How to label products and influence consumers

This blog has previously reported on the power that custom labels can have on customers. As many grocers and food retailers have begun using a stop light system to indicate which foods are healthier than others, they’ve also begun seeing an uptick in the sales of foods that are labeled with the go-ahead green dot instead of the think-again red one.

More evidence of this influence has come out, according to NPR, which reported on a new study by the University of Michigan that examined how individuals react to different labels on the same products.

The test was done by presenting two cookies in front of a subject. One was labeled medium, the other large. The medium cookie was chosen most often. This would make sense, except for the fact that each cookie was the same size. This shows that regardless of what the actual portion is, consumers are more likely to go with what the label says.

“Just because there’s a different size label attached to the same actual quantity of food, people eat more,” the study’s author Aradhna Krishna told the source. “But also, [they] think they’ve not eaten as much.”

What a company chooses to put on its food labels is oftentimes a combination of branding and business. For example, fast food companies may need to move more product and, therefore, will label a medium the same size that some companies may consider a large.

In contrast, smaller businesses may not be required to move as much material and, therefore, can afford to label their sizes more moderately, which can be used in overall marketing and branding schemes to promote more health conscious portions and products.

Regardless of the motivations for custom labels, companies can always benefit from producing high quality and attractive labels for their products. In order to do so, businesses should invest in a Primera LX900 color label printer.