Effect of Menu Calorie Labels on Menu Sales and Consumer's Recognition at a Korean Restaurant in a Hotel

Abstract

Effect of Menu Calorie Labels on Menu Sales and Consumer's Recognition at a Korean Restaurant in a Hotel The role of calorie information is to help consumers make healthier food choices. However, calorie information is generally unavailable in restaurants. Even in high-end hotel restaurants, which try to provide high quality foods and service, calorie labeling is not mandatory. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of calorie labeling on menu sales and consumer's recognition at a Korean restaurant in Kangwonland hotel. The calorie contents of 10 dishes sold in the restaurant were calculated using the food composition table. After making a new menu plate displaying calorie information, the new menu plate and old menu plate were provided every other week for 4 weeks. When we compared the sales between the periods of calorie labeled and calorie unlabeled, sales of 4 items among the 5 food items providing less than 1000 kcal, increased, however the 3 items among the menu providing more than 1000 kcal decreased. As the survey results of total 405 consumers (male n = 232, female n = 173) showed the new menu plate, 68.2% of subjects recognized calorie labeling on the menu plate. Among the subjects who recognized calorie labeling, 58.3% answered that calorie information affected their food choices. And most of them answered that they chose lower calorie foods based on the information provided. The results suggest that displaying calorie information on the menu plate at a Korean restaurant was effective in changing consumer's food choices. (Korean J Community Nutr 18(5) : 505~514, 2013)