Label of contents
Man shopping in supermarket
A label is the first point of contact with potential customers, and it must make a great first impression.
Designing labelling is therefore a crucial task that requires consideration to convey necessary information while also being visually appealing. Two recent examples of information conveyance and pandering to the senses come in the form of an American study and the work of Just Eat.
With the former, I learn that new research suggests that labelling menu items as vegetarian or vegan can influence consumer food choices, is a reminder that this market sector is still finding its feet.
The findings, published in the American journal Appetite, indicate that labelling can negatively impact how US consumers choose meat-free products.
Field studies evaluated whether labelling an option with vegan would lead to fewer participants choosing it compared to when there was no label.
The results from both field studies indicated that labelling had a negative impact on the likelihood of participants choosing the vegan option. When labelled, 36.6% of participants chose the vegan option, while in the unlabeled condition, 42.7% chose the vegan option.
It’s come to a point in time where consumers are looking and liking as opposed to reading and choosing.
The workplace food delivery branch of Just Eat has launched a new carbon labelling trial to help business customers and restaurants make more sustainable choice while also giving restaurants the chance to make more informed decisions about the ingredients they use.
The three-month trial of a labelling system shows the carbon emissions of main menu dishes on the Just Eat app and website, using a system developed in partnership with Cardin dioxide accounting and labelling specialist My Emissions.
Participating restaurants display a carbon label rating for each meal, ranging from ‘A’ for dishes boasting a very low carbon impact, down to ‘E’ for those with a very high carbon impact, Just Eat explained.
Some considerable work has gone into the platform. The ratings take into account a number of factors impacting the carbon emissions of each meal across its value chain, including emissions from the farming, production, transportation, and packaging of food.
Labels can impact a variety of customers’ choices and increase awareness of the impact of carbon emissions in the food industry.
- Rodney Jack, editor, Food & Drink Technology.
Keep in touch via email: rodney@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @foodanddrinktec or LinkedIn: Food & Drink Technology magazine.
