People are willing to pay more for food with ‘FDA healthy’ label

People are willing to pay more for food that carries an "FDA healthy" label. New research shows these labels make consumers choose healthier snacks. They also pay extra for products with this official endorsement.

The Power of a "Healthy" Label

In 2024, the FDA updated its definition of "healthy" for food packaging. This new definition matches current nutrition science. For the first time, the FDA also suggested an "FDA healthy" icon for food packages. This icon is still waiting for approval.

Researchers from Oregon State University and Tufts University studied how these labels affect shoppers. They wanted to see if an endorsement from the FDA changed what people bought.

Katherine Fuller, a lead author and professor at Oregon State, noted a key finding. "Trust in government was an important part for people," she said. "They were willing to pay more for that label." This is similar to how people pay more for USDA "organic" labels.

How the Study Worked

The study took place in 2023. Researchers worked with 267 shoppers at six grocery stores in Boston. Participants used tablets to view pictures of 15 snack products. Nine of these were healthy, and six were not.

First, shoppers saw products without any special "healthy" label. Then, they saw the same products again. This time, products that met the new FDA "healthy" standards had either a generic "healthy" label or the specific "FDA healthy" label.

Shoppers received $5 cash and a $10 gift card. They could use the $5 to buy a product they chose during the study. This made their choices feel real.

Sean Cash, a senior author from Tufts University, explained the method. "Giving study participants purchasing power in a setting that mirrored a real shopping experience let us better observe how the labels might influence behavior," he said.

Participants also filled out a survey. It asked about their background, their knowledge of healthy food, and how much they trusted the government.

Key Findings

The study found several important things:

• Consumers chose healthy snacks more often than unhealthy ones.
• When products had "healthy" icons, people chose healthy snacks even more. The "FDA healthy" label had a stronger effect than a generic "healthy" label.
• People were willing to pay more for healthy labeled foods. An FDA-endorsed label made them willing to pay even more. For example, they would pay 59 cents more for a healthy product with an FDA label compared to one with no label.
• The FDA label's stronger effect shows that people trust official sources.
• The FDA label worked best for consumers who trusted the government more.

Cash noted that labels act as signals for consumers. "When labels are viewed as credible, such as when they have the endorsement of a government agency, they are more likely to influence eating patterns and purchasing habits," he said.

Fuller added that there is a lot of confusion about what is healthy. "Having a clear label, supported by scientific research, saying ‘this is healthy because we checked,’ is important," she stated.

Deep Dive & References: Food Quality and Preference - 2023