Promoting the sale of healthy foods
Nutrition labeling of foods has the potential to increase healthy choices, but its effectiveness may vary depending on the type of labeling, the category of food targeted, and the setting. However, the effectiveness may vary depending on the type of labeling, the category of food targeted, and the setting. The purpose of this study will be to assess the effectiveness of industry-designed, off-the-shelf sugar labels on the sale of sugar-free, low-, medium-, and high-sugar beverages conducted within a real-life supermarket.
Week 17, 2019.
A label change for sugar on the shelf has been implemented by a Dutch supermarket chain.
Non-alcoholic beverages will be classified using a traffic light labeling system, and
Sugar-free (<1.25 g / 250 ml) is "green".
Low sugar (1.25 to 6.24 g / 250 ml) is "blue".
Yellow" for medium sugar (6.25 to 13.5 g / 250 ml)
High sugar (> 13.5 g / 250 ml) is "amber".
For the analysis, we used store-level data on beverage sales and revenues from 41 randomly selected supermarkets for 13 weeks before and 21 weeks after implementation. In total, 30 stores implemented the labels by week 17, and 11 stores were considered comparable.
Results were measured in terms of the number of beverages sold in the four label categories and the difference in total revenue from beverage sales in the implemented stores compared to the comparison stores, and the analysis was conducted using a multi-group interrupted time series approach. The results for the individual store data were combined using a variational effects meta-analysis.
Results.
At the end of the intervention period, the change in beverage sales for each label was not significantly different between the intervention and comparison stores. The change in total beverage revenue at the end of the intervention period was also not significantly different between the intervention and comparison stores.
Hoenink, J.C., Stuber, J.M., Lakerveld, J. et al. The effect of on-shelf sugar labeling on beverage sales in the supermarket: a comparative interrupted The effect of on-shelf sugar labeling on beverage sales in the supermarket: a comparative interrupted time series analysis of a natural experiment. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 18, 49 (2021). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01114-x
Summary
The results did not show any "significant" changes, but some data showed that labeling color coding reduced sales of sugar-sweetened beverages, depending on the method of analysis, but this seems to be a limited conclusion.
The study suggests that even if nutrition labeling is appropriate, consumers do not "see" it, and therefore, more visible labeling methods should be considered, as well as more creative copy on products.
What people look for when purchasing food products varies from person to person, but from the results of this survey, it can be inferred that many people make their purchasing decisions based on appearance and price. The results suggest that most people make their decisions based on appearance and price, with only the most health-conscious looking at the ingredients list.
In some labels, sugars and carbohydrates are listed separately, or the amount of carbohydrates is higher than the amount of calories consumed (this seems to happen because carbohydrates and sugars have different contents).
Take a look at the nutrition labels of foods that you can easily eat, and you will see how much sugar you are consuming.
