The sustainability halo effect: Does the provision of sustainability information of a snack affect sensory and health perception, and willingness to pay?

Abstract

The ecological impact of food production can be mitigated by reducing the amount of food losses. Whilst some novel products target this problem area, little is known about consumer perception of such products. Research has shown that sustainability labels can impact consumer taste and health perception. This study investigates the impact of product information on consumer perception in a snack tasting. A novel snack consisting of food production by-products was offered to participants under two different conditions: without any information and with information about the sustainability of the snack due to its potential to reduce food losses. While there were no significant differences in the perception of the snack when comparing means between the two study conditions, a three-way MANOVA showed significant effects of study condition, gender, or environmental consciousness on perceived saltiness, odor, willingness to pay, and health perception. The results of the study are ambiguous. This could be due to the sample size, study design, or the snack. Further research with different products and more standardised study conditions is needed to better understand consumer perceptions of products that use by-products to reduce food losses. Results of the recent study are beneficial to estimate effect sizes for future studies.