research on food marketing

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Food Marketing as a Special Ingredient in Consumer Choices: The Main Insights from Existing Literature

The choices and preferences of food consumers are influenced by several factors, from those related to the socioeconomic, cultural, and health dimensions to marketing strategies. In fact, marketing is a determinant ingredient in the choices related to food consumption. Nonetheless, for an effective implementation of any marketing approach, the brands play a crucial role. Creating new brands in the food sector is not always easy, considering the relevant amount of these goods produced within the agricultural sector and in small food industries. The small dimension of the production units in these sectors hinders both brand creation and respective branding. In this context, it would seem important to analyse the relationships between food marketing and consumer choice, highlighting the role of brands in these frameworks. For this purpose, a literature review was carried out considering 147 documents from Scopus database for the topics of search “food marketing” and “choices” (search performed on 16 October 2020). As main insights, it is worth highlighting that the main issues addressed by the literature, concerning food marketing and consumer choices, are the following: economic theory; label and packaging; marketing strategies; agriculture and food industry; market segments; social dimensions; brand and branding. In turn, food marketing heavily conditions consumer choices; however, these related instruments are better manipulated by larger companies. In addition, this review highlights that bigger companies have dominant positions in these markets which are not always beneficial to the consumers’ objectives.

1. Introduction

The food choices by consumers are influenced by several factors, where the prices traditionally have great importance, as highlighted by the economic theory. However, there are new tendencies, and some segments currently privilege healthy [ 1 ] and sustainable characteristics [ 2 ]. Food consumption has several dimensions, including that of a social and cultural magnitude, and this sometimes compromises policies to change unadjusted behaviours [ 3 ] and influence food perceptions [ 4 ]. The sociodemographic and behavioural factors also have their implications [ 5 ] on consumer behaviour. On the other hand, labelling and packaging have a significant impact on consumer choices and preferences [ 6 ].

In these contexts, marketing strategies are useful and powerful approaches in order to create and maintain a market in any economic sector and, specifically, in the food industry [ 7 ]. However, in the food market, it is important to distinguish two production sectors, agriculture and industry. These two distinct sectors with different dynamics have implications on the respective markets. This is important to highlight, because this makes the food sector different from other economic sectors.

Agriculture has several particularities that constrain the design of effective marketing plans. In fact, the structural context of farms, often, in small dimensions, in great numbers and the producing commodities are limited in the ability to create a custom positioning, a crucial ingredient for any marketing approach. The main problem of this atomised structure is associated with the reduced individual level of production, focused on parts of the year that prove difficult to maintain a regular presence in the market and the respective branding. These weaknesses of the sector limit the market choices of farmers [ 8 ]. Of course, the brand and the agricultural sector are only a part of the food marketing framework.

In turn, the food industry is often conditioned to be more competitive and to generate value added through the creation of brands. In fact, this is a sector with the dynamics and the competitiveness predicted by the economic theory for the industry, i.e., as having activities with increasing returns to scale. The performance in terms of productivity and efficiency allows for another presence in the markets and possibilities to further develop marketing plans and strategies for a more sustainable development [ 9 ].

Considering that marketing approaches influence consumer food choices, the literature survey highlights the relevance of a systematic review concerning two dimensions: food marketing and consumer choices, taking into account the specificities of the two sectors related to food production.

From this perspective, the research carried out intends to highlight the main insights from the scientific literature into the relationships between food marketing and the choices of consumption performed by consumers. To achieve this objective, 147 documents (only articles and reviews) from the Scopus database [ 10 ] were obtained, considering as topics for searches carried out on 16 October 2020 “food marketing” and “choices”. These documents were analysed through a literature survey. To better perform the literature analysis, a previous bibliographic analysis and literature survey were considered, and this approach allowed for organisation of the literature review with the following structure: economic theory; label and packaging; marketing strategies; agriculture and food industry; market segments; social dimensions; brand and branding. This approach was complemented using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology [ 11 ]. For the PRISMA approach, 137 documents (only articles and reviews) were also considered from the Web of Science Core Collection [ 12 ] for the same topics. When the documents from Scopus and Web of Science were considered together, through the Zotero software [ 13 ], a great majority were duplicated (around 100). From this perspective, considering the relevant number of documents duplicated across the two scientific databases and the Scopus platform having more documents, the decision was made to opt only for the documents from this database. The topics of search “food marketing” and “choices” were selected to find documents in the scientific databases related to the interrelationships between food marketing and consumer choices. The search topics “food”, “marketing”, and “choices” could be considered, for instance, but this search option would greatly increase the number of documents found, taking the level to an infeasible amount for a literature review; furthermore, the studies obtained were outside the intended scope (“food marketing”).

