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The purpose of this paper is to examine the underlying mechanisms of how consumers respond to health-claim framing via experimental design.

Across the two experiments conducted for this research, the authors examine the moderating effects of self-perceived health status and individuals’ need for cognition on health-claim framing.

The results indicate that personal differences moderate the effects of health-claim framing on consumers’ food-product evaluation. Consumers with poor health status evaluate food product more favorably when the reduced-disease-risk claims are offered. However, consumers with good health status evaluate food product similarly between the two health claims. Moreover, consumers with a high need for cognition evaluate food product more favorably when the reduced-disease-risk claims are used, whereas consumers with a low need for cognition evaluate food product more favorably when the enhance function claims are used.

This research provides that reduced-disease-risk claims may be the better communication message used to persuade consumers no matter they rate themselves as poor health status or good health status. Moreover, the results of the present research also indicate the importance of market segmentation. Marketers could design proper advertisements and select the appropriate media vehicles for low need for cognition readers and high need for cognition readers separately.

There has been few studies addressed consumers’ product choice with respect to different health-claim framing. Further, this research presents a new concept of the effects between individual differences and health-claim framing on consumers’ food-product evaluation.

Advertising is one of the most important components of food marketing. However, there is uncertainty over the optimal means of convincing consumers to buy a product. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of advertising content comprising text (sensory, functional and symbolic messages) and pictures (product image) on food product evaluation.

Two online experiments investigating strawberry advertisements were performed. Study 1 incorporated only text, whereas study 2 investigated combinations of text and pictures. Analyses of variance were conducted to determine any significant differences among the three texts (sensory, functional and symbolic) and among the combinations of text and pictures.

Study 1 revealed no significant differences. All three texts were well received, which shows the relevance of all the product benefits – sensory, functional and symbolic – for food products. In contrast, study 2 identified significant differences. The data analysis indicated that advertising effectiveness increases with the complementarity of the text and picture. Notably, the combination of the product picture and symbolic text was scored the highest for effectiveness.

The findings provide new insights into advertising design that food firms can use to enhance consumer product evaluations in terms of expected taste, perceived experience and quality, overall attitude and purchase intention. Further, the results contribute to the research stream of food product benefits by highlighting the relevance of sensory, functional and symbolic design elements.

The present study using the Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale (CET‐SCALE) aims to evaluate the level of consumer ethnocentrism (CE) and its implications on their evaluation of food products. Furthermore, it seeks to examine the level at which country of origin (COO) effect is activated (country, product or attribute) per consumer cluster of different level of CE in a food evaluation context.

For attaining the above aims, a questionnaire was developed and completed by 274 respondents. The set of countries of origin and products under consideration encompasses Greece, Italy and Holland and yellow cheese, ham and beer.

The use of the CET‐SCALE pinpointed that the sample can be characterised as marginally ethnocentric. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses justified the uni‐dimensionality of CE. Cluster analysis allocated the sample into two clusters, the ethnocentric and the non‐ethnocentric. The results showed that ethnocentrism affects not only consumer beliefs, but also the way perceived quality of domestic and foreign products are evaluated, culminating in the appearance of COO‐effect. In ethnocentric consumers, the COO effect is activated at the initiatory level of the country a food product originates in (country‐specific), except when the foreign country of origin is given, where the COO effect is activated at the level of the product type (product‐specific). In the non‐ethnocentric cluster, COO does not lead to an overall acceptance or rejection, but instead it affects the evaluation of specific product attributes (attribute‐specific).

The survey suffers the limitation of focusing on the influence of ethnocentric beliefs in food products evaluation and not on their real impact on final purchasing behaviour. Consumer ethnocentrism and COO effect are linked together, but the stimulus that activates their link differs according to the strength of ethnocentric beliefs held by consumers; that given, different marketing strategies should be applied depending on the level of CE of the target‐group selected.

Internationally, the issue of COO‐effect is comprehensively examined, yet the literature has focused almost explicitly on hi‐tech or fashion products and services. This fact attaches particular importance to the present study, which is concerned exclusively with food products.

Although the increase in point-of-purchase decisions heightens the communication potential of food product packaging, empirical research on understanding how visual packaging affects consumers' subsequent product and brand evaluations and perceptions is scant. This study seeks to develop a theoretical model to show the effects of consumer attitudes toward visual food packaging on perceived product quality, product value, and brand preference.

A self-administered questionnaire developed from the literature was conducted, and 315 undergraduate students participated in the study.

The empirical results show that attitudes toward visual packaging directly influence consumer-perceived food product quality and brand preference. Perceived food product quality also directly and indirectly (through product value) affects brand preference.

This paper offers directions for understanding the effects of visual packaging on positive consumer product and brand evaluations. Based on the study findings, food firms should emphasize the visual packaging design factors such as color, typeface, logo, graphics, and size to form consumers' positive perceptions and brand preference.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the combined effect of sensory variables, information and attitudinal constructs in the prediction of consumer behaviour towards homemade food.

A quantitative survey-based study was carried out in Lima, Peru, with subjects involved in making household food purchasing decisions. A sensory test was performed and respondents were asked about their degree of liking (DOL) and intention to buy (ITB) a specific homemade food product. Ordinary least squares was used to identify predictors of DOL and ITB.

Information about homemade characteristics affects neither the sensory evaluation of a homemade food product nor the dependent variables. The sensory attributes were the most important predictors of overall DOL, whereas buying intention was strongly influenced by the overall liking of the product. Attitude towards homemade food significantly predicted both dependent variables as well. While the importance given to extrinsic cues had a negative effect on overall DOL, food enjoyment positively affected ITB.

