Article Type : Research Article
Authors : Duarte A
Keywords : Advertising; Communication; Nutrition; Healthy; Labels
Scientific data revealing a link between diseases and
a poor diet have made consumers more attentive to what they consume and wanting
to adopt new lifestyles. Although nutritional knowledge is scarce, brands need
to reinvent themselves and be attentive to these changes so that they can keep
up with their competition. Therefore, the aim of this study is to understand
the perspective from the two sides: brands and consumers. On the one hand, how
do brands advertise (supposedly) healthy products and, on the other, how do
consumers perceive these same products. For a more targeted study, we chose to
study the biscuit sector with an observational study in a supermarket, analyzed
through a questionnaire survey. Overall, this study concludes that consumers
are somewhat concerned with their eating habits. However, this preoccupation
differs from the true nutritional reality from each product. We then conclude
that the public’s lack of knowledge is the key factor that allow companies to
sell these products in a healthy way.
The growing concern for well-being and health has been evident in recent years and the search for a healthy lifestyle has become an obsession for many people [1,2]. As a result, we have seen a change in the communication made by the brands themselves and the appearance of many others aimed at satisfying these recent public desires. Any supermarket is full of "light", "diet", "sugar-free", "organic", "gluten-free" products and, in our subconscious, all these characteristics equate to healthy products that will help us lose weight [3]. But do we really know what we're buying and consuming? Are all these products that advertise themselves as "healthy" really healthy?
The need to clarify and demystify all the "secrets" behind product labels justifies this research, which aims to answer the following question: How does the information provided on the labels of products reported as healthy influence consumers’ perceptions?
It is not certain where advertising originated or when
it began, but the truth is that the history of advertising has evolved step by
step with human development and technical progress [4]. Although different
authors suggest different dates and moments for its emergence there is a
consensus that, although Gutenberg's invention of the movable typo machine in
the 15th century gave a significant boost to communication, it was with the
Industrial Revolution that productive, commercial, and communicative activities
really became a mass phenomenon. Despite this natural evolution, it took until
the end of the 20th century for a new and significant change to revolutionize
this industry once again: the appearance of the internet. With it, the world
became virtually networked, consumers had instant and easy access to information
and became increasingly suspicious of advertising [5,6].
Ethics, according to Tai, is a set of moral principles
whose aim is to improve the well- being of society [7]. As an extremely
persuasive activity with clear commercial motivations, advertising is often
accused of ethical violations which, for the most part, are centered on an
apparent lack of social responsibility and regularly target potentially more
vulnerable groups, such as children, minorities, or the disadvantaged [8]. With
consumers' growing concern and demand for truthful, serious, responsible, and
sustainable communication organizations are changing their approach and
communication to demonstrate coherence between their actions and the image they
wish to project [9,10].
The
packaging as a communication tool
As a result of consumer demands, immediate access to
information, ever-increasing competition, and the internationalization of
markets, as well as legislation in different countries, packaging is constantly
evolving [11]. "Packaging is a complete and complex object that combines
two major functions: to contain the product and to advertise it" and is an
important communication tool as it plays a fundamental role in decision-making
[12-14]. In other words, packaging can both be used as a marketing tool and can
help consumers make informed choices [15]. In the case of eating products, and
to ensure that consumers receive reliable nutritional information about the
products they buy, the organizations responsible for health issues have created
regulations so that the message on the packaging can be more easily controlled
[16]. Food labels must therefore inform consumers about the composition of
products to avoid misunderstandings and protect them from misuse and possible
risks [17]. In recent years, nutritional claims have been added to the
traditional nutritional information in the form of a table on the back of the
pack and, in fact, this is what consumers base their purchasing decision on
[16-18]. Nutritional information is not understood by most people as it is
difficult to understand for those who are not in the field of nutrition but the
nutritional claims on the front of packs are better perceived by consumers,
something that can be understood as subjective perception or understanding
[19-21]. It should also be noted that visual elements are usually the most eye-
catching and their processing in the consumer's mind is unconscious, while
verbal elements require greater cognitive effort to be attractive and trigger
attention [22]. For better and easier nutritional reading, front-of-pack
labelling systems have been created to allow quick decision-making through a
simple format that is accessible to view and spontaneous to interpret [23]. It
is important to note that these labels do not provide a complete assessment of
the product's level of health, but rather a summary and not very detailed
analysis of the product [24]. One such case is Nutri-Score (Figure 1). Created
in France in 2017 by Santé publique France, this system, which has since been
adopted by many other countries, consists of assessing the nutritional profile
of a food product using an algorithm based on nutritional criteria that
classifies the product between dark green, being the healthiest, (letter A) and
red, being the least healthy, (letter E) [25]. In the Nutritional Traffic Light
(Figure 2), some of the nutritional elements (fat, saturated fat, sugar, and
salt/sodium) are represented by a symbol that indicates whether the value is
low (in green), medium (in orange) or high (in red) [24]. Another system is the
Health Star Rating (Figure 3), which classifies the general nutritional profile
of foods and assigns them ratings ranging from half a star to 5 stars, making
it quick and easy to compare similar products - the more stars it has, the
healthier the product. Nutritional information on packaging has evolved a lot
over time. In the beginning, this data was only used to inform consumers about
the nature and composition of products, but now a detailed description is
mandatory so that trade is fair and free from fraud, and so that food choices
are made in an informed manner, with full factual knowledge [26].
