Did consumers respond more positively to conventional foods or their healthier versions?

Details

Sugar, salt and fat in processed products are important consumer concerns. Alternatives presented as healthier versions of conventional foods, including chocolate, potato chips and yogurt, are offered. The study aimed to identify the emotional responses of consumers from Spain and Brazil to healthier versions of conventional products and examine the relationship between hedonic responses and health consciousness.

In this online cross-cultural study, 186 Brazilian and 152 Spanish consumers participated. They completed a Health Consciousness Questionnaire and an emotional check-all-that-applies questionnaire using pictures of conventional chocolate, potato chips and yogurt and their healthier versions, which had less sugar, salt and fat, respectively.

Brazilian consumers showed a wider variety of emotional responses than Spanish consumers for all the stimuli. Participants from both cultures averaged “slightly agree” on the health consciousness scale and reported greater consumption, liking and willingness to buy, as well as more frequent positive emotional terms, for conventional products than for their healthier versions. More frequent evocation of “active” was strongly associated with higher health consciousness.

The authors concluded that food industry and government strategies to encourage healthier food consumption must consider cultural, emotional and health-conscious factors. They suggested that manufacturers could use the findings to create healthier products that appeal to consumers’ emotions and levels of health consciousness. The findings could also help shape strategies that emphasize the benefits of healthier choices and make them more appealing. The study’s method could be used in further research assessing emotional responses to food stimuli across cultures.