2. Bibliographic Sample Characterisation

The information presented in this section is relative to a sample obtained from the Scopus database for a search carried out with the following topics/keywords: “food marketing” and “choices”. In addition, it is important to highlight that the identification of the sample and its analysis considered other scientific contributions concerning systematic reviews [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].

The number of documents related to the topics considered has increased from 1970 until today, with relevant breaks in 2013 and 2016, with a total of 16 documents in 2020 ( Figure 1 ). This context shows that there are opportunities to increase the number of documents published with regard to these fields, considering the annual average number of studies published and the relevance of the topics.

Distribution of the documents across years.

A large part of the documents focused on subject areas such as the following ( Figure 2 ): medicine; nursing; agricultural and biological sciences; business, management and accounting; psychology; social sciences; economic, econometrics, and finance; and environmental science. This framework reveals the multidisciplinary dimension of the issues related with the topics addressed here.

Distribution of the documents across subject areas.

The majority of the studies were carried out by authors affiliated to institutions from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Belgium, China, and Germany ( Figure 3 ). The several dimensions associated with these topics are relevant to several countries around the world. In this way and considering the values presented in Figure 3 , there are opportunities to be further explored regarding these topics by affiliated authors in institutions from important countries, such as, China, India, Brazil, and the European Union member-states.

Distribution of the documents across countries.

Source titles having two or more documents are those presented in Figure 4 . The following journals were noted: Appetite (13); Public Health Nutrition (8); Food Quality and Preference (5); Nutrients (5); British Food Journal (4); Childhood Obesity (3); Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (3); Obesity Reviews (3).

Source titles with two or more documents.

Figure 5 was obtained using VOSviewer software [ 18 , 19 ] with the 147 documents obtained from the Scopus database. This figure was obtained using bibliographic data for co-occurrence links and all keyword items. In this figure, the circle/label size represents the number of keyword occurrences, and relatedness (proximity of circles/labels) is determined on the basis of the number of documents in which the keywords occur together [ 19 ]. Figure 5 highlights the relevance of keywords, for example, obesity, child, advertising, review, interview, adolescents, market, policy, labelling, perception, willingness to pay, health, choice experiment, index method, case study, apps, and television. These keywords reveal some relevant dimensions related to food and marketing and consumer choices (obesity, health, children and youths, labelling, perceptions, taste, willingness to pay, policies, and media) and some methodological approaches (review, interview, choice experiment, index method, and case study). On the other hand, there is a great amount of relatedness (number of documents in which the keywords occur together) between food marketing and human obesity, especially in men and children.

Co-occurrences of all keywords (one as a minimum number of occurrences of a keyword).

3. Literature Survey

Considering the bibliographic analysis and a preliminary literature survey, this section is divided into the following subsections: economic theory; labelling and packaging; marketing strategies; agriculture and food industry; market segments; social dimensions; brand and branding.

3.1. Economic Theory

As predicted by the theory of demand, the consumption of goods and services by consumers to satisfy their daily needs is dependent on market prices. In addition, the theory of utility explains that, when consumers intend to satisfy their needs, they also expect to maximise utility, depending on their income. This is true in every market, including in the food markets from low-income countries [ 20 ]. Consumer demand is dependent on several factors, but the prices (own product, substitute product, and complementary product prices) are amongst the most important variables. Of course, other variables, such as product quality and the economic conjuncture of each country, have their influences on consumption. In these frameworks, consumers combine quantities of goods and services so as to obtain the maximum satisfaction from their consumption. The level of satisfaction achieved is dependent on the available revenue to consume. The economic theory assumes that the economic agents are rational, and this means that consumers want to consume more when prices are lower with the exception of luxury products or goods and services of basic needs [ 21 ]. The marketing plans, in general, bear these contexts in mind, because the consideration of these fields is determinant for a successful strategy in the food sector.

