When Stressing Risks Makes Products Healthier: Consumer Responses to Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Health Claims

Although extra-virgin olive oil is a basic component of the Mediterranean diet and features recognized health benefits, scholars have scarcely investigated whether consumers are willing to respond more for olive oil due its health properties. Furthermore, prior studies have found mixed and contradictory findings when assessing the effects of health claims (i.e., statements about a food product’s positive effect(s) on consumers’ health) on consumer behavior. This research investigates whether different types of health claims exert different effects on consumer behavioral intentions toward extra-virgin olive oil. Specifically, it examines whether the use of a reduction of disease risk health claim (i.e., a claim that focuses on nutrients’ ability to reduce disease risks), rather than a functional health claim (i.e., a claim about the role of a nutrient in the growth, development and preservation of the body’s normal functions), enhances perceived product healthiness, and whether this, in turn, impacts consumers’ intention to purchase such product and/or spread word-of-mouth about it. The study also scrutinizes the role of health regulatory focus (i.e., individuals’ tendency to adopt avoidance or approach self- regulatory strategies when pursuing health-related goals) in the relationship between claim type (functional vs. reduction of disease risk claim) and perceived product healthiness. This assessment draws on the idea that individual tendencies to more or less actively approach healthy practices may cause the two examined claims to have different effects. Two moderated mediation analyses with word-of-mouth and purchase intention as the dependent variables, respectively were conducted using data from a sample of 200 respondents. The results show that health claim type significantly predicts product perceived healthiness, and this effect is further qualified by an interaction between claim type and health regulatory focus (i.e., the perceived healthiness of extra-virgin olive oil promoted through a reduction of disease risk claim increased when individuals were prevention-focused). Finally, product perceived healthiness exerts a positive effect on both word-of-mouth and purchase intention. The paper discusses implications for marketers and researchers.