Taste perceptions mediate the effect of a health goal on food choice

TY - JOUR

T1 - Taste perceptions mediate the effect of a health goal on food choice

AU - Banovic, Marija

AU - Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica

AU - Deliza, Rosires

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Ltd Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/12

Y1 - 2021/12

N2 - Although considerable research has been done on the role of a health goal in food choices, little effort is devoted to the contexts intervening between the health goal and choices and its relationship with taste and price in the congruent non-conflicting versus the incongruent conflicting choice context. The present research experimentally examined through an online study, with 1303 participants, the process through which the health goal affects food choices taking into account both the congruent non-conflicting and the incongruent conflicting choice contexts. Furthermore, the study examined whether the impact of the health goal on these choices would be mediated by taste perceptions evoked by the products’ imagery. Results show that when the health goal is activated in a non-conflicting (vs. conflicting) choice context, the consumers are more likely to choose more expensive (vs. cheaper) products. The consumers’ expected product taste further mediate this effect of the health goal on the product choice, where a non-conflicting (vs. conflicting) choice-set additionally intensifies the consumers’ taste perceptions, producing a congruent healthy – tasty relationship. These findings suggest that the health goals do not always invoke incongruence with taste, at least in the context of products perceived as naturally healthy. For a broader market, this effect could actually be a blessing in disguise, where health-related communication efforts effectively inducing congruence with taste, would be more capable of catering the consumers’ food choices.

AB - Although considerable research has been done on the role of a health goal in food choices, little effort is devoted to the contexts intervening between the health goal and choices and its relationship with taste and price in the congruent non-conflicting versus the incongruent conflicting choice context. The present research experimentally examined through an online study, with 1303 participants, the process through which the health goal affects food choices taking into account both the congruent non-conflicting and the incongruent conflicting choice contexts. Furthermore, the study examined whether the impact of the health goal on these choices would be mediated by taste perceptions evoked by the products’ imagery. Results show that when the health goal is activated in a non-conflicting (vs. conflicting) choice context, the consumers are more likely to choose more expensive (vs. cheaper) products. The consumers’ expected product taste further mediate this effect of the health goal on the product choice, where a non-conflicting (vs. conflicting) choice-set additionally intensifies the consumers’ taste perceptions, producing a congruent healthy – tasty relationship. These findings suggest that the health goals do not always invoke incongruence with taste, at least in the context of products perceived as naturally healthy. For a broader market, this effect could actually be a blessing in disguise, where health-related communication efforts effectively inducing congruence with taste, would be more capable of catering the consumers’ food choices.

KW - Choice

KW - Consumer

KW - Fish

KW - Health goal

KW - Price perceptions

KW - Taste perceptions

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85108092776&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104305

DO - 10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104305

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85108092776

SN - 0950-3293

VL - 94

JO - Food Quality and Preference

JF - Food Quality and Preference

M1 - 104305

ER -