On the other hand, some dimensions are multidisciplinary and networked, such as those, for example, related to welfare [ 22 ]. Welfare is, in fact, the focus of research for several disciplines such as biology, economy, psychology, and sociology. This transversal perspective could prove interesting as a means for cross-approaches, including insights from economic theory, to promote more adjusted patterns of food consumption, mainly those more compatible with health requirements [ 23 ]. The impact on health from food consumption is a concern for several stakeholders; however, it is not an easy challenge to mitigate these implications, due to the market power of certain stronger brands.

Economic options and the respective economic dynamics, with consequences on prices and on consumer incomes, have direct and indirect impacts on food choices and, consequently, on the health of the respective population [ 24 ]. In turn, the economic theory may provide interesting insights for more effective health policies and programmes that incentivise, in a greater way, food choices which are more compatible with a balanced human life environment [ 25 ]. The economic theory may also be a relevant ally towards supporting better knowledge about company frameworks for a more effective market and marketing approaches [ 26 ].

The price elasticities, for example, may provide relevant support in these strategies and enable us to predict future patterns of food consumption [ 27 ]. The prices do indeed have a determinant impact on food markets [ 28 ], despite their particular price and income elasticities. In general, the food markets, specifically, those more linked with the production sector (agriculture), have lower, inelastic price elasticities. This means that the consumers are not sensitive in their consumption to price changes, mainly due to the fact that food products are often essential goods and services of basic needs and where the prices are lower. The same happens for income elasticities, meaning that, when consumers have more revenue, they have a tendency to increase their consumption of products other than food goods. In other words, when consumer income increases, they are willing to increase industrial and service consumption rather than consume more food [ 21 ]. This is a great task for the food industry, where the brand and respective branding are called upon here to play their contribution, whilst sometimes having implications on consumer health.

3.2. Label and Packaging

Food labelling and packaging are used to inform consumers about the product’s characteristics, in accordance with legislation, and for marketing purposes [ 29 ], but they may also provide support for healthier choices [ 30 ]. The legislation regulates the information which may be considered for labelling, and this can sometimes be too bureaucratic and may bring about additional difficulties to market strategies. For example, in some food/beverage sectors, prior to any change in the label, there needs to be previous approval from the competent institutions, and this limits the strategic tasks of the respective companies, mainly when the intention is to provide something more personalised for the consumers.

Despite this regulation, the objectives of labelling to protect human health are, sometimes, compromised. The labelling text and design condition the perceptions of the consumers about food goods and services and influence their choices [ 31 ], especially when questions related to health are implicit [ 32 ]. The influence of the label design also has relevance in the perceptions and choices among children [ 33 ], where cartoon characters and nutritional statements have their importance [ 34 ].

The regional and Mediterranean labels are, in general, designed to promote marketing strategies and highlight product attributes [ 35 ]. The regional brands and respective labels are ways to highlight local food characteristics and to create value added in endogenous resources. In fact, the big challenge in some food sectors is to create value added for stakeholders, and these regional brands support the objectives to bring more value added to several operators. In general, these regional brands are umbrella products that promote other endogenous goods and services.

The type of packaging has an influence on consumer perceptions about the healthfulness of the respective food. For example, milk in glass packaging is perceived as being healthier than milk packaged in a carton [ 36 ]. Packaging influences children and adults in different ways. For example, for adults, the package size and shape are important attributes, more than the information present on the labels [ 37 ]. Different generations have distinct patterns of consumption, and millennials, having a different educational environment, where social media has a great impact, have other preferences and vulnerabilities.

Nonetheless, the labelling and packaging are, in some cases, more useful in aiding consumers to identify healthier food rather than trying to influence them to buy these products [ 38 ]. In addition, the presence of cartoons on packages positively influences children to choose fruit and vegetables, but this is unfortunately used more for choices of energy-dense and poor nutritional foods [ 39 ]. Cartoon characters on packaging do in fact have a great impact on children’s food choices [ 40 ]. The taste perceptions are determinant for children’s choices, and the packaging design influences these assessments. Children identify the product name, prices, and images as being the most relevant packaging characteristics for their choices [ 41 ]. The information that stimulates human sensations, such as images and songs, is powerful in influencing consumers.

