Red, yellow, or green? Do consumers' choices of food products depend on the label design?. (24th August 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Carlsson, Fredrik; Kataria, Mitesh; Lampi, Elina; Nyberg, Erik; Sterner, Thomas
• Is Part Of: European review of agricultural economics. Volume 49:Number 5(2022)
• Page Start: 1005
• Page End: 1026
• Publication Date: 2021-08-24
• Subjects: food labels -- choice experiment -- norms -- food choice; Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Europe -- Periodicals; 338.109405
• DOI: 10.1093/erae/jbab036
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0165-1587

Abstract

Abstract: Using a stated preference survey, we investigate to what extent consumers are willing to make costlier food consumption choices to decrease damages to health, the environment, and animal well-being. In particular, we investigate how the graphic design of the labels affects choice behaviour by comparing traffic–light and greyscale labels and plain-text description with each other. We found that the red colour in traffic lights seems to strengthen respondents' preferences for avoiding the worst level of a collective attribute such as climate impact or antibiotics use, while the green colour strengthened preferences for the more private attribute, namely healthiness. On average, the price premiums for a green label compared with a red label is 52 per cent for healthiness, 64 per cent for both animal welfare and antibiotics, and 20 per cent for climate impact.