Moderating effects of food type and consumers' attitude on the evaluation of food items labeled “additive‐free”
Published online on September 20, 2017
Abstract
In this article, we first examine whether “additive‐free” claims on packages affect how consumers evaluate a product and whether these claims cause a consumer to develop illusions about the nutrients or quality of the product that are irrelevant to the claim. We then expand our study to categorize products that consumers consider to be healthy and unhealthy and investigate how such product types influence the effect of additive‐free claims. In addition, we verify that consumers' general attitude towards no‐additives products affect the moderation effect of product types. The findings of this study add a new academic meaning for research related to health claims and suggest practical implications for marketers and policymakers.