An analysis of the effects of a campaign supporting use of a health symbol on food sales and shopping behaviour of consumers

Abstract

BackgroundSince 2009, the green Keyhole symbol has been a joint Nordic initiative for signalling healthfulness of specific food products. In 2014, the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries carried out a campaign aimed mainly at men over 35 with a low level of education, encouraging them to use the Keyhole in their shopping process. The objective of the study is to evaluate the campaign by measuring its effect on consumer behaviour in the store.MethodsThe impact of the Keyhole campaign was measured in selected retail stores. Sales data were analysed to ascertain whether sales of Keyhole labelled products changed during and after the campaign. Observations and interviews were conducted in the same stores.ResultsThe campaign had a positive effect on sales of Keyhole-labelled products in two out of three retail chains investigated. In these two retail chains, sales of Keyhole labelled products rose by about 20%. In the third chain, there was a slight decrease of sales of Keyhole labelled products. The effect differed considerably between product categories. Analysis of the interview data indicated that by the end of the campaign, shoppers with a short education had a higher likelihood of mentioning health as a purchase motive, and there was a higher general tendency to look for nutrition information.ConclusionsResults suggest that the campaign did have effects on shopper behaviour and that it is possible to address shoppers with a short education by a tailored campaign. However, long-term effect of the campaign was not ascertained.

Does message framing matter for promoting the use of nutritional warnings in decision making?

“…Although nutrition-related messages had a positive effect on visual attention to the warnings and the healthfulness of the snack choices, it should be acknowledged that the study evaluated only their immediate effect. Although signages and promotional materials in-store may contribute to raise awareness of the existence of FOP nutrition labelling on food packages and promote their use, previous studies have shown that actual use of such materials is limited (12) . Considering that use of the FOP nutrition labelling is strongly dependent on the salience of the health motive at the point of purchase, multimedia campaigns aimed at increasing health motivation may be more efficient than promotional materials at the point of purchase (12) .…”

Impact of front-of-pack nutrition labels on consumer purchasing intentions: a randomized experiment in low- and middle-income Mexican adults

“…using purchase data) among this population [20][21][22][23], with some studies indicating that FOP labels may improve the nutritional quality of consumers' choices [22,23], and others reporting limited or null effects [20,21]. Evidence suggests that nutritional labels may be more effective when supported by measures to promote awareness, understanding and use of such labels [24,25], specifically when considering health-related outcomes [26]. Additionally, some studies have included highly educated participants [11,27], limiting the representativeness of results among lower income and education groups, which are the most representative of the Latin-American populations and generally the most nutritionally at-risk [28].…”

Environmental Sustainability Perspectives of the Nordic Diet

“…It is used on packaging in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland (Finland using the essentially equivalent Heart Symbol) to guide consumers to the healthiest choices within each food group according to recommendations for food composition. The symbol has been tested in different groups, showing a positive effect on the health perception of food and behaviour, at least in the short term [82,83]. A similar type of symbol used to guide the population towards more environmentally sustainable choices could be a useful tool of transformation.…”