Beyond sugar: Exploring the influence of health and naturalness framing on attitudes towards products with sweet proteins in Europe

TY - JOUR

T1 - Beyond sugar

T2 - Exploring the influence of health and naturalness framing on attitudes towards products with sweet proteins in Europe

AU - Banovic, Marija

AU - Grunert, Klaus G.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s)

PY - 2024/1

Y1 - 2024/1

N2 - Amidst rising obesity rates in the EU and the significant public health impact of excessive sugar consumption, the debate on reducing sugar through reformulation with sweet proteins derived from precision fermentation gains prominence, presenting a viable alternative to traditional sugars and conventional sweeteners. We conducted two studies to investigate the effects of health (emphasizing sugar reduction) versus naturalness (highlighting sweet proteins as alternatives to artificial sweeteners) message framing on the acceptance of products reformulated with sweet proteins. Study 1 (N = 296, Denmark) evaluated the impact of health and naturalness message framing on attitudes towards such reformulations. Study 2, in a cross-cultural sample (N = 3,000 Denmark, Germany, and Poland), tested the mediating role of health perceptions and the moderating effects of BMI and guilt (Study 2a), as well as naturalness perceptions, sweetener use, and pleasure (Study 2b) on product attitudes. Results of Study 1 indicated that healthiness perceptions had a more persuasive influence than naturalness perceptions. The cross-cultural findings of Studies 2a and 2b revealed that BMI, sweetener usage frequency, anticipatory guilt, and pleasure can modulate these effects. These insights suggest that while both perceived healthiness and naturalness shape attitudes towards sweet protein-enriched products, the significance of health perceptions prevails, with anticipatory emotions of guilt enhancing this influence, particularly when sweet proteins substitute added sugar. Such evidence holds substantial implications for strategies aimed at reducing sugar consumption and fostering the acceptance of products containing alternative sweeteners.

AB - Amidst rising obesity rates in the EU and the significant public health impact of excessive sugar consumption, the debate on reducing sugar through reformulation with sweet proteins derived from precision fermentation gains prominence, presenting a viable alternative to traditional sugars and conventional sweeteners. We conducted two studies to investigate the effects of health (emphasizing sugar reduction) versus naturalness (highlighting sweet proteins as alternatives to artificial sweeteners) message framing on the acceptance of products reformulated with sweet proteins. Study 1 (N = 296, Denmark) evaluated the impact of health and naturalness message framing on attitudes towards such reformulations. Study 2, in a cross-cultural sample (N = 3,000 Denmark, Germany, and Poland), tested the mediating role of health perceptions and the moderating effects of BMI and guilt (Study 2a), as well as naturalness perceptions, sweetener use, and pleasure (Study 2b) on product attitudes. Results of Study 1 indicated that healthiness perceptions had a more persuasive influence than naturalness perceptions. The cross-cultural findings of Studies 2a and 2b revealed that BMI, sweetener usage frequency, anticipatory guilt, and pleasure can modulate these effects. These insights suggest that while both perceived healthiness and naturalness shape attitudes towards sweet protein-enriched products, the significance of health perceptions prevails, with anticipatory emotions of guilt enhancing this influence, particularly when sweet proteins substitute added sugar. Such evidence holds substantial implications for strategies aimed at reducing sugar consumption and fostering the acceptance of products containing alternative sweeteners.

KW - Attitudes

KW - BMI

KW - European countries

KW - Health perceptions

KW - Message framing

KW - Naturalness perceptions

KW - Precision fermentation

KW - Sweet protein

KW - Carbohydrates

KW - Excipients

KW - Europe

KW - Dietary Sugars

KW - Sugars

KW - Sweetening Agents

U2 - 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113767

DO - 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113767

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38129000

AN - SCOPUS:85179003574

SN - 0963-9969

VL - 175

JO - Food Research International

JF - Food Research International

M1 - 113767

ER -