Experience of Using an Online Pre-Ordering System for A Workplace Canteen That Offers Lower-Energy Swaps: A Think-Aloud Study

Abstract

Online systems that allow employees to pre-order their lunch may help reduce energy intake. We investigated the acceptability of a pre-ordering website for a workplace canteen that prompts customers to swap to lower-energy swaps and the factors influencing swap acceptance. Employees (n = 30) placed a hypothetical lunch order through a pre-ordering website designed for their canteen while thinking aloud. Semi-structured interview questions supported data collection. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Acceptability was generally high, but potentially context dependent. Practical considerations, such as reminders to pre-order, user-friendliness, provision of images of menu items and energy information while browsing, an ability to reserve pre-ordered meals, and a swift collection service facilitated acceptability. The restrictive timeframe within which orders could be placed, a lack of opportunity to see foods before ordering, and prompts to swap being perceived as threatening autonomy were barriers to acceptability. Swap acceptance was facilitated by the provision of physical activity calorie equivalents (PACE) information, and swap similarity in terms of taste, texture, and expected satiety as well as the perception that alternatives provided meaningful energy savings. Online canteen pre-ordering systems that prompt lower-energy swaps may be an acceptable approach to help reduce energy intake in the workplace.

Effects of informational nudges on preordered food choices of middle school National School Lunch Program participants

“…It is likely that this additional burden of preordering at school 2 contributed to the higher attrition rate. A recent study that asks participants to narrate their thinking aloud as they navigate placing hypothetical preorders using a web‐based program suggests that restrictive timeframes within which preorders could be placed are a potential barrier to engaging in preordering; furthermore, the study finds some participants did not like forecasting in the morning what they would feel like eating for lunch (Breathnach et al, 2020). These factors may have contributed to attrition.…”

Strategies to reduce the energy content of foods pre-ordered for lunch in the workplace: a randomised controlled trial in an experimental online canteen

“…By partnering with a real-world company and simulating a pre-ordering website using their canteen menus, this study was able to test the effect of offering lower-energy swaps for lunch time meals in a similar manner to how choices would be made when using an online canteen in real life. Qualitative research with employees of the partner organisation informed swap choices and intervention delivery [ 29 ].…”

Online Pre-Order Systems for School Lunches: Insights from a Cross-Sectional Study in Primary Schools

“…Potential disadvantages, however, should not be overlooked. A previous study on UK employees who used a pre-ordering website to select their lunches found that participants valued seeing the foods before selecting and some reported that not being able to view the foods on offer was a weakness of pre-ordering [ 51 ]. It is unclear whether this was the case with the OPS in schools, and further research to examine this would be worthwhile.…”