Identification of Marketing Strategies Influencing Consumers’ Perception of Healthy Food Products and Triggering Purchasing Decisions

(1) Background: Marketing and advertising strategies for food products are very diverse and have a differential effect on consumers’ behaviours and attitudes towards products. (2) Objectives: To examine the influence of point-of-purchase (PoP) marketing and advertising strategies and the promotion o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: María Miquel Vidal, Carmina Castellano-Tejedor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
Series:Businesses
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7116/2/4/26
Description
Summary:(1) Background: Marketing and advertising strategies for food products are very diverse and have a differential effect on consumers’ behaviours and attitudes towards products. (2) Objectives: To examine the influence of point-of-purchase (PoP) marketing and advertising strategies and the promotion of products employing opinion leaders (celebrities) on the healthy perception of pre-packaged food and buying behaviour of young consumers. (3) Methods: Online survey (<i>N</i> = 130) of 18–31 years old participants. (4) Results: “Price” was the most influential factor when purchasing a snack (66.2%), although “salt and macronutrient content” had a major influence on females (x<sup>2</sup><sub>(1,N=129)</sub> = 14.02, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Participants with low or no weight satisfaction were more prone to consider “low fat” (x<sup>2</sup><sub>(1,N=130)</sub> = 5.02, <i>p</i> = 0.025) and chose “green” as the most suitable colour for healthy snack packaging. Male celebrities were more picked by males than female participants (x<sup>2</sup><sub>(1,N=129)</sub> = 6.41, <i>p</i> = 0.011). (4) Conclusion: Using green packaging, nutritional claims related to low-calorie intakes or accentuating salt and macronutrient content, and using opinion leaders with whom consumers can relate to, were the most influential factors in fostering a healthy perception of pre-packaged food products. These results highlight the need for policies to limit marketing strategies to avoid misleading consumers’ opinion of a product as healthy when it is not.
ISSN:2673-7116