Research Insight | Highlighting "Fewer Ingredients" Increases Food Ad Click-Throughs
Despite the prevalence of ingredient quantity information in the marketplace, its psychological impact remains poorly understood. A Journal of Marketing Research study demonstrates that consumers use ingredient quantity as a proxy for products’ processing history. Because consumers generally value naturalness, products framed as containing “few” ingredients are typically preferred because they are perceived as be less processed and more natural.
The researchers partnered with a granola brand, Banner Road Bakery, to create and launch two Facebook advertisements. Both advertisements listed the same ingredients in Banner Road Bakery’s granola. However, simply adding the phrase “Just 7 things!” to one of the ads was associated with a 44.17% increase in click-through rates. In another study, adding the phrase “Our brownies have just a few ingredients!” (vs. “Our brownies have so many ingredients!”) was associated with a 13.36% increase in click-through rates.
Marketers and managers can leverage this insight to strategically frame ingredient information on packaging and in advertising to align with specific consumer goals. Highlighting a “small” number of ingredients enhances perceptions of naturalness, which increases consumer interest and purchases.
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What You Need to Know
- Positioning a product as containing “just a few” or “only a few” ingredients can boost digital ad click-through and purchase likelihood.
- “Just a few” messaging is appealing because it signals that the product is less processed and more natural.
- When other consumption goals (e.g., the goal to seek indulgent or unique products) rise in importance, a product framed as containing more ingredients can become preferable.
Abstract
Despite the ubiquity of ingredient quantity information in the marketplace, prior literature has yet to examine whether ingredient quantity shapes consumer choice. This research presents and tests a novel framework that charts when, why, and how this pervasive ingredient quantity information influences consumers’ food decisions. The findings from two preregistered pilot studies, seven preregistered experiments, and ten supplementary experiments in the Web Appendix indicate that consumers are often more interested in food products framed as containing few (vs. many) ingredients, even when the same ingredient list is displayed across products. This preference stems from the perception that fewer ingredients indicate less processing, especially when a product’s processing history is unavailable. As a result, a product with fewer ingredients is perceived as more natural and is thus preferred. Further, the studies also show that although consumers commonly pursue the goal to consume natural products, when other consumption goals (e.g., the goal to seek indulgent or unique products) rise in importance, a product framed as containing more ingredients can become more preferred. This work uncovers how ingredient quantity information biases consumers’ perceptions and daily food product decisions, and it provides easily implementable guidance for marketers seeking to increase consumers’ purchase likelihood.
Michelle Yoosun Kim, Rachel Gershon, Sydney E. Scott, Daniella Kupor, Tianqi Chen, and Remi Trudel, “Less Is More (Natural): The Effect of Ingredient Quantity Framing on Consumer Preferences,” Journal of Marketing Research. doi:10.1177/00222437261432622.