Do eco-labels make food taste better?

Does organic food taste better than conventionally produced food? Consumers seem to think so - at least, when they’re told that the food is organic.

In a study at Sweden’s University of Gävle, 44 study participants were offered two different cups of coffee which were identical. The participants were told that one of the cups was organic.

When asked which tasted better, most participants named the ‘organic’ version; some were willing to pay more for the ‘eco-friendly’ coffee. Generally, those who were willing to pay more were those who scored high on a questionnaire on attitudes towards sustainable consumer behaviour.

“There is an eco-label effect on taste and willingness to pay such that people are biased to prefer coffee that has been arbitrarily labelled ‘eco-friendly’ over an objectively identical non-labelled alternative,” the study authors wrote.

“Eco-labels not only promote a willingness to pay more for the product, but they also lead to a more favourable perceptual experience of it. Understanding the psychological mechanisms that underpin the eco-label effect and how to modulate its magnitude could potentially be a key to promote sustainable consumer behaviour.”

Interestingly, the researchers found that their results “speak against the notion that consumers are not prepared to pay extra for the sake of environment alone”.

“On the contrary, our findings are entirely consistent with the idea that people may view a morally loaded label as an additional characteristic of the good. The moral thing to do (ie, buying an eco-friendly product even though it costs more than a conventional alternative) appears to be a more important determinant to some individuals than tangible product characteristics,” the researchers wrote.

However, some consumers will choose conventional products as they are not prepared to pay a premium for eco-labelled alternatives. “From a seller’s perspective, the highest average price for a product can be extracted if the consumer is told about the eco-label whilst they have already said that they prefer that product, regardless of the customers’ attitude toward sustainable consumption,” the authors wrote.

“This technique could potentially be used to bypass consumer habit and promote purchase of eco-labelled products in those who would normally be unwilling to pay a premium for those alternatives.”