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The increased acknowledgement of the problems associated with food waste has triggered a number of social and commercial initiatives for the re-distribution of suboptimal foods (SOFs). This paper aims to explore a variety of such initiatives and discuss their prospects, considering the commercial contingencies of the food supply system.

The exploration is based on a multi-country study of cases representing three initiatives related to the reduction of waste from SOFs, i.e. social supermarkets (SSMs), food banks and expiration date-based pricing practices. The collected data comprise expert interviews, store-check observations and secondary material; the data are analyzed from a marketing practice perspective.

The analyses indicate that the distribution and re-distribution of SOFs are moving toward normalization, that the diffusion of expiration date-based pricing through all food retailing formats is likely to continue, that food banks – despite reports of dwindling supplies of SOFs – are likely to increase their expansion and that SSMs face a variety of challenges, e.g. as regards their supply of SOFs and their customers’ preferences for stable assortments.

By synthesizing data from various European implementations of re-distribution practices, this article contributes to the understanding of the viability of such practices. Developing this understanding should benefit social and commercial entrepreneurs, as well as policymakers, when designing and implementing initiatives for the reduction of waste from SOFs.

The aim of this paper is to study the extent of change in parents' fruit and vegetable consumption during a period when their children participate in a school-based healthy eating intervention.

A total of 256 12-year-old Danish schoolchildren took part in a text-message feedback intervention promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. One parent of each child filled out self-administered questionnaires at three points during the 40-week study period. In the questionnaire, stated consumption, perceived influence factors on their consumption and self-efficacy and self-regulation were measured.

Only half of the parents stated that they met the “five a day” target. These parents reported good availability of fruit and vegetables in their household, high consumption among their friends and frequent exercise and they were characterised by high self-efficacy levels. Stated consumption increased during the period of the intervention targeted at their children. Parents that reported an increase had, at the start of the intervention, reported low levels of consumption, lack of encouragement to eat healthy at their workplace and lower autonomous self-regulation.

The consumption data is limited to self-report.

The results indicate that parents can be influenced indirectly by school-based interventions targeted at their children. Future interventions should include the family with the intent to support positive interaction that might further promote and sustain healthy eating habits.

The study considers the possible effects school interventions targeting children may have on the immediate family, an aspect generally overlooked in school-based health initiatives.

Snacking has been characterized as normatively unrestricted and identified as one of the main causes of adolescent obesity. The purpose of this paper is not to question the relation between obesity and snacking, but to ask to which extent adolescent snacking is socially unrestricted and to explore adolescent perceptions of the potential conventions and dilemmas involved in snacking.

Referring to previous research in food choice dilemmas and conventions, the paper starts out by discussing potential implications for adolescent snacking in different social contexts. Following this, the design, implementation and results of three focus groups, aiming at an exploration of adolescent snacking perceptions is described.

By identifying two distinct forms of adolescent snacking, i.e. “in‐between meals” and “fun snacks”, the results of the focus groups falsify the perception of snacking as socially unrestricted and offer some interesting insights into the conventions, personal dilemmas and intergenerational conflicts which characterize adolescent snacking.

The classification of snacking as unrestricted of social norms is both unwarranted and counterproductive to the understanding – and subsequently the mitigation – of the relation between snacking and obesity.

Apart from falsifying the classification of snacking as unrestricted of social norms, the study contributes by devising a focus group design for elicitation of social norms and dilemmas. Recognizing that the study is just a first step towards a comprehensive understanding of adolescent snacking and that facilitation of healthier snacking behaviors requires such an understanding, recommendations for further research are given.

Healthy‐eating socialization is often described as a bi‐directional process, but there are only few studies on children and parent's roles in the process. This paper aims to investigate children and parents' accounts of awareness and involvement in healthy eating and how they relate it to their roles in healthy‐eating socialization.

Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 38 families three months after a healthy‐eating intervention involving dietary advice and SMS feedback. The interviews were analysed by means of qualitative content analysis.

Children and parents identified several causes of awareness and involvement in healthy eating: new or re‐activated health knowledge, visualization of amounts, self‐regulation and planning. Children adopted two strategies in terms of family socialization: a direct strategy placing demands on parents or a cooperative strategy helping the parents. Parents initiated dialogues with family members about healthy eating and felt responsible as role models often honouring the children's demands and help.

Findings provide a concrete empirical account of the socialization process and confirm that parents still have the superior hand, when it comes to healthy eating, but with children as active players. The authors suggest future studies to explore the development of influence and awareness of healthy eating among children and the extent to which children wish to engage in healthy‐eating socialization.

The study supplements previous research by including children's immediate family as a unit of analysis. By taking an intra‐familiar systemic approach to studying family socialization, future studies can take into account the family support (or lack hereof), when designing interventions and evaluating the outcomes.

The purpose of the study was to apply the theory of planned behavior to predict Danish adolescents’ behavioral intention for healthy eating.

A cluster sample survey of 410 students aged 11 to 16 years studying in Grade 6 to Grade 10 was conducted in Denmark.

Perceived behavioral control followed by attitudes were the most important factors in predicting behavioral intention. Females and adolescents with a higher Body Mass Index were also found to have a stronger behavioral intention. Healthy eating was perceived to be beneficial and useful, and, to a lesser extent, interesting and desirable. Family, TV programs, and teachers were influential socialization agents.

