effort has resulted in new regulations requiring food manufacturers to display traffic light nutritional labels. Previous studies provide mixed results about the effectiveness of traffic light labels on influencing consumers to choose healthy products. This research explores the role of consumers' brand familiarity and attention level as factors that explain the limited efficacy of traffic light nutritional labels. Moreover, we test whether brand trust is the underlying mechanism that decreases consumers' alertness to traffic light nutritional labels. Our results suggest that brand familiarity and brand trust together create a shield that protects the product from being evaluated as unhealthy, even in the presence of warnings from traffic light nutritional labels. Data from four experiments support our findings using different label formats, food product types, and participants from countries that have implemented traffic light nutritional labels.

In many countries, retailers are obligated to display unit prices for their products. Still, they have considerable flexibility in the unit price measure used. For example, price can be stated per kg or per 100 g. We demonstrate that large unit price measures (prices per kg) lead to higher perceived prices and subsequently to lower purchase intentions than smaller measures (prices per 100 g). We also elaborate on the boundary conditions of this effect. The results of four experimental studies indicate that the measurement-unit effect is significantly lower when retailers display two prices: unit and retail price. In addition, the effect is dependent on the groceries' package size, as it is only evident for medium-sized packages (e.g., 500 g) but not for small (e.g., 100 g) and large (e.g., 1000 g) packages. The results of these studies provide useful guidance for retailers on the use of different measurement units as a strategic option in their price presentation.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the packaged food market in Brazil by examining the use of nutrition and health claims and marketing techniques, as well as the different levels of industrial food processing in relation to product category, nutrition information and price. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted on the labels of pre-packed foods and non-alcoholic beverages marketed in a home-shopping website in Brazil. Findings The authors showed that the use of nutrition and health claims on packaged foods in Brazil is widespread and varied across different food categories. Marketing techniques were also prevalent, and techniques emphasising general health, well-being or naturalness were the most frequent type used. Overall, products carrying nutrition and health claims and/or using marketing techniques had lower content of fat and higher content of fibre. However, the high prevalence of these strategies in ultra-processed foods is alarming. The presence of health claims and use of marketing techniques was not found to be an effective modifier of the three price measures. However, processed and ultra-processed foods were more expensive than unprocessed foods when considering price per energy and price per 100 g or mL. Originality/value These results indicate that there are clear opportunities to improve the packaged food environment in supermarkets. It is important to highlight the need to develop public policies to address these issues, including restriction of the promotion and advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages and use of warning labels.

Organic and green food is a growing sector globally, including in emerging economies such as India and China. Developing the organic food retail sector in emerging markets requires extensive investment in the credibility of organics and organic retailers. The paper examines the role of Indian consumers’ perceptions of green retailers’ environmental activities, and three aspects of in-store experience quality, in influencing consumers' perceived credibility of one green retailer. Using a 30-item questionnaire, 356 usable responses were collected from Indian consumers who had purchased goods from one food retailer which positions itself as being green. The data were analysed using factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Results found that consumer perceptions of food retailers’ environmental activities had a statistically significant effect on service encounter quality, in-store communication quality and product encounter quality, and consumer perceptions of a green food retailer's credibility. Results also found the effects of service encounter quality, in-store communication quality and product encounter quality positively influenced consumers’ perceptions of the credibility of the green food retailer. In addition, the three aspects of in-store experience quality mediated the relationship between consumer perceptions of retailers’ environmental activities and perceived credibility of green food retailers. These findings highlight the need for the development of green retailers’ strategies that establish positive consumer perceptions for themselves. They also identify that green retailers need to deliver in-store experiences that are aligned with these perceptions, creating an integrated organisational brand, thus enhancing consumers’ perceived credibility of green food retailers. Such actions will be important in all markets, but especially in emerging economies where green, organic food retailing is still developing, and where many new consumers have less product category experience and thus are more reliant on their pre-purchase perceptions.