Sometimes, some information on the packaging may mislead consumers about the real properties of the food chosen [ 42 ] or does not conveniently inform consumers about the nutritional characteristics [ 43 ]. This is particularly disturbing in some nutritional and health claims [ 44 ]. The messages on the packaging must be clear [ 45 ] and appropriate for what the products really are [ 46 ].

In general, researchers seem to agree on the need for some control by legislation of the information present on packaging [ 47 ], primarily that which promotes unhealthy food choices [ 48 ] in children [ 49 ]. These concerns are transversal around the world, including, for example, studies carried out in Brazil [ 50 ], Australia [ 51 , 52 , 53 ], United States (US) [ 54 , 55 ], since the 1970s [ 56 ], India [ 57 , 58 ], Philippines [ 59 ], Malaysia [ 60 ], and Ireland [ 61 ]. In any case, the decisions related to regulation towards preventing health issues should bear in mind the international commitments and consequent constraints [ 62 ].

From another perspective, health standards are sometimes not uniform across organizations and countries [ 63 ]. This may create additional difficulties for the producers and retailers who operate in international markets. It could be important, for example, in the context of the World Trade Organization or the World Health Organization, to find transversal standards for the domains relative to healthy food attributes.

3.3. Marketing Strategies

Food marketing is an important tool [ 64 ] to build and maintain markets through the creation of ties of confidence and loyalty between the producers/sellers and the consumers. Food marketing is dependent on several different dimensions, especially those related to the particularities of the sectors associated with food goods and services; in this way, the marketing plans are no easy task [ 65 ].

In any circumstance, the marketing of food as an external factor which influences consumer choices [ 66 ] is a powerful instrument that may be used to promote public campaigns, such as those related to healthy eating [ 67 ] across the several points of food sale, including restaurant kids’ menus [ 68 ] and supermarkets [ 69 ]. However, for companies, the trade-off between health and profit is not easy to solve and this is visible in many of the strategies adopted.

For example, supermarket checkout areas are especially strategic for marketing plans and deserve special attention in terms of their impact upon human health [ 70 ]. From another perspective, the tie-in offers in fast food menus for children could be restricted to healthy promotions [ 71 ]. The same concern could be present when sport celebrities are associated with the marketing plans [ 72 ] for children and parents [ 73 ] or in the criteria used to choose sport sponsors [ 74 ]. In turn, in the definition of marketing approaches, the message for healthy food promotions should be clear, well designed, and well oriented [ 75 ] to avoid misunderstandings [ 76 ], principally by children [ 77 ], as well as to obtain the intended objectives [ 78 ].

The media is a determinant way to communicate with consumers [ 79 ], which calls for adjusted advertising when it comes to promoting healthy consumption. However, often times, the consumers, especially youths, are not prepared to deal with these aggressive forms of publicity [ 80 ] and are not able to decide on the most important information [ 81 ], explicitly that which is related to nutritional characteristics [ 82 ]. In fact, the youth and children who are more engaged with, for example, social media are more vulnerable to being influenced into buying unhealthy food [ 83 ].

The marketing strategies designed by food operators are very persuasive, and this implies that the consumers who are exposed to food marketing campaigns seem to be more prone to agreeing with their strategies, including those for unhealthy food choices [ 84 ]. The television and internet seem to be the most powerful ways to influence exposed consumers [ 85 ], specifically through neuromarketing approaches which encourage children to favour taste when making food choices [ 86 ]. Television cooking shows are particularly influential on the consumption patterns of children and the youth [ 87 ]. The same happens on children’s websites [ 88 ] and social media [ 89 ]. The taste is, indeed, a decisive ingredient in food marketing strategies [ 90 ] and, usually, food marketing uses contexts related to this attribute to design its plans and influence customers.

Neuromarketing is an emergent technique that applies approaches to measure spontaneous reactions [ 91 ], with relevant impacts on the consumers’ choices [ 92 ], especially on young people [ 93 ]. The songs, image sequence, and colour are tools usually considered to support neuromarketing policies [ 94 ]. The evolution of these approaches allows for current expressions such as “musical flavour” to be normal and accepted by the several stakeholders [ 95 ]. Usually, consumers are influenced in their consumption without any perception of this factor. The stimuli for human senses have a strong impact on the consumers’ perceptions, and these tools are used to intentionally encourage consumers by marketing professionals in a subconscious way.

