When organic products are tasty: Taste inferences from an Organic = Healthy Association

Kristina Nadricka*, Kobe Millet, Peeter W.J. Verlegh

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Previous research has consistently demonstrated that organic food is typically seen as healthier. The aim of the present study is to investigate how these health inferences influence taste perceptions of organic food. In Study 1, we show that a neutral food product with an organic label is perceived as more healthy than the same product without such a label. This higher level of perceived healthiness is paired with an improved perceived taste. In Study 2 and 3, we obtain evidence in Dutch and US samples that an organic label increases perceived taste and attractiveness of healthy (but not unhealthy) food. Whereas previous studies have shown general health halo effects of organic labels, this perspective cannot explain the specific pattern of our results, which speaks towards an ‘organic = healthy = tasty’ intuition.

Original languageEnglish
Article number103896
Pages (from-to)1-10
Number of pages10
JournalFood Quality and Preference
Volume83
Early online date25 Jan 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2020

Keywords

  • Healthiness
  • Organic food
  • Organic labeling
  • Taste

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