Healthier is OK, but consumers also just want to have fun

A study of consumer trends in the Netherlands over the past five years has revealed that consumers are open to making healthier choices in the supermarket. However, they don’t want to feel that they are being patronized or forced to make a certain choice.

The advice from the researchers is that retailers draw attention to the healthy options in their range, for example, by using clear front-of-pack labeling, like the Nutri-Score. In addition, it would help if healthy products are included in the retailers’ special offers.

The researchers admit that there will always remain a demand for unhealthy products, and it would be unrealistic to want to remove those products from the supermarket altogether. Instead of such a step, paying more attention to highlighting healthy alternatives seems to be the way to go.