How nutrition claims can increase the perception of nutritional risk: the influence of perceived naturalness

44th European Marketing Academy Conference (2015)
Auteurs : Laporte, Marie-Eve


While consumers prefer naturalness, many food brands use nutrition claims suggesting processing, such as enriched with or reduced in. How do these nutrition claims influence the naturalness perceived by consumers? What is their effect on perception of nutritional risk and eating intentions? Using two experiments with French consumers, this paper finds that nutrition claims can decrease the product’s perceived naturalness. This, in turn, increases the perception of nutritional risk and diminishes the intention to consume or recommend the product. This research helps explain why some nutrition claims actually backfire in France. It also alerts policy-makers on implications for public health.