Explaining consumers' intention to use menu labels: a structural equation modeling analysis

Abstract

PurposeThis study investigated whether consumers have reasonable estimates of the calorie content of Americans' top 10 favorite foods, explored the effects of calorie disclosure on United States consumers' future consumption frequency of these food items, and examined the effects of health consciousness, food calorie knowledge, and attitudes toward menu labels on intention to use menu labels.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was developed, pilot tested, and distributed through Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT). The overall model fit and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe results from 1,005 completed surveys showed that the accuracy of calorie estimations varied across food items. Most consumers could not estimate the calories of steak, hamburgers, chocolate chip cookies, and vanilla ice cream within the acceptable range. Disclosure of calorie information did affect future consumption frequency of the food items. The SEM results showed that health consciousness, food calorie knowledge, and attitudes toward menu labels positively affected consumers' future intention to use menu labels.Originality/valueThis study points to a need to educate consumers about food calories and suggests plausible ways to encourage consumers' intention to use of menu labels.