ConAgra Foods purchased Ralcorp, a generic brands packaged foods manufacturer, in January 2013. This purchase made ConAgra the largest private-brand packaged foods company in North America. The purchase was part of the firm’s acquisition strategy, its ‘recipe for growth’ launched in 2012. Instead of moving ConAgra forward, the purchase almost brought ConAgra into bankruptcy. ConAgra had difficulties integrating Ralcorp and the trend for private label (vs. brand name) products declined shortly after Ralcorp’s acquisition. This turn of events was made far worse because ConAgra had borrowed a large amount of debt to make the acquisition. Now, almost three years later in fall 2015 ConAgra had a new CEO, had faced reduced profitability and lower earnings per share and financial distress, and was under the pressure of an influential activist hedge fund advocating for the sale of the private brands segment. This case provides data to assess ConAgra’s situation financially and strategically, and to value the potential divestiture of the private brand business segment.

Adolescents are exposed to extensive marketing for junk food, which drives overconsumption by creating positive emotional associations with junk food1-6. Here we counter this influence with an intervention that frames manipulative food marketing as incompatible with important adolescent values, including social justice and autonomy from adult control. In a preregistered, longitudinal, randomized, controlled field experiment, we show that this framing intervention reduces boys' and girls' implicit positive associations with junk food marketing and substantially improves boys' daily dietary choices in the school cafeteria. Both of these effects were sustained for at least three months. These findings suggest that reframing unhealthy dietary choices as incompatible with important values could be a low-cost, scalable solution to producing lasting, internalized change in adolescents' dietary attitudes and choices.

This study examined how preschoolers think about novel foods in terms of health and taste. Thirty-nine children ages 4–6 years (M = 4.67) participated in a categorization task in which they saw a picture of a novel food paired with verbal information. Children then evaluated foods by taste and health and rated how much they would like to try the foods. Children displayed a preference for packaged foods by indicating they were yummy and more willing to try them, suggesting a possible association with food marketing. Children readily evaluated foods as healthy when told it “makes you strong” but did not reliably evaluate them as yummy when told it “tastes delicious”, suggesting more wariness about adults’ taste evaluations.

In Benin Republic (West Africa), the public student restaurant of the University of Abomey-Calavi is being criticized for its irregular and poor service. Therefore, private restaurants have settled on the campus streets to fill the gap. Which food attributes and marketing services do students value most? How do those restaurants compare with the Agro Maquis reference restaurant, which presumably offers modern catering services? The study aims to reveal food marketing services, as critical drivers of food demand in a restaurant. Principal component analysis was carried out to identify types of private restaurants that have settled on the streets of the campus. This was done based on 13 marketing service attributes. The set of restaurants with the prevailing profile was tested for conformity with the reference one. 60% of the private restaurants comply well with cleanness and 70% with attractiveness/prettiness of the place. Also, 90% of the private restaurants addressed the time-saving need of consumers in a satisfactory manner and 60% were found efficient in terms of hygiene. Three main groups of restaurants were revealed. The one mostly represented is the one that takes into account: hygiene, seller and food presentation and packaging, guest care quality, diversity of services and service time. The conformity test shows that the dominant restaurants in the campus streets compare quite well with the Agro-maquis restaurant for most product attributes and marketing services. Outsourcing of catering service to qualified private restaurants in public universities should be implemented, based on track records of attractive marketing services. Key words: Food demand, food attributes, marketing services, private restaurants, students, Benin.

This study aims to investigate consumers' green food purchase intentions using a survey conducted in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), it models the influences of Chinese culture and consumer characteristics towards purchasing green food products. According to TPB, the behavioral intention is determined by attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, whereas subjective norms vary according to differences in cultural systems. This study incorporates traditional Chinese cultural constructs of face consciousness and group conformity instead of subjective norms to develop an amended TPB model under China's cultural environment. Furthermore, the TPB model has been extended by adding the constructs of confidence and personal characteristics to represent the current consumption environment and consumers' characteristics. Research data were derived from Chinese consumers via a paper questionnaire and obtained valid responses from 300 participants. To test the overall model fit, structural equation modeling was applied. The explanatory capabilities of the models were also evaluated. The findings reported the usefulness of TPB in predicting consumers' green food purchase intentions in the research area. The results also supported the applicability of incorporating cultural constructs, confidence, and personal characteristics into the Chinese case, as the explanatory capability was increased after being measured by the amended TPB models under China's cultural conditions as well as the extended models (from 71% to 83%). These findings have research implications that may be important for policy and food marketing, and can be used to better understand the factors that influence purchase intentions of Chinese consumers towards green food products.