Bias in some socio-demographic aspects and the fact that only one homemade product category was assessed in a specific location do not allow for generalisations. The use of negative-to-positive response scales might also have biased the results of this study.

To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first research paper that analyse the combined effect of information, socio-demographic, psychographic and sensory variables in the prediction of consumer behaviour towards homemade food.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a survey tool for consumer segmentation with respect to their food consumption style and to identify interesting consumer clusters for innovative food products development.

The data for this research were collected in a non‐stratified oral survey amongst 327 customers of food retail shops in southern Germany.

Cluster analysis of the data resulted in ten different consumption style segments. Additionally, consumers’ evaluation of the food product features were examined with conjoint analysis and interpreted both on a traditional preference level and on a newly elaborated acceptance level. Differences in preferences and acceptance can be observed for diverse food consumption style clusters and are the basis for target group specific food product design.

The sample was limited in size but meaningful results could be obtained within the survey. Additional improvements can be realised in the developed survey instrument with respect to, for example, the used food consumption style descriptors, character of product innovations or the structure of the sample.

The developed approach can be used by food small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to integrate consumers and consumer‐related aspects in their product development and innovation activities.

A new approach for consumer segmentation is developed within the paper and tested in a field study in Germany. A new acceptance simulator tool uses conjoint data innovatively to gather deeper consumer feedback.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of consumer ethnocentrism and animosity on the importance of country-of-origin in food product evaluation. It also tested the moderating effect of purchase frequency.

Data were collected from dairy consumers residing in China. The research model was tested using structural equation modelling with AMOS.

The results indicated that the importance of country-of-origin in product evaluation is not necessarily driven by consumer ethnocentrism or animosity. Only among frequent purchasers, a higher level of consumer ethnocentrism or animosity can be associated with more importance of country-of-origin in product evaluation.

Despite the significant role of purchase frequency, this factor has been less considered in the existing literature on consumer ethnocentrism and animosity. This study represented an initial attempt to the role of purchase frequency in the effects of consumer ethnocentrism and animosity on food product evaluation. It revealed that purchase frequency should be adopted as a moderating factor in future studies in this field.

Spain decided to implement NutriScore with the objective of helping consumers to choose healthier foods. NutriScore is a summary indicator interpretative nutritional labelling. This study aims to verify whether the coexistence with other interpretative labelling may influence NutriScore effectiveness.

A questionnaire was used to analyse two different brands in the same category; one of them ranked with a “B” NutriScore rating and the other with a “D” NutriScore rating. The product packaging was shown in four different ways: without indications, with nutrient-specific labels, with summary indicators (NutriScore) and with both interpretative indicators. Having positive and negative evaluations of NutriScore allowed us to assess its impact. Structural equation modelling (SEM), Student t-test and F-test were employed with a sample of 301 questionnaires.

The different formats of the interpretative labels did not moderate the relationship between perceived healthiness and purchase intention. When a food product is given positive evaluation from NutriScore, nutrient-specific interpretative labelling reinforces the effect of NutriScore. When a food product is given negative evaluation from NutriScore, nutrient specific interpretative labelling cancels the effect of NutriScore on perceived healthiness and purchase intention.

Previous studies have analysed the interaction between NutriScore and nutrient-specific interpretative labels, but they attribute a negative message to the product (warning labels). This study was aimed at analysing the interaction between NutriScore and summary indicators nutrient specific with positive message about the nutritional quality of the food item.

This study aims to provide international pasta marketers with a better understanding of how consumers perceive product value, which enables them to create and deliver value. The effects of COO, price, and content on purchase intentions are assessed.

Data were collected via the survey method in Romania and Greece. Using a random utility discrete choice model, the authors test five hypotheses.

Overall, Romanian and Greek individuals are less likely to buy US pasta; nevertheless, the likelihood that US or Italian pasta is purchased increases when this product is made from durum wheat versus soft wheat. Differences in purchase intentions due to age, gender, education, income, and nationality are also found.

The results have important implications for international pasta marketers, as it helps them to better understand the perceived pasta value and to position this product effectively in Greek and Romanian markets. Future studies should examine wider pasta market segmentation in the Balkans.

This study contributes to the value literature by providing a framework of perceived value of foreign food products. Also, addressing concerns expressed in the literature, this study examines the COO effects on purchase intentions in a multi-cue context, focusing on low-involvement food products such as pasta. Because individual preferences for COO vary widely, the need for empirical evidence to complement theory is critical, and this is the first study with regard to Greek and Romanian consumers' intentions to buy foreign pasta.

This study aimed to investigate consumers' understanding of country of origin (CoO) information and its relative importance in the context of their everyday food purchase decisions.

A cross-sectional intercept survey of 402 consumers in two cities in New Zealand was conducted. Respondents were asked to describe what they had considered when selecting a food item in their trolley. This was followed by questions to assess respondents' knowledge of CoO and their use and understanding of common CoO labels.

Price (42 per cent), taste (40 per cent), health (18 per cent), and quality (18 per cent) were the most important factors that respondents mentioned. Only 3.5 per cent of respondents mentioned CoO as one of the factors influencing their decision. Of respondents 61 per cent, when prompted, stated that they knew the CoO of the food product selected. Of these respondents, 90 per cent were correct. Of respondents 62 per cent stated that they look at CoO labels when making food purchase decisions. Yet, only one third of respondents correctly understood the difference between the “Made in” and “Product of” labels.

The findings suggest that consumers that do access CoO labels are misinterpreting this information which may form the basis of their assumptions about the source of origin of the brands and food products they routinely purchase.

Mandatory CoO labelling policies may add costs and reinforce misconceptions that consumers already hold about the meaning of these labels.

This study contributes to understanding of the extent to which consumers are competent in their knowledge and understanding of these informational labels.