Healthy consumer choices in a complex food market environment (FA6 module 1)

This module rests on the working hypothesis that the impact of price, ingredients and nutrition labelling on choice of and propensity to substitute towards healthier food is innately heterogeneous. Hence, incidence and magnitude of changes in food consumption vary depending on design and strength of marketing measures moderated by numerous consumer characteristics such as demographics, attitudes, taste preferences, or health status.

Food product development, marketing, and regulation (e.g. labelling, fiscal measures) will be most effective for sales and public health, and most efficient, when tailored towards the specific reaction of targeted consumers.

However, the empirical evidence on heterogeneous effects of strategic marketing variables based on real market data, with a focus on food and health, is still scarce.

In this module, we will

  • quantify the impact of strategic variables on food choice econometrically, based on comprehensive household purchase data;
  • identify and characterize different segments of households according to demographics, attitudes, and behavior;
  • identify cognitive determinants of food choice behavior based on implicit association tests and surveys and compare these results with findings from market data.

Our objectives

The objective of this subproject is to identify the crucial drivers of food choice and substitution behavior among heterogeneous consumers. Our results will help to develop tailored strategies for marketing and regulation to promote healthier food choice among targeted consumer groups.