Magazines, as well as television and the internet, are powerful ways to advertise to consumers [ 96 ], sometimes in a more persuasive way [ 97 ]. This is because, in some cases, the control approaches are more focused on television and the internet, whilst the written forms of advertisement are forgotten about although they do have similar tools to influence consumers.

The several strategies related to food marketing have an impact on dietary choices, consumption preferences, and cultural values [ 98 ]. These changes in the pattern of consumption, as a consequence of food marketing, are particularly visible in countries that became more vulnerable to external advertisements, due to political, social, or a conjuncture of changes. In any event, a familiar environment and parents’ behaviour have a determinant impact on the several food choices [ 99 ].

An emerging area in the marketing of food is the guilt-free approach [ 100 ]; however, this a multidisciplinary field where several disciplines are called upon to add their contributions. It is important to find food marketing strategies that combine the profit aims of the companies with the health of consumers [ 101 ].

3.4. Agriculture and Food Industry

The food industry is interlinked with the agricultural sector, making this sector and its marketing strategy dependent on the options made by the farmers [ 102 ], specifically, in terms of farming practices compatible with the environment and animal welfare [ 103 ], as well as with the safety of the products themselves [ 104 ]. For example, organic farming products may have for the food markets a set of virtues and advantages, relative to conventional agriculture, but may also bring about a set of barriers and difficulties (because of the higher prices, for example) [ 105 ]. In any case, farming practices which are compatible with the environment will be the future in many countries around the world, especially in the European Union member-states. In fact, the several measures of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), mainly since 1992, have gone in this very direction. Due to structural and environmental problems, the CAP since 1992 has become more directed towards promoting sustainable development in an integrated rural approach, where the agri-environmental (organic farming, integrated production, etc.) measures have gained more relevance. The recent instruments created in the CAP framework, such as Greening, are examples of an agricultural policy which is more concerned about the environment within the European context [ 106 , 107 ].

Nonetheless, the food industry is an interesting way to bring about value added to agriculture, because, in farms, due to their characteristics, marketing strategies have, in certain circumstances, less importance in the market than other factors [ 108 ]. Agriculture as a sector of food commodities has additional difficulties in order to be presented into the market in a differentiated way, and this compromises marketing strategies.

The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products and the associated producers’ organizations are examples that may support some market differentiation and provide more structured and effective marketing strategies [ 109 ]. These PDO and the respective certification brands allow for the protection of local and regional food attributes and are interesting tools to create marketing strategies common to the respective stakeholders. Of course, the PDO brands are not the same as individual trademarks, but may bring interesting contributions, primarily for smaller farmers, for example, with more budgetary difficulties to implement strategies complementary to production techniques, to create value added in the markets, and to increase their income.

The broad diversity of farms, in terms of size, characteristics, and organization, makes the agricultural sector specific, with particular dynamics that influence the strategies adopted for food marketing [ 110 ]. The different programmes and policies designed for the agricultural sector have relevant impacts on the agriculture industry’s dynamics [ 111 ] and implicitly on the respective markets [ 112 ]. This has been a concern for the several policymakers and policy design in the European Union context bearing in mind these agricultural market characteristics, but it continues to require some further adjustments for some local particularities.

Local markets appear, in general, as great opportunities for farmers who have achieved consumer preference or loyalty, principally in terms of quality [ 113 ]. These local markets are relevant ways to shorten the agricultural chain. In certain circumstances, consumers are willing to pay more for local food [ 114 ]. Usually, the greater margin of value added in agricultural markets remains with the intermediaries and the retailers. Local markets and short agri-food chains (farm events, farm tourism, farm shops, etc.) may support farmers to maintain a large part of the total amount of value added generated in the markets. Nonetheless, the channels used in the markets depend, in some cases, on their structural characteristics, mainly those linked with their experience in the sector [ 115 ].

In the agricultural food industry market, questions sometimes appear such as those related to patriotism, where dimensions associated with food safety may contribute to adjusted marketing strategies that provide support to overcome these aspects [ 116 ]. Consumers are concerned with the health impacts of food consumption and, in this way, are sensitive to claims associated with food safety.

