edgyveggies-research

Relevant Research

Original Studies

Turnwald, B. P., Bertoldo, J., Perry, M. A., Policastro, P., Timmons, M., Bosso, C., Connors, P., Valgenti, R. L., Pine, L., Challamel, G., for The Menus of Change University Research Collaborative, Gardner, C. D., & Crum, A. J. (2019). Effects of taste-focused vs. health-focused labeling on vegetable intake in university dining halls: a randomized controlled multi-site intervention. Psychological Science.

Turnwald, B. P., & Crum, A. J. (2019). Smart food policy for healthy food labeling: Leading with taste, not healthiness, to shift consumption and enjoyment of healthy foods. Preventive Medicine, 119, 7-13.

Turnwald, B. P., & Crum, A. J. (2019). The taste-focused labeling intervention. In G. M. Walton & A. J. Crum (Eds.). Handbook of Wise Interventions: How Social-Psychological Insights Can Help Solve Problems, Guilford Press: New York.

Turnwald, B. P., Boles, D. Z., & Crum, A. J. (2017). Association between indulgent descriptions and vegetable consumption: Twisted carrots and dynamite beets. Journal of the American Medical Association: Internal Medicine, 77(8), 1216-1218.

Turnwald, B.P., Jurafsky, D., Conner, A., & Crum, A.J. (2017). Reading between the menu lines: Are restaurants’ descriptions of “healthy” foods unappealing? Health Psychology, 36 (11), 1034-1037.

Summary

In a previous study, Stanford SPARQ researcher Brad Turnwald and colleagues found that restaurants use less appealing language to describe “healthy” menu items than to describe standard-menu items. As a result most people avoid the healthy menu items.

And so the researchers asked: What would happen if restaurants flipped the script and used more attractive language to describe healthy foods?

To answer this question, Turnwald’s team conducted a 3-month experiment in a university dining hall, accounting for 28,933 diners’ lunch decisions. Each day, they named the main vegetable dish in one of three ways:

• Healthy Label: Low-sodium Carrots or Lighter-choice Beets
• Indulgent Label: Twisted-citrus Glazed Carrots or Tangy Lime-seasoned Beets
• Basic Label: Carrots or Beets

The researchers then secretly measured how many diners chose the vegetable and the total weight of the vegetables that diners selected. They found that 41% more diners served themselves the main vegetable when it had an indulgent label than when it had a healthy label, and 25% more diners choose the indulgently labeled vegetable than the basic one.

The following year, the researchers then replicated these results across 5 different university dining halls throughout the United States. Across 137,842 diner decisions, 185 days, and 24 vegetable types at 5 universities, taste-focused labels increased vegetable selection by 29% compared to health-focused labels and 14% compared to basic labels. Vegetable consumption also increased. These findings suggest that labeling vegetables in tasty and enjoyable ways can lead to more people eating them.

Why This Works

People typically assume that nutritious foods do not taste as good and are not as filling as unhealthy foods. Food marketers confirm these negative assumptions when they rely on emphasizing health benefits and nutritional properties of healthy foods instead of language that emphasizes flavor and positive experience. But when healthy foods emphasize flavorful, enjoyable, and exciting descriptors, people give them a try because it matches their top priority of choosing something that tastes good. Many learn that eating healthily can be flavorful and enjoyable.

When This Works Best

This technique works best in restaurants and dining settings where nutritious foods have less appealing names and descriptions than do unhealthy foods. It also works particularly well for people who value taste more than health when choosing what to eat — which is most people. Importantly, the vegetables must be prepared deliciously so that the taste lives up to the expectations. In one research study, for example, taste-focused labeling was not effective at a dining hall that served more bland vegetable preparations, like plain boiled carrots and steamed brussel sprouts.

Additional Research

Bacon, L., J. Wise, S. Attwood, & D. Vennard. (2018). “The language of sustainable diets: A field study exploring the impact of renaming vegetarian dishes on U.K. cafe menus.” Technical Note. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute.

Crum, A. J., Corbin, W., Brownell, K., & Salovey, P. (2011). Mind over milkshakes: Mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response. Health Psychology, 30(4), 424-429.

Finkelstein, S. R., & Fishbach, A. (2010). When healthy food makes you hungry. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(3), 357- 367.

Raghunathan, R., Naylor, R.W., & Hoyer, W.D. (2006). The unhealthy = tasty intuition and its effects on taste inferences, enjoyment, and choice of food products. Journal of Marketing, 70, 170-184.

Suher, J., Raghunathan, R., & Hoyer, W.D. (2016). Eating healthy or feeling empty? How the “healthy = less filling” intuition influences satiety. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 1, 26-40.

Woolley, K., & Fishbach, A. (2016). For the fun of it: Harnessing immediate rewards to increase persistence in long-term goals. Journal of Consumer Research, 42, 952-966.

In the Media

CNN: A veggie by any other name may actually get eaten

Stanford News: Decadent-sounding descriptions could lead to higher consumption of vegetables, Stanford research finds

The New York Times: Would Carrots by Any Other Name Taste as Sweet?

TIME: Here’s the Easiest Way to Eat More Vegetables.

CBS News: Researchers Find Clever Ways to Get People to Eat More Vegetables.

See Also

SPARQ Solutions Catalog: Encourage Healthy Eating With Edgy Descriptions of Veggies