The research aims to point to the possibilities of efficient placement of agri-food products of the Republic of Serbia as one of the major strategic goals of socio-economic development. More rigorous customer demands for quality products imply an effective marketing channel design that allows fast delivery. France, as an agriculturally developed country, achieves a competitive advantage in the placement of food through the inclusion of Intertek global operator in the channel of marketing. The entire research is based on the application of several methods of modern quantitative and qualitative analysis. The result of the analysis of international experiences is the proposal of an institutional solution and sustainable development of the channel of marketing of agri-food products. Fast, flexible and vertically integrated food marketing channels play a decisive role in competitiveness in the domestic and international market of agribusiness. Increasing competitiveness at domestic, regional and international level is the outcome of the research. By examining the results of structural changes and involving Intertek operators in the food supply chain at the international level, we are pointing to the possible directions of the development of the agribusiness system in the Republic of Serbia. The way to create competitive advantages is to establish, innovate and strengthen links between the subjects of the agribusiness marketing channel as an inseparable component of the reproductive process in the agricultural and food industries.

Information system based e-commerce is the most important method in food marketing in term of promotion costs and automatic data without human error. The system serves consumers by providing an easy and effective transaction.Information system based e-commerce has proven to satisfyconsumer needs. Therefore, this research aims to design a website-based information system marketing which is better than manual system applied in CV.Sari Kelapa Group. CV. Sari Kelapa Group is an individual company that develops into a large company and was founded in 1967s engaged in the production of Gresik food producers. Pudak is the first product of the company. Promotion at CV. Sari Kelapa Group, It is a fact that unavailability of appropriate promotional media in promoting the products are obvious. Furthermore, the approach uses prototype research and descriptive qualitative by giving interview to the subject. The results show that the website is able to overcome the short comings of the manual system applied by CV.Sari Kelapa Group and recommend a complete feature of online chat.

Food deserts have received considerable attention in recent years. Research has shown that individuals living in these areas have less nutritional diets and experience worse health outcomes compare...

Objective: To investigate the New South Wales (NSW) community's support for obesity prevention policies and concern for food marketing and promotion issues, and to determine any demographic differences or changes over time. Methods: In 2013 (n=2474), 2016 (n=1602) and 2019 (n=1613) a sample of adults who were representative of the NSW population for age, gender, education and location was asked about support for policy initiatives that influence the food environment. Analysis identified the characteristics of those who supported policies and variation in support over time. Results: There were limited changes in support over time; however, support for many policies was strong and sustained. In 2019, support was highest for regulation of claims about nutrition (77.2%), and health warning labels (75.7%). Support for a ban on unhealthy food advertising that targets children (64.6%) had decreased since 2013. Women, older people and those who were aware that obesity was a risk factor for cancer were generally more likely to support policies. Parents were more likely than non‐parents to be concerned about positioning unhealthy food at supermarket checkouts (OR 1.32) and unhealthy outdoor advertisements (OR 1.22). Concern increased in 2019 for unhealthy marketing on the internet (OR 1.21). Conclusions: This study shows public support for policy options at moderate to high levels but not increasing in the six‐year study period. Implications for public health: These results form part of a package that, along with the well‐established evidence, makes the case for policy action in Australia.

The children’s market has always been attractive to marketers but has also been recognised as one of the most vulnerable segments a company can target. Considering that children of young age might struggle to understand the persuasive intentions of a marketing message, there is an important debate related to advertising and marketing strategies targeted to children. Traditionally, research around children’s food marketing has been one of the most examined topics, considering the direct negative effects on kids’ health; however, marketers are nowadays increasingly targeting children in the online context, and new ethical issues arise from kids’ consumption of media and advertisements through digital technologies and online platforms. Therefore, this chapter’s objective is to examine the concerns and ethical issues regarding marketing activities targeted to children through digital platforms. The topic of this chapter addresses issues related to the following sustainable development goals (SDGs): Good Health and Well-being (goal 3) and Reduced Inequalities (goal 10).

