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Opposing effects of sugar-free claims on perceived healthiness and sweetness reduce consumers’ willingness to pay for sugar-free products
The results suggest that, controlling for familiarity with the product, sugar-free labels significantly increased the willingness to pay due to the perception of sugar-free products as healthier than sugar-containing ones. However, this positive effect was overridden by a significant decrease in perceived tastiness and sweetness of products labeled as sugar-free compared to sugar-containing ones, which in turn led to a reduction in the willingness to pay. The overall effect of the label on the willingness to pay was, thus, insignificant. Additionally, we show that the effect of the label on perceived tastiness was fully mediated by perceived sweetness.
Conclusion: The opposing effects of the label on subjective product perceptions may be limiting the efficiency of sugar-free claims in changing consumer choices towards healthier food options.