What makes a front-of-pack nutritional labelling system effective: The impact of key design components on food purchases

Laurent Muller () and Bernard Ruffieux
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Laurent Muller: GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes
Bernard Ruffieux: GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes

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Abstract: The relative impacts on food purchases of many alternative front-of-pack nutritional labelling systems were tested, with various methods—from opinion pool to nationwide experiments. Clearly, some systems induce better purchasing responses, having better nutritional impacts on food baskets. Nonetheless, we still ignore what the ingredients of an efficient label are. Here, we propose guidance for label designers. To do so, we first propose a typology that breaks down established labelling systems into four elementary components: Directiveness, Scope and Gradation, Set of Reference and Sign. On this basis, we then build seven alternative generic labelling systems that we test in a framed-field experiment enabling us to measure the effect of each component on food purchases in isolation. Our results show that an effective front-of-pack labelling system should be Food-Directive (instead of Diet-Directive) and be displayed on both healthy and unhealthy food. The reference set, which is across categories or within categories, produces the same average nutrition score but generates contrasting behavioural responses.

Keywords: Food labelling; Nutrition; Food purchases; Policy; Framed field experiment; Labelling typology; Etiquetage alimentaire; Achat alimentaire; Politique alimentaire (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-09
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Nutrients, 2020, 12 (9), ⟨10.3390/nu12092870⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02949150

DOI: 10.3390/nu12092870

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