For an effective marketing plan in the agricultural sector, considering their specificities, the associations and cooperatives are fundamental, when well managed and organised. However, sometimes, the management structure of these organizations is not the best adjusted, and this has consequences on the sector’s performance [ 117 ]. The associations and cooperatives are crucial for technical support to the farmers and to concentrate the agricultural supply of the farmers who have worse conditions and dimensions in terms of storing production. On the other hand, the output concentration allows further capacity to negotiate contracts and prices with retailers.

The new technologies of information and communication may be useful tools to support marketing strategies in farms, and some farmers are indeed willing to pay for electronic platforms [ 118 ]. Social media is one of the cheaper and easier ways to promote food products, and this may be used without relevant difficulties by the several stakeholders. Some years ago, publicity and advertising were expensive and restricted to the traditional means of communication, such as television, radio, newspapers, and magazines.

3.5. Market Segments

Food markets are characterised by heterogeneous segments of consumers [ 119 ], involving a great diversity of realities [ 120 ], some more sensitized to health statements and others more influenced by nutritional information [ 121 ]. These contexts bring about interesting challenges for the marketing professional and for researchers, due to the great number of brands that operate in these markets. This diversity implies that food markets could be segmented considering food features, sales structure, and consumer characteristics [ 122 ].

Insufficient nutritional information seems to be one of the main factors that, in some segments, hinders the prevention of unhealthy food consumption [ 123 ]. This is particularly alarming in countries with a lower income [ 124 ]. Children and low-income consumers are vulnerable segments to persuasive and targeted marketing campaigns: children because of their lower skills to deal with marketing strategies to sell more and low-income consumers because of their vulnerability to lower-priced products.

As a result of these frameworks, the terms used to describe the nutritional dimensions, targeted at specific segments, need proper regulation, since the personal perceptions of consumers concerning the real definition of these expressions are not consensual [ 125 ] and this, therefore, opens up an element of free will for the marketing designers/strategists.

In some segments, the perceptions about food safety are more important for consumer choices than their socioeconomic characteristics [ 126 ]. In a similar pattern, consumers are, in some cases, prepared to pay more for beneficial health claims than for nutritional claims [ 127 ]. Nonetheless, the consumer’s choices of food with heath claims are, in general, interrelated with several factors, such as those related with the socioeconomic domains [ 128 ]. Depending on the segments considered, the food choices may be influenced by personality, health, sensory attributes, price, and convenience [ 129 ], as well as, by environmental, ethnic, and cultural contexts [ 130 ].

More adjusted regulations may support the promotion of more healthy advertising to more vulnerable segments [ 131 ]. However, there are areas that need to be worked on, across several segments, concerning regulations, recommendations, and policies. Some of these dimensions that deserve special attention are the accuracy [ 132 ] and the perception [ 133 ] of consumers relative to these fields associated with healthier food. The main fields to be considered by regulations to promote a healthier choice by children are the usual persuasive techniques such as promotional offers, nutrition and health claims, and appeals towards taste and fun [ 134 ].

Tourism is an important market segment that may bring significant contributions to food marketing strategies, considering the several interrelationships between the associated sectors in these interlinkages [ 135 ]. The relationships between food and tourism are well known and strong, and they should be considered in joint strategies to promote the two sectors in an integrated way. Nonetheless, the externalities that may be created in this common strategy could also spread positive effects to other sectors (transport, support services, etc.).

3.6. Social Dimensions

The interlinkages between the social responsibility of firms and the market response to the respective consumers are positive [ 136 ]; however, the traditional consumer determinants, such as the price, continue to be relevant [ 137 ]. The strong impacts from the level of prices on consumer choices are particularly problematic in lower-income countries and consumer segments [ 138 ]. Knowledge about price relevance in consumer choice may be further considered so as to promote heathy strategies and be complemented with nutritional education [ 139 ]. Adjusted educational campaigns are fundamental for a healthier food choice [ 140 ] and lifestyles [ 141 ], mainly for young people [ 142 ] to obtain critical skills [ 143 ] in making more informed decisions [ 144 ]. Educational campaigns to inform and create skills in consumers to deal with the abundance in daily advertisements are crucial in preventing health problems related to ill-informed consumption, mostly those related to obesity and diabetes. Another question concerns lifestyles that need to be adjusted in order to be healthier and prevent other diseases associated with an unbalanced diet. Cancers and cardiovascular diseases are examples of civilizational diseases related to population lifestyles and social contexts. The media could better support these healthier campaigns [ 145 ], considering its influence on adolescents [ 146 ], for example, in terms of food choices [ 147 ].