From local wholesale delivery trucks that transport the flesh of chickens, to sexist adverts by South African-owned fast-food chains with national and international reach, the gendered nature of the marketing and consumption of meat in South Africa is evident in multiple media. This article analyses vehicle livery and television and printed adverts devised to sell meat to consumers, and argues that the representations of bodies – those of womxn and the bodies of other species – as being available for consumption (visual or otherwise), is an expression of the gendered social processes associated with food “production” and consumption (visual and physical) and the patriarchal capitalocene. The representations and production of food are innately linked to multiple forms of violence, including the repetitive visual aggressions associated with the female form being constantly under scrutiny and available for consumption. In the visual representations of convenience foods, the food and the absent referents they rely on deploy stereotypes of heteromasculinities and (hyper)femininities and are used to reinforce hierarchies of gender, species, and economic systems (and the violence associated with them). These images and food items thus act as “ordinary” indexes of patriarchal, capitalocene power relations.

When questioned, people typically report that different foods are appropriate at different times of day. What is more, patterns of food consumption tend to exhibit marked diurnal/circadian variations in many parts of the world too. The question addressed in this review is what factors help to explain these temporal differences in food consumption. While it has been suggested that our nutritional needs may differ somewhat over the course of the day, cultural conventions, marketing-led interventions, atmospheric (e.g., think only of changes in ambient temperature and/or daily light levels), perceptual (i.e., threshold) and/or hedonic changes, as well as psychological factors have also been suggested to play a role. Taken together, though, the evidence reviewed here would appear to support the view that cultural and psychological factors, not to mention the ubiquitous influence of food marketing, may be the most important factors in terms of helping to explain why it is that so many of us choose to eat different foods at different times of the day. Relevant psychological factors here include everything from the purported depletion of self-restraint resources over the course of the day through to the fulfilment of different psychological needs (e.g., functional or hedonic) associated with different mealtimes. Given the unhealthy foods typically associated with breakfast in many western countries (e.g., think only of sugar-laden breakfast cereals), gaining a better understanding of the factors underpinning current temporal patterns of food consumption may potentially help those wanting to nudge consumers toward making healthier food choices in the future.

Chile recently implemented a food labeling law that requires packaged foods with sugar, saturated fats, sodium, and/or calorie content that exceeds government-defined thresholds to carry a front-of-package warning for each excessive nutrient. This law does not prohibit the use of nutrient content (NC) marketing claims on packages, as long as the claims do not directly contradict the warnings. Yet, having NC claims alongside nutrient warnings might send mixed messages confusing consumers about the overall healthiness of a product. The present study tests the co-occurrence of warning labels and NC claims in breakfast cereal packages on product perceptions and behavioral intentions of Chilean adults in a 3 (warnings: none, high calorie, high calorie/high sugar) × 3 (NC claims: none, fiber/wholegrain, low fat/cholesterol-free) mixed-measures experiment. Fiber-related claims had a main effect leading to more positive ratings of the product, compared to having no NC claims or fat-related claims. These positive ratings extended beyond perceptions of the fiber content to perceptions of overall healthiness, naturalness, quality, vitamin content, and intentions to purchase and recommend the product—a health halo effect. No significant interaction between warnings and NC claims was found. However, warnings had a main effect on perceptions irrespective of the presence of NC claims, with one warning significantly reducing ratings, dampening any halo effects, and two warnings further dampening any effects. These findings indicate that warning labels can mitigate, but not eliminate the influences of NC claims on consumer perceptions of product healthiness.

Childhood obesity is one of the most pressing global public health challenges of the 21st century. In response, States need to employ a multisectoral approach including labelling rules, food marketing restrictions and fiscal policies. However, these legal measures interact in a complex fashion with international economic and human rights law raising a range of legal questions. This timely book edited by Garde, Curtis and De Schutter explores these questions offering insightful perspectives. Of fundamental interest to legal professionals and academics, Ending Childhood Obesity also makes the legal complexities accessible to a broad range of public health and other policy actors addressing obesity and related non-communicable diseases.

Unhealthy food marketing has long been identified as a systems factor with negative health effects on children. The data-driven, personal data extraction and behavioural design practices of 21st century media advertising in digital technology systems mean that food marketing now sits at the intersection of multiple harms, infringing not only children's rights to health and to food, but also their rights to privacy and to be free from exploitation. This further sharpens the need for State regulation to protect children and their rights effectively.