Prevalence of Product Claims and Marketing Buzzwords Found on Health Food Snack Products Does Not Relate to Nutrient Profile.

Maddison Breen,Anna Rangan,Hollie James,Luke Gemming

doi:10.3390/nu12051513

Abstract

Growth in the consumer health and wellness industry has led to an increase of packaged foods marketed as health food (HF) products. In consequence, a ‘health halo’ around packaged HF has arisen that influences consumers at point-of-purchase. This study compared product claims (nutrient content claims (NCC), health claims and marketing ‘buzzwords’) displayed on packaged HF snack products sold in HF stores and HF aisles in supermarkets to equivalent products sold in regular aisles (RA) of supermarkets. Product Health Star Rating (HSR), nutrient profile and price were also compared. Data were collected for 2361 products from three supermarket chains, two HF chains and one independent HF store in Sydney, Australia. Mann-Whitney U tests compared the product claims, HSR, nutrient composition and unit ($) price. HF snacks displayed significantly more product claims per product compared to RA foods (HSR ≤ 2.5), median (IQR) 5.0(4.0) versus 1.0(2) and (HSR > 2.5) 4.0(4.0) versus 3.0(4), respectively (p < 0.001). A significantly different HSR was evident between HF and RA snack products, median 2.5(0) versus 2.0(1.5), respectively (p < 0.001). HF snacks cost significantly more than RA snack foods, irrespective of product HSR (p < 0.001). These findings support the recommendation for revised labelling regulations and increased education regarding consumers food label interpretation.

Highlights

Since 2004, the sales of packaged foods in Australia have nearly doubled and are predicted to continue to climb at a steady rate [1]
This study sought to examine and compare nutrition content claims (NCCs), health claims and ‘buzzwords’ displayed on pre-packaged snack HF products sold in supermarkets and specialty health food stores to equivalent products sold in regular aisles (RA) of supermarkets
NCC, health claims and buzzwords to market their products compared to equivalent products sold in RA of supermarkets irrespective of their overall ‘healthfulness’

Summary

Introduction

Since 2004, the sales of packaged foods in Australia have nearly doubled and are predicted to continue to climb at a steady rate [1]. In the past decade, ready-to-eat snack foods have increased in popularity amongst the Australian population [2]. Ready-to-eat snack foods can be defined as foods that have undergone a degree of processing and are designed to be consumed in the original state purchased [3,4]. Contrary to the rise in non-communicable diseases, such as obesity [9], consumer awareness of diet related health consequences has advanced [10]. According to a Nielsen report, sales of packaged health food (HF) products increased by 82% in supermarkets from 2012–2014, and most HF consumers report they shop in Nutrients 2020, 12, 1513; doi:10.3390/nu12051513 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients

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