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This scoping review aims to explore how “food media”, “food messages” and “food content” are referred to in scholarly writing to enhance a shared understanding and comparability.

Following the PRISMA, ScR-guidelines, four scientific databases were screened on published manuscripts in academic journals, books and doctoral theses mentioning food media, content and messages within the prevalent meaning as in human communication.

Of the 376 included manuscripts, only a small minority (n = 7) provided a conclusive definition of at least one of the three earlier-mentioned concepts; 40 others elucidated some aspects of food media, messages or content; however, they emphasized different and, sometimes even, contrasting aspects. In addition, the review explores in which disciplines the manuscripts mentioning food media, messages or content occur, which methodologies are used and what target groups and media are most common.

Based on this aggregated information, a definition of food media, messages and content is proposed, aiming to enhance the comparability of diverse academic sources. This contribution invites scholars to critically reflect on the included media and content types when comparing studies on food media, messages or content.

Food marketing has long been recognized to influence food preferences, consumption and health, yet little is known about the nature and extent of food marketing to young adults – especially with respect to their real-world encounters with food marketing and the appeals they find persuasive. This study aims to engage young adults to explore the persuasive power of food marketing and its platforms of exposure.

Participatory research with 45 young adults, who used a specially designed mobile app to capture the food marketing they encountered for seven days, including information on brand, product, platform and “power” (i.e. the specific techniques that made the advertisement persuasive).

A total of 618 ads were captured for analysis. Results revealed the dominance of digital platforms (especially Instagram, comprising 43% of ads), fast food and beverage brands (48% of ads) and the top persuasive techniques of visual style, special offer and theme.

This study uniquely draws from framing theory to advance the notions of selection and salience to understand food marketing power. It is the first study of its kind to provide a comprehensive look at the platforms and persuasive techniques of food marketing to adults as selected, captured and tagged by participants. It provides timely insights into young adults and food marketing to adults, including where it is encountered, the (generally unhealthy) brands and products promoted and how it is made meaningful.

This study aims to investigate the consumption pattern of aerated drinks and examine its determinants among adolescents’ boys and girls (15–19 years) in India.

The fifth round of National Family Health Survey (2019-2021) data was examined applying sample weights. Pattern of consumption and its determinants was analysed separately for boys and girls using binary logistic regression and calculating adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at 95% confidence interval.

The daily, weekly and occasionally consumption of aerated drinks was 4.4%, 22.7%, 63% for boys and 2.9%, 14%, 70.8% for girls, respectively. Factors such as secondary/higher education [Boys AOR = 1.5, (1.2–1.9) (p = 0.001); Girls AOR = 1.2, (1.1–1.2) (p < 0.001)]; rich wealth index [Boys AOR = 1.8, (1.6–2.1) (p < 0.001); Girls AOR = 1.3, (1.3–1.4) (p < 0.001)]; fried food consumption [Boys AOR = 11.1, (9.5–12.9) (p < 0.001); Girls AOR = 11.5, (10.8–12.3) (p < 0.001)]; and watching television [Boys AOR = 1.5, (2.3–1.7) (p < 0.001); Girls AOR = 1.3, (1.3–1.4) (p < 0.001)] were found significant predictors of aerated drink consumption among adolescents.

The authors noted differences in consumption pattern between adolescents’ boys and girls. A shift to occasional consumption from weekly and daily was also observed. A further decrease in consumption may requires gender and region-specific health-promotion interventions. Rationalising sugar-sweetened beverages taxation adhering World Health Organisation’s recommendation to reduce affordability may be further researched in the Indian context. Furthermore, sale and consumption of traditional and locally available fruits, vegetables and healthy beverages may be warranted.

The aim of the study is threefold: understanding the interconnections amongst visual and verbal multimodal communication strategies used in food discourse; identifying the themes of celebrity chef's food discourse with respect to pro-environmental behaviour; and providing a methodological framework to visually analyse food-themed videos.

This study uses mise-en-scène and critical discourse and multimodal analyses to gain insights on food discourse from 20 videos shared by a Michelin starred chef on social media platforms.

Results show that a pro-environmental cooking philosophy challenges the normative discourse on food and educates general audiences and foodies alike. Mise-en-scène and discourse analyses of Instagram visual content reveal that leftovers are central to the ethical message and are intertwined – through the aesthetic of the videos-with concepts of inclusivity, diversity and nourishment.

Chefs, and restaurants, are encouraged to recognise their responsibility as role models, thus able to influence the societal production of food discourse.

The findings provide new insights into the role of a celebrity chef in promoting sustainable food preparation and consumption.

