Identification of Marketing Strategies Influencing Consumers’ Perception of Healthy Food Products and Triggering Purchasing Decisions

María Miquel Vidal and Carmina Castellano-Tejedor ()
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María Miquel Vidal: Food and Technology Faculty, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
Carmina Castellano-Tejedor: Research Group on Stress and Health (GIES), Department of Basic Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain

Businesses, 2022, vol. 2, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: (1) Background: Marketing and advertising strategies for food products are very diverse and have a differential effect on consumers’ behaviours and attitudes towards products. (2) Objectives: To examine the influence of point-of-purchase (PoP) marketing and advertising strategies and the promotion of products employing opinion leaders (celebrities) on the healthy perception of pre-packaged food and buying behaviour of young consumers. (3) Methods: Online survey ( N = 130) of 18–31 years old participants. (4) Results: “Price” was the most influential factor when purchasing a snack (66.2%), although “salt and macronutrient content” had a major influence on females (x 2 (1,N=129) = 14.02, p < 0.001). Participants with low or no weight satisfaction were more prone to consider “low fat” (x 2 (1,N=130) = 5.02, p = 0.025) and chose “green” as the most suitable colour for healthy snack packaging. Male celebrities were more picked by males than female participants (x 2 (1,N=129) = 6.41, p = 0.011). (4) Conclusion: Using green packaging, nutritional claims related to low-calorie intakes or accentuating salt and macronutrient content, and using opinion leaders with whom consumers can relate to, were the most influential factors in fostering a healthy perception of pre-packaged food products. These results highlight the need for policies to limit marketing strategies to avoid misleading consumers’ opinion of a product as healthy when it is not.

Keywords: consumer response; healthy food; media advertising; social media advertising; social networks; perception; point of purchase (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A1 D0 D4 D6 D7 D8 D9 E0 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 F0 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 G0 G1 G2 H0 J0 K2 L0 L1 L2 M0 M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 N0 N1 N2 O0 O1 P0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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