The survey responses may be affected by a social desirability bias. The survey includes a non‐probability sample and results may not be generalized to all adolescents, even in Denmark.

The results may inform educators and policy makers in designing health communication interventions, particularly in making socializing agents aware of their role in fostering healthy eating behaviors in adolescents. As perceived behavioral control was the strongest predictor of behavioral intention, interventions and messages communicated to adolescents on healthy eating should aim to empower them with knowledge, ability and determination to eat more healthily.

The study uses a predictive, theoretical framework (TPB) to investigate healthy eating, whereas previous efforts among Danish adolescents have primarily used descriptive approaches.

Although adolescents and older adults are often targets for nutritional change interventions, little has been done to explore how people in these transitional life phases perceive the matter themselves. The aim of this paper is to explore and compare adolescents' and older adults' own perceptions of the barriers and facilitators of a change towards healthier eating.

This study design consisted of four focus groups that were conducted with adolescents and older adults to identify their health orientations, and their expected and experienced outcomes and self-efficacies in implementing approach and avoidance behaviours in relation to healthy eating, i.e. increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables and decreasing consumption of soft drinks and red meat.

The study resulted in a number of interesting insights, e.g. that older and younger participants alike: were keen not to seem “overly healthy” to their important others, had a demonstratively detached orientation towards healthy eating and felt that their diets were generally healthy (although this was generally disproved by their self-reported intake data).

The study and findings reported in this article contribute by providing the first steps towards a better understanding of how social cognition and self-efficacy perceptions related to healthy eating develop in the transitional phases of adolescence and older adulthood. In order to complement and validate the findings of the study; and with the aim of facilitating efficient nutritional change interventions directed at adolescents and older people, further studies should be conducted.

The purpose of this paper is to describe two exploratory studies of how experience (lacking, failed, or successful) of trying to implement healthy eating behaviours influences future intentions to maintain and expand such behaviours (so called “spillover”).

The two survey-based (n=2,120) studies involved Danes aged 13-15 and 55-70 years, respectively.

The studies showed that the self-reported experience of successfully increasing the intake of healthy (fruit and vegetables) and decreasing the intake of less healthy (soft drinks and animal fats) categories had spillover effects on the intention to pursue these behaviours in the future. For all the categories included, the intentions of the respondents who had tried and succeeded were significantly higher than those of the other respondents. The intentions of the group who had tried but failed were also significantly higher compared to those of the non-triers. Moreover, whether successful or not, both the experience of trying to increase the intake of healthy and to reduce the intake of less healthy food had a significant positive influence on the intention to try the opposite type of behaviour in the future. Healthy (fruit and vegetables) and decreasing the intake of less healthy (soft drinks and animal fats) categories had spillover effects on the intention to pursue these behaviours in the future. For all the categories included, the intentions of the respondents who had tried and succeeded were significantly higher than those of the other respondents. The intentions of the group who had tried but failed were also significantly higher compared to those of the non-triers. Moreover, whether successful or not, both the experience of trying to increase the intake of healthy and to reduce the intake of less healthy food had a significant positive influence on the intention to try the opposite type of behaviour in the future.

As regards spillover between approach and avoidance behaviours related to healthy eating, only few studies have been published. The studies reported here contribute to the understanding of how experience with different types of healthy eating affect future intentions to change eating habits and provides insight for health promoters in their choice of which specific eating behaviours to address.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how three dimensions of retailer brand architecture – share or retailer brands, quality of retailer brands and visibility of retailer brands – affect consumer intention to shop at stores

A conjoint analysis is conducted with a sample of 599 Danish consumers, which rated intention to shop at hypothetical new shops based on profiles derived from an orthogonal design

Two segments of consumers emerge, one price conscious and one more differentiated. Consumers prefer shops with lower price levels, with dominantly manufacturer brands, with quality of retailer brands at the same level as manufacturer brands, and with good visibility of retailer brands.

The results are based on the evaluation of hypothetical stores, and many additional factors affect store choice in the real world.

Results suggest that we may be heading towards a polarized retail market, mainly divided between discount concepts and high quality retailer brand concepts.

The paper is innovative in isolating the effect of dimensions of retailer brand architecture on consumer store preference.

The objective of this article is to conduct a case study of the Supermalt brand of malt beer, which has become the preferred beverage of Afro‐Caribbean consumers in Brixton on a very limited marketing budget.

The article uses the concepts of personal identity and brand identity in a qualitative study to explore how Brixton‐based Afro‐Caribbean consumers construct their self‐identities and the brand identity of Supermalt. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 14 Afro‐Caribbean consumers. Each interview was divided into three parts. The first part focused on consumers' self‐identities. The second part explored the role of food and beverage products in the construction of self‐identities. The final part focused on the construction of brand identity for Supermalt.

The article provides information on the self‐identities constructed by Afro‐Caribbean informants. The food and beverage consumption of informants reflects their mixed cultural identity. The brand identity Supermalt appears to be malleable, with ample room for consumer co‐construction. Perceptions of brand identity differ markedly among informants, who are all able to construct Supermalt as one of their own.

The findings are based solely on semi‐structured interviews with a small sample of Afro‐Caribbean consumers. The findings are therefore not generalizable.

The Supermalt brand represents an interesting case for companies aiming to develop strong brands with a limited marketing budget. Based on the Supermalt case, suggestions are made regarding branding in relation to ethnic minorities.

This article provides a study of a brand that has become strong within a narrowly defined group of consumers.