Shoppers swayed more by flags than by sustainability

Researchers at the Norwegian food research centre Nofima have found that when young individuals are shopping for fish in a virtual reality grocery store, they paid more attention to the nation of origin than sustainability labels.

In the VR store, participants could choose between nine different seafood products: salmon, Norwegian cod, gourmet cod, fish casserole, shrimp, saithe, pickled herring, and whale.

A total of 18 young adults aged 18 to 35 participated in the study, which is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. Equipped with VR glasses, which also recorded eye-tracking data, and sensors on their hands to measure emotional arousal, participants were asked to choose two of nine different seafood products and placing them in a shopping cart.

Some of the products had food labels such as the “Nyt Norge” label and the “Nøkkelmerke” label, others had sustainability labels from MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) in regular size. One product had an enlarged MSC label.

This method gave researchers insights into how participants used their vision and evaluated the products and whether the food labelling had any impact on their choices.

After the VR session, participants were interviewed about their choices and reflections on sustainability and seafood.

The results show that participants’ choices were often driven by taste and habits. Products such as salmon and trout were the most popular along with Norwegian cod. Only salt cured herring was not chosen by anyone.

Eye-tracking showed that participants focused mostly on the producer’s brand, origin labelling such as “Norwegian”, and product image on the packaging. The participants chose products mainly based on habits and taste preferences.

“Our cooking skills play an important role when we as consumers choose what to buy to eat. Many people tend to choose what they have the most experience with. Several participants regarded salmon and trout as easier and faster to prepare than other types of fish. This may be related to the heavy investment in advertising for salmon in recent years,” says Kamilla Bergsnev, a researcher at the food research institute Nofima.

In the interviews, some participants justified their choices based on other factors, such as price, even though the products in the VR grocery store were not labelled with prices. The assumed lower price for a low-price branded product was decisive for one of the participants.

When asked what types of information were crucial for their choice in everyday life, most mentioned price.

The majority of the participants pointed out that they were concerned about where the fish came from and considered Norwegian products to be more sustainable than foreign ones.

Reducing food waste was mentioned by several as an alternative to living more sustainably, and several participants stated that they often buy products that are approaching their expiration date due to reduced price.

Major findings:

• Eye-tracking data showed that sustainability labels receive little attention.
• Price, habits, and taste influence choices more than sustainability information.
• The majority want the government to convey information about sustainability.
• The study indicates that economic barriers hinder sustainable choices.

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