EXPRESS: Educational Campaigns for Product Labels: Evidence from On-Shelf Nutritional Labeling
Front-of-package and on-shelf nutrition labelling systems in supermarkets have been shown to lead to only modest increases in the purchase of more nutritious foods. Educational campaigns may increase the use of these types of product labels if 1) there is a lack of consumer awareness and/or understanding of the labels, and 2) the information provided lead consumers to prefer different products. We study a large-scale, national campaign for the Guiding Stars® nutrition labels conducted by a grocery retailer in Canada who implemented the labels. Using detailed household transaction data, we find only a small increase in the purchase of higher star-rated foods during the campaign, driven by produce purchases, and 60% of the effect disappears after the campaign’s conclusion. To explain the limited response, exit surveys were conducted outside of stores before and after the campaign. Awareness and understanding of the nutrition labelling system increased marginally after the campaign, but there was no increase in self-reported use.