Healthy in the Wrong Way
Healthy in the Wrong Way
In both the United States and France, food companies use health claims to market everything from breakfast cereals to snack bars. But are these claims really reflecting what consumers want? According to recent research, the answer is not always.
A study titled Healthy in the Wrong Way, published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS), compares how health claims are used in cereal products in the U.S. and France. The findings reveal that while these claims aim to respond to health trends, they aren’t always hitting the mark—and there's an important lesson here for marketers.
The Four Types of Health Claims
Marketers in both countries typically rely on four main strategies to pitch their products as healthy:
Enriched Claims: These claims emphasize the addition of beneficial nutrients, such as vitamins or minerals.
Diet Claims: These focus on what’s removed, like fat, sugar, or calories.
Clean Claims: These claims highlight the absence of artificial ingredients, preservatives, or additives.
Whole Claims: These emphasize natural, unprocessed ingredients, like whole grains or organic produce.
What the study found, however, is that French companies tend to get these claims right more often than U.S. companies. In France, consumers gravitate toward clean and whole claims, which emphasize natural ingredients and a lack of processing. Meanwhile, in the U.S., food companies have been heavily pushing diet claims—think "low fat" or "reduced sugar"—even though American consumers actually prefer enriched claims, which add beneficial nutrients to their diet.
The U.S.-France Disconnect in Marketing Tactics
The research, published in JAMS, highlights this clear difference in consumer preferences and how companies are responding. French companies emphasize the natural, simple qualities of food—organic produce, whole grains, and a lack of additives—which aligns with the French preference for quality, unprocessed ingredients. On the other hand, American companies often push diet-related claims that focus on what’s removed, despite the fact that U.S. consumers increasingly want to hear about what’s added to improve their health.
This leads to a significant mismatch: while American shoppers prefer products that promise additional health benefits, U.S. marketers are promoting what’s missing from foods.
Why Is This Mismatch Happening?
The study found that publicly traded companies in both countries tend to follow consumer trends more closely, aligning their claims with consumer preferences. But in the U.S., privately owned companies are more likely to stick with traditional diet claims, possibly playing on anxieties around weight loss and health—even though modern consumers are more interested in foods that help them thrive, rather than foods that simply reduce something negative.
Meanwhile, in France, the culinary culture naturally drives companies to prioritize claims that resonate with their audience’s desire for unprocessed, high-quality food. French shoppers are drawn to “whole” and “clean” claims that speak to their appreciation for authenticity and simplicity in their diet.
What Can We Learn as Marketers?
For food marketers, these findings underscore three important takeaways:
“Healthy” Is Crucial: Food marketers need to comprehend consumers’ evolving perceptions of healthy food, even if those perceptions don’t align with nutritional science.
Cultural Differences Matter: Marketers should avoid assuming global convergence and conduct local market research to understand country-specific preferences.
Evolve Beyond Diet Claims: American companies should move beyond old-school diet claims that focus on deprivation and instead embrace enriched or clean claims that align with today’s health-conscious consumers who want to enhance their wellness, not just avoid negatives.
Looking Ahead: A Healthier Marketing Strategy
The findings from this research highlight a critical opportunity for food marketers to better connect with their audiences by refining their approach to health claims. While the U.S. food industry might be lagging behind France in terms of consumer alignment, there’s immense potential to close this gap. By listening to consumers and shifting the narrative from deprivation to enrichment, brands can build stronger, more trusting relationships with shoppers.
For marketers, the message is clear: health claims must evolve with consumer preferences. As consumers in the U.S. and France continue to prioritize health in different ways, those brands that respond with the right claims—whether it’s enriched benefits in the U.S. or whole and clean ingredients in France—will be the ones to thrive in a crowded market.
About the Research
Healthy in the Wrong Way: Mismatching of Marketers’ Food Claims and Consumers’ Preferences in the United States But Not France
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS), 2023; Volume 51, Issue 1
Authors:
Pierre Chandon
Romain Cadario
From the Authors
How can the recommendations from your findings specifically be implemented?
It is not enough to claim to be healthy in a general sense. Food marketers can action these findings to pivot to the kind of claims that consumers want.
What outcomes would be expected?
A better match with consumer preferences should increase market share and consumer satisfaction.
Any other advice for practitioners following directly from the results?
Nearly every company wants their product to be “cool” or “high quality”. However, these words can be interpreted in many different ways. It is important to unpack what people mean when they use these casual terms. Often, we think we understand each other, but we are talking about vastly different things.
