When Food Scanner Apps Outperform Front‐of‐Pack Nutrition Labels: A Conditional Process Model to Foster Healthier Food Choices in Times of Growing Distrust

Camille Cornudet (), Marie-Eve Laporte, Fabienne Berger-Remy, Béatrice Parguel and Jean-Loup Richet
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Camille Cornudet: CEROS - Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Organisations et la Stratégie - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre
Marie-Eve Laporte: RITM - Réseaux Innovation Territoires et Mondialisation - Université Paris-Saclay, LAB IAE Paris - Sorbonne - IAE Paris - Sorbonne Business School
Fabienne Berger-Remy: DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Béatrice Parguel: DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Jean-Loup Richet: LAB IAE Paris - Sorbonne - IAE Paris - Sorbonne Business School

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Abstract: While consumers increasingly use food scanner apps as an alternative to front-of-pack labels, the effectiveness of these nutritional signals in promoting healthier food choices remains a topic of debate. This study examines when and under what conditions food scanner apps encourage healthier eating and outperform front-of-pack nutrition labels. It builds on four studies: a quantitative content analysis of over 16,000 online reviews and a survey of 86 respondents in an exploratory phase, along with two experiments that test the conceptual model. The findings identify three conditions where food scanner apps outperform front-of-pack labels: when the nutritional quality score of a product is poor, when consumers distrust the dominant players, and when mid-range brands have average brand equity. These findings suggest that food scanner apps and front-of-pack labels complement rather than oppose each other, thus providing key insights for policymakers and food brand managers.

Keywords: brand equity; consumer distrust; food scanner app; FOP label; healthier food choices; nutritional signal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Published in Psychology & Marketing, 2025, 42 (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05393635

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