It is common to see children accompanying their parents to buy at the supermarket. What is an everyday activity becomes a fun moment when food packaging, full of shapes, colors and drawings, attracts attention and entertains the little ones.
This attraction generated by the packaging of food products in minors is not something fortuitous, but a consequence of a marketing strategy that seeks its effectiveness in a very saturated and competitive sector.
The hypothetical effectiveness of this type of strategy raises a question that points to a crucial concern of our societies: what happens when it is the least healthy products that make use of these techniques? Could unhealthy consumption habits be encouraged?
In short, is it contributing to increase the future problems of overweight and obesity in times where the obesity rate does not stop increasing worldwide (there were 38.9 million obese children in 2020, according to the WHO)?
Strategies to attract small consumers
Previous studies show that the different elements that are in the packaging, and that manage to attract child attention, can have an impact on an increase in desire to buy and consume, which in the end can decant the acquisition of parents (what has been called “power of insistence” of children).
These components include, but are not limited to, colours, licensed or unlicensed drawings, brand attachment and packaging, celebrities, promotions, product name and size, advertising messages and labelling.
But are all food packaging aimed at children equally appealing? Are some claims impacting more than others? What happens when elements that work persuasion, controlled by the company, and other obligatory ones that warn about nutritional characteristics of the food are combined?
These questions were asked by several researchers at Loyola University. To answer them, we decided to conduct a systematic review of published studies on the subject.
We analyzed 20 experimental studies that measured the effect of different elements of the packaging on two aspects of children’s behavior: choice or preference and intake. Comparing results, we managed to reach a series of conclusions, which are summarized below.
Shutterstock / duchic
Series drawings, an effective claim
Although it is a growing field of study, there is still a lot of ignorance about the power of packaging. Most of the studies analyzed focus on individual analyses of the elements of the container; Research exploring the joint effect is lacking.
That is, in the presence of different combinations of characteristics, we do not know exactly which ones promote the child to finally decide on food.
Yes, there is quite solid evidence about the influence of the use of drawings, especially characters from children’s series. These favor the choice and consumption of the food in question.
The same cannot be said about the use of promotions. The studies reviewed find no evidence of its effectiveness in children.
Regarding other elements – striking colors, appearance of celebrities (such as influencers), attractive product names, brands, images of presentation suggestion …-, their influence on choices and preference has been demonstrated.
of the child population, although not on its impact on increased consumption.
However, the evidence supporting these results is not very numerous, so more studies are required to support these claims.
It should be added that such effects on choice and consumption are influenced by sociodemographic variables (income, gender, age or body mass index), the degree of healthiness of the product or social interventions (anti-advertising or educational level of the minor).
For example, boys are more attracted to sports celebrities than girls, and packaging with strong brand identity encourages more children with higher body mass indexes to consume.
Does nutrition labelling have an influence?
Despite the fact that European legislation focuses much of its efforts on regulating nutritional claims and the type of information that must be provided on packaging, there is insufficient scientific evidence to confirm that it has any moderating effect on food choices. Children.
This fact is worrying, because this labeling was born with the aim of informing the consumer about whether a food is healthy or not. If it does not ultimately influence when choosing a product, this type of public policy should be combined with others that seek to counteract the effect of other persuasive techniques such as those indicated above.
Obviously, this is not going to completely solve a bad diet. The problem of overweight and obesity must be framed in environments where various causes intervene such as sedentary lifestyle, the high price of fresh food or excess fast food.
However, we cannot ignore the contribution that persuasion techniques applied to packaging can have on unhealthy food choices in children.
The administrations have made numerous efforts focused on regulating nutritional information or advertising aimed at children. But these are not the only elements that should be taken into account if you want to influence purchasing behaviors at the point of sale.
Perhaps it is time to consider it in the design of public policies that seek to improve the eating habits of families. The stakes are high.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original.
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