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Abstract
Nutrition is an important food marketing differentiation criterion. There is growing
evidence of the relation between diets and health conditions. Thus there is a potential
conflict between industry and public health authorities over the use of nutrition labels.
Understanding industry motivations for simplified nutrition labels use is paramount to
scrutinize market dynamics, improve label policy design and its evaluation. The aim of
this research is to ascertain how retailers perceive consumer’s attitudes to nutrition labels
and what motivates their use. We conducted in-depth semi-structure interviews with
senior managers in leading Portuguese retail chains. Our results suggest that retailers’
adopt FOP to aid their customers’ food choices, as a response to competitors’ moves and
preempt labeling regulations. However, respondents were concerned on whether nutrition
labels added value to their business, has a negative impact on sales in certain food
categories and may hinder relations with suppliers.