Figure 1: Nutri-Score.
Source: Santé publique France, 2021.
Figure 2: Nutritional Traffic Light (example)
Source: Costa, 2021.
Figure 3: Health
Star Rating System.
Source: healthdirect, 2021.
Figure 4: Label Decoder.
Source: Programa Nacional
Promoção Alimentação Saudável,
2015.
Examples of this are regulations 178/2002, 1924/2006
and 1169/2011 of the European Parliament, or the General Standards for the
Labelling of Prepackaged Foods of the Codex Alimentarius - International Food
Standards, to name just a few. As the decision to choose a product is becoming
increasingly difficult, given the variety on the market and the short time available
to make that choice the National Program for the Promotion of Healthy Eating
(NPPHE) has created a Label Decoder in Portugal (Figure 4), in conjunction with
the Directorate General for Health, based on the recommendations of the UK
Department of Health/Ministry of Health. It is therefore suggested that
consumers take these cards with them when they go shopping, opting mainly for
foods/drinks whose nutrients fall into the green category, moderating those in
the yellow category and avoiding those in the red category [27].
Instruments
used and sample
A mixed methodology was used for this study, combining
qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative method was based on
points of sale visits, recording, and analyzing the data. As for the
quantitative method, the instrument used was a questionnaire survey. For the
study in question, we chose to use a non-probabilistic random sample, since
everyone in the sample has a known, non-zero chance of being selected.
Methodological
design
Biscuits, which can be eaten anywhere, at any time of
day and by all age groups and economic classes, are one of the food products
most favored by consumers and, representing 3% of the value generated by food
goods, are found in most Portuguese homes [28,29]. However, this product, which
is often associated with snacking moments, has been declining in sales due to
increased competition from healthier options that end up taking their place in
consumers' lives, which means that this sector must reinvent itself and provide
consumers products that are compatible with their healthier lifestyles, to slow
down the decline in consumption [29,56]. After choosing the object of study -
biscuit packaging - it was also decided that it would be carried out in two
hypermarkets since they sell a wide variety of food products. The food products
were chosen with the advice of a nutrition professional, nutritionist Ana Sofia
Ramos, registered with the Order of Nutritionists under number 4860N, and
analyzed using the Label Decoder mentioned above [27]. The questionnaire survey
was carried out online via Google Forms and was available between 24 September
and 4 October 2021. The questions are shown (Table 1).
Observation
To find out about the market and the options available
for biscuits in the healthy eating category, an observational study was carried
out, which is described in the following (Table 2).
Questionnaire
survey
With a random sample, the survey received a total of
400 responses, of which 72.25% were female and 27.75% male (Graph 1), with the
majority aged over 51 and between 36 and 50 (Graph 2). Of
all the respondents, 44.3% have a bachelor's degree and 28.25% have secondary
education. 19.25% said they had a master's degree and few people had
postgraduate or PhD degrees (Graph 3). Regarding
their district of residence, the overwhelming majority (75.75%) live in Lisbon,
with 6.75% in Setubal and 6% in Porto (Graph 4).
Concern
about food and shopping habits
As can be seen (Graph 5), concern for health is a
factor that has been on the rise. However, it was essential to understand
whether this was accompanied by due attention to eating habits. 89.5% of
respondents (358) replied that they are concerned about food and only 8.75%
(35) said "No", with 1.75% replying "Don't know/no answer"
(Graph 6). Of the 400 responses, 292 indicate the number of individuals whose
eating habits are in line with their concern for food, compared to 96 who
indicate that their eating practices are not (Graph 7). Since worldwide obesity
and various diseases associated with poor diet have been increasing, we asked
the participants if they had any pathologies associated with poor diet. 290 of
them answered in the negative and 105 in the affirmative (Graph 8).
Eating
out
People were also asked about their eating habits when
dining out. When faced with 4 statements, respondents assessed their level of
agreement using a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 = "Strongly disagree"
and 5 = "Strongly agree". About
the statement "When eating out, I always choose a quick option", most
responses were between levels 1, 2, and 3, with 107, 124, and 116 responses
respectively. Only 51 people agree/strongly agree and 2 people say they don't
know (chart 9). Regarding
the statement, "When eating out, I stick to my usual diet", the
largest number of responses were at level 3, where neither agree nor disagree.
However, 138 people disagreed and 109 agreed, as well as 5 who did not indicate
their level of agreement (Graph 9). The
data obtained from the last two questions is somewhat contradictory. In the
statement "When eating out, I choose a healthier option", most
responses are between levels 1, 2, and 3, with values of 45, 110, and 152,
respectively. Only 56 people indicated that they agreed and 31 that they totally
agreed, and 6 Doesn’t Know/Doesn´t Answer (DK/DA) (chart 9). This suggests that
when people eat out, they opt for less healthy options. But for the last
statement, "When eating out, I choose a less healthy option", 302
answers are between levels 1, 2, and 3 and only 88 indicate that they
agree/strongly agree. In other words, this is not an issue with much relevance
and impact for individuals and, when they eat out, there is no rule as to the
type of food they will eat.
Graph 1: Gender
Graph 2:
Age.
Graph 3: Academic qualifications.
Graph 4: District
of residence.
Graph 5: In your opinion, and in general, is the concern with food something that has been increasing?.
Graph 6: Do you consider yourself to be a person concerned about food?
Graph 7: Do your eating habits
meet this concern?.