On the other hand, it is important to increase the social conscientiousness of the companies which support self-regulatory approaches. Public health policies may play an important role here to influence companies to voluntarily improve their social responsibility concerning the negative implications of marketing practices that promote the consumption of unhealthy foods [ 148 ]. Sugar and salt are among the main nefarious ingredients in unhealthy products [ 149 ], having several impacts on society’s dynamics, and they are sometimes presented on packaging along with other information in a misleading way [ 150 ]. The design of adjusted healthy food policies needs multidisciplinary approaches [ 151 ] that consider the several human dimensions [ 152 ], in which, of course, health professionals should be included [ 153 ]. Scientific research may also bring about significant insight and support here [ 154 ]. Children’s health, changing industry practices, intervention from public institutions, and consumer support are all consensual dimensions for the several stakeholders to promote healthier food production and choice [ 155 ].

Social condition has a great impact on food choices [ 156 ]. Indeed, the social and economic contexts have direct implications on the amount of income available to consume and on the level of prices afforded. However, in some cases, retailers are not clearly informed about the impacts of the price changes on their sales [ 157 ]. Food may also be used as an expression of social identity and a way to make a difference from the mainstream [ 158 ].

In general, food choice patterns followed by consumers are similar to those considered in other decisions of their lives [ 159 ]. In fact, consumers concerned with sustainability tend to consume foods of a higher quality and are less vulnerable to promotional advertisements [ 160 ]. The consumption patterns of these more sustainable consumers may be considered by, for example, policymakers as benchmarks and practices to be spread over other social segments. It is important to know the several dimensions related to food choices and consumption in order to promote more balanced lifestyles. For example, Chinese teenagers are influenced, in their food choices, by personal, family, peer, and retailer frameworks and the following features were highlighted as influencing their options: nutrition, safety, taste, image, price, convenience, and fun [ 161 ]. The social dimensions around the world are very different, and any adjusted approach needs to consider and be aware of the local particularities.

3.7. Brand and Branding

Brands and branding are fundamental instruments for an effective marketing plan in each step of the food chain [ 162 ]. From production to retailers’ markets, brands are crucial to create value added and to differentiate products from their competition. Only with brands is it possible to carry out a marketing strategy across all dimensions.

Commercial brands are more important for the brand-schematic consumers than for brand-aschematic consumers. The brand-aschematic consumers, in wine markets, for example, give greater importance to the Protected Designation of Origin label and the associated categories [ 163 ]. The wine market is a very complex context, due to its great number of individual and certified brands. Markets with a great diversity of brands may confuse consumers when they want to make a choice. In these cases, the main challenge is to have a brand that may be easily identified, amongst many others, and be positioned in the mind of the customers. Consumers, in general, maintain two brands by category in their minds, and the great task is to be included as one of these two brands. Here, positioning approaches are crucial for an efficient branding [ 164 ].

Credence features are decisive for the marketing of food, and the brand itself is among these characteristics jointly with organic foods, health, and ingredients [ 165 ]. The branding processes usually create ties of confidence and loyalty with consumers to maintain the market and the respective sales. These dimensions distinguish the concerns and objectives of sales technicians from marketing professionals. In addition, the scientific literature highlights that consumer satisfaction is interrelated with their behaviour and loyalty [ 166 ], showing that consumer loyalty is, indeed, a central dimension in marketing strategies and that brands are crucial in creating ties of confidence [ 167 ]. However, loyalty and satisfaction of consumers are, also, influenced by their lifestyle and personality [ 168 ].

Iconic and old brands, such as Coca-Cola, are examples of market drivers [ 169 ] and may bring important contributions for strategic plans to lead consumers towards a more adjusted and healthy consumption, principally among children and youths. On the other hand, the display of brand characters has an important impact on consumer choