Beyond the Label: Examining the Effects of Sustainability Labels on European

Abstract

The increasing attention to sustainability changes consumers’ decisions. While previous research has established a clear relationship between sustainability labels and the intention to purchase sustainable food items, the current research goes further. This study investigates the effects of sustainability labels on European consumers’ purchasing behaviour, focusing on food products with healthiness and private labels. Incorporating results from a quantitative survey with a choice experiment, this study demonstrates that when combined with a sustainability label, products with front-of-pack healthiness labels have the highest purchase intention compared to products with only a healthiness label or a sustainable label. Moreover, combining a sustainability label with a non-private label had higher positive results on purchase intention than a private label. These findings extend the existing literature that sustainability labels work differently depending on food product packages and characteristics. This study suggests several managerial implications for labelling strategies.