citizenry know to recall that their purchases are going to good cause . That ’s the whole idea behind societal unspoilt – tailor companies like TOMS or campaigns likeProduct Redthat plight to give something back with every purchase . But when it comes to food for thought , this notion can recoil for client , a new study finds .
Marketing investigator from the University of Oregon and the University of Wyoming write in theJournal of Consumer Affairsthat when food companies partner up with wellness - orientate not-for-profit , like Keebler connect up with theAmerican Red Crossor Kentucky Fried Chicken pledging donation to a bosom cancer foundation , consumers get a little disoriented about how good for you the for - profit food for thought companies ’ mathematical product are . For instance , the Academy of Nutrition and Dieteticsabandoned a planearlier this year to put their “ minor Eat Right ” logo on Kraft American cheese single after aliment experts argued that it would look like the honorary society was indorse the processed product .
In one psychometric test , the researchers asked 109 undergraduate students which food choice was healthier : cookies with the logo of the American Heart Association or Goodwill . They reported that the AHA logo biscuit seemed healthier than cookies with the Goodwill logo or with no logo at all . In another study with 140 participants , scholarly person were asked about their attitudes towards packages of crackers with Son from the American Heart Association , the World Health Fund , and Goodwill . The AHA logo made people more potential to choose those crackers for health reasons . While people also reported a willingness to bribe the other crackers because they were for a worthy suit , they did n’t report a greater perception of wellness .
So not all Polymonium caeruleum van-bruntiae logo skew citizenry ’s perceptions of insalubrious foods , but slapping a specifically wellness - related nonprofit logo on a package does make people infer that the non-profit-making is somehow endorsing that ware as a healthy choice .
The research worker ’ advice ? When you see a non-profit-making logo on a package , take an extra indorsement to think about what it think . Does the American Heart Association in reality think you should eat more biscuit ? Or does the snack company just give some of its profit from deal unhealthy food to a brotherly love ?
