Does green mean healthy? When a nutrition label and package colour do not affect perceptions of healthfulness

Abstract

Studies in developed countries have shown that green energy labels increase the perceived healthfulness of a candy bar and that food in blue packaging is regarded as being healthier than food in red packaging. It is unknown whether South African subjects would respond in the same manner when exposed to green-labelled food items. The aim of the study was to investigate how a sample of South African students perceive the healthfulness of green-labelled foods. A convenience sample of art, graphic design and multimedia students from two universities of technology participated in two between-subjects design studies (n = 154 and 124). The test material consisted of visual stimuli of food items and energy labels. Participants had to rate the food items in terms of healthiness. In Study 1, students did not perceive a candy bar with a green energy label as healthier than students who viewed the same candy bar with a red energy label, even though the energy labels indicated the calorie content (p = .92). The students also did not perceive a green packaged breakfast cereal as healthier than students who viewed the same cereal in a package with shades of red (p = .68). In Study 2, students did not rate (p = .24) nor perceive (p = .92) a green packaged maize product with a green energy label as healthier when compared to students who viewed the same product in a red package with a red energy label. These results contradict earlier findings that a green energy label may increase the perceived healthfulness of a food item. Interrelated variables such as a consumer’s ecological motivation, the type of product, the information presented on a label, and even the consumer’s eographic location, may play a role in how consumers respond to green-labelled food products.