The current work aims to present a review of academic literature that systematizes the body of knowledge related to marketing and consumer behavior in order to identify the most effective variables that encourage the consumer towards a proper and better lifestyle, accordingly the paradigm of management, marketing and technology efforts to promote a “better” society preventing obesity.

A literature review was carried out to examine the studies of marketing and consumer behavior published in international peer-reviewed journals over the last twenty-three years (2000–2023). Our review finally considered a total amount of 46 articles.

Findings elucidate three overarching themes and associated sub-hemes, encompassing: (1) Product design for obesity prevention, including aspects such as labeling, nomenclature, packaging and assortment; (2) Technology-supported preventive measures, involving mobile applications, self-monitoring, short message services and digital therapeutics; and (3) Marketing and communication strategies, incorporating social advertising, nudge, social influence and initiatives targeting childhood obesity prevention. Furthermore, a comprehensive research agenda is presented, delineating potential avenues for future investigations predicated on the utility of the results in fostering subsequent endeavors within the realms of: efficacy and effectiveness studies; personalization and tailoring; behavioral change techniques and gamification; user experience and acceptance; cost-effectiveness and implementation; as well as ethical and privacy concerns.

Main limitations are related to the characteristics of the analyzed literature, resulting in only English journal articles, book chapter and so on. Thus, other relevant contributions in different languages discussing interesting insights might have been neglected.

This study offers several insights to managers, marketers and policymakers involved in the issue of the obesity prevention. Since obesity represents a crucial challenge for public health at a global level, with its incidence reaching epidemic proportions in recent decades, the results may be extremely useful and powerful because suggesting – by employing a robust resulting corpus of knowledge on this domain – several practical features, actions and tactics to face such an important challenge. Moreover, this paper offers for scholar and researcher a systematized knowledge around the issues of obesity prevention, together with a detailed research agenda emerging by the critical analysis of the emerging insights, and to practitioners systematized useful insights to project and develop their future business strategies.

By providing several actions and tactics for obesity prevention (e.g. as for product labeling, naming, packaging, assortment; the exploitation of new technologies for mobile applications design, self-monitoring, short message service (SMS) alert systems, digital therapeutics; the role of social advertising, nudge, social influence) this work perfectly match the emerging societal orientation related to business, marketing and technology efforts to create a “better” society.

The study shed lights the need for a holistic approach to obesity prevention, involving interaction between individual main topics. Importantly this is the first study to analyze the issue of obesity prevention by considering a multidisciplinary corpus of literature, analyzed trough an individual-centric orientation.

The continuing development of digital technologies creates expanding opportunities for information transparency. Consumers use social media to provide online reviews that are focused on changing levels of consumer trust. This study examines the effect of perceived risk that prompts consumers to search for online reviews in the context of food safety.

Commitment-trust theory forms the theoretical lens to model changes in consumer trust resulting from online reviews. Consumer-based questionnaire surveys collected data to test the structural model, using structural equation modelling (SEM).

The findings show when consumers perceive high levels of risk, they use social media to obtain additional product-related information. The objective, unanimous, evidential and noticeable online reviews are perceived as informative to consumers. Perceived informativeness of positive online reviews is found to increase consumers trust and, in turn, increase their purchase intentions.

The findings contribute to the knowledge of online review-based trust literature and provide far-reaching implications for information system (IS)-practitioners in business.

This research investigates how foreign tourists' revisit intentions are influenced by their local food consumption (LFC) value by emphasizing their attitude towards the local food and the corresponding destination food image. It will also reveal the foreign tourists' food consumption value and explore its influences on the destination's food image.

The data collection was performed from 433 foreign tourists who visited Delhi, India, using a structured survey instrument and chief constructs were measured as the first-order reflective variables. The 39 items associated with the LFC value underwent both exploratory and confirmatory evaluations. The authors employed partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The model's discriminant and convergent validity, consistency and overall fit were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

The findings revealed that “tourists' attitudes and behaviors toward the local cuisine” had a significant and positive influence on their “intention to visit/revisit” and “intention to recommend”. Also, “destination food image” significantly and positively influenced the “intention of tourist to visit/revisit”; however, it negatively and insignificantly influenced the “intention of tourists to recommend”.

This research used five variables related to LFC—quality, health/nutrition, emotion, prestige and price—that impact tourists' attitudes and behaviors toward local foods in Delhi. However, in addition to these constructs, other factors or constructs may be involved that could affect the tourists' attitudes and behaviors. Future studies might explore and include these constructs to provide a more comprehensive image of Delhi's LFC value.

Understanding tourists' food-linked behaviors is critical for effective market conduct. However, the interrelations between travelers' destination food image, LFC value, their perceptions of the local cuisine and behavioral intentions are still unknown, and this will be one of the first attempts to discuss these behaviors.

The slow food movement has become increasingly widespread globally in recent years. This paper focuses on explaining how Turkish cuisine, which has a deep-rooted history, meshes with the slow food movement and how this movement affects consumer behavior.

Based on expert opinion analysis with academics knowledgeable about the food industry and gastronomy, this paper explores how the slow food movement in Turkiye is evolving and how consumers perceive it. Content analysis was applied to the data obtained from the personal interviews.

The authors find that the slow food movement creates a strong brand image for businesses that rely on emphasizing the responsibility to the ecological system while appealing to the five senses of consumers. It already shows great potential even in emerging markets where typical household discretionary income is modest.

Based on key theories regarding all sales activism cases, the authors have offered insights into the dynamics, motivations and techniques of the case. Ensuring the preservation of the slow food movement, framing and creating associations need to be examined.

Slow food is a movement that emerged against the standard, fast, tasty, but unhealthy products of the fast-food industry. It entails product variety, local flavors and preference for the single-flavor focus embedded in the fast-food movement. The movement started with considerations of gastronomy and later was institutionalized as a social movement phenomenon. Later, it expanded its base to activism, targeting various social issues.

After reading and discussing this case study, students will be able to explain the concept of diffusion of innovation and predict how the passion fruit-infused vinaigrette (PFIV) might spread throughout the Thai market; analyze the market environment for condiments in Thailand and identify specific opportunities that Preedha Vinchit and her team should consider for the successful launch of the PFIV; interpret both qualitative and quantitative data gathered by the new product development (NPD) team and discuss its implications for the product’s market strategy and development; and critique the initial launch plan proposed by Krit Anon, suggest practical strategies and calculate the break-even point necessary to meet the project’s financial goals.

During July 2023, Vinchit, product marketer at the Thani Food Institute (TFI), faced a critical decision regarding the launch of the APFIV. Developed from TFI’s patented passion fruit peel powder, the PFIV offered functional benefits and addressed the sustainable use of passion fruit resources. As COVID-19 restrictions eased, TFI’s board of advisors anticipated a successful market entry for PFIV. Anon, culinologist and chef behind PFIV’s formulation, expressed keen interest in launching it independently with a startup investment of THB 500,000 (US$14,388). Vinchit, with market research and home-use test results indicating positive consumer reception in hand, contemplated whether to proceed with a launch plan of TFI’s design or endorse Anon’s entrepreneurial venture. Critical considerations included market viability, strategic partnerships, target demographics and marketing strategies encompassing pricing, distribution and promotional campaigns. The decision hinged on maximizing PFIV’s market potential amidst Thailand’s robust condiment consumption and growing health awareness.

This case study can be used in undergraduate and graduate courses in entrepreneurship, food product development, marketing strategy, market research and innovation on topics including NPD, opportunity identification, concept testing, consumer research analysis, marketing strategy formulation, business/financial analysis and launch strategies. This case study may be more useful in the middle or later parts of a course or module when an instructor is focusing on any or all stages of the NPD process and the strategic decisions, particularly for aspiring entrepreneurs with limited resources. Additionally, students should have developed at least some preliminary understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods. This case study has been very effective in demonstrating various organizational processes and decision-making tools, which allow students to apply strategy frameworks and systematically evaluate several alternatives.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Apples have always been considered a healthy product able to provide curative properties to consumers. In Italy, there is a long tradition of apple consumption and production both as a fresh product and as processed food. However, as with many other products, the consumption of fruits and vegetables and, more specifically apples, has been drastically affected by the first lockdown in 2020. In this project, the authors investigate whether the change in consumption habits had long-lasting consequences beyond 2020 and what are the main eating motivations, food-related behavior and socio-demographic affecting the consumption of fruits and vegetables after the pandemic.

The authors ran two online surveys with 1,000 Italian consumers across a year (from October 2021 to December 2022). In the study, participants answered questions about their consumption habits and their eating motives. Out of 1,000 consumers, the authors included in the final analysis only the participants who answered both surveys, leaving a final sample of 651 consumers.

The results show that participants have allocated more budget to fruit and vegetables after the lockdown than before it. Moreover, consumers reported an average increase in the consumption of apples. However, the increase was more pronounced for people aged between 30 and 50 years old and identified as female. After showing the difference across time, a cluster analysis identified three main segments that differ in their eating motives, place of purchase and area of residence.

Overall, the results contribute to a better understanding of how the global pandemic is still affecting people's daily life. Moreover, the findings can be used to guide the marketing and communication strategies of companies in the food sector.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that investigates changes in the consumption of fruits and vegetables, and, more specifically, apples, in Italy more than one year after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the study proposes a classification of consumers based on their habits in a time frame during which the COVID-19 wave was at its bottom which is not currently present in the literature.