In an experiment conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the building’s cafeteria food was labeled based on a traffic-light system. A green label meant a healthy food, red meant food to avoid and yellow was an even combination of healthy and unhealthy factors. The results of the study showed that custom labels, regardless of their function, can have an affect on consumer choices.
When the researchers began labeling the cafeteria’s food, red item purchases fell by 11.2 percent. In contrast, green item purchases increased by 6.6 percent. Overall, the red item purchases made up only 20 percent whereas green items were more than double that at 45 percent.
When the study began its “choice architecture” phase – where researchers deliberately placed red items in hard to reach areas and green items in more accessible spots – green purchases rose by 2.3 percent and red fell by 14.2 percent.
“Although it was not possible to determine the exact mechanism of the labeling scheme’s effectiveness, two key features of the labels may have contributed. First, a traffic-light system is simple and does not have the numeracy demands of calorie counts,” said the study’s report. “Second, it gives consumers information about what not to eat. Self-control is an inhibitory process, and may best be triggered by specific information on what actions to avoid.”
The study shows that custom labels can have a behavioral effect on consumers, regardless of its overall function and whether it’s promoting healthy decisions. Clearly, product labels for food, beverages and dietary supplements should be taken seriously and customized to personify the story that the brand is attempting to sell to consumers. In order to design effective custom labels, business owners should invest in a Primera LX900 color label printer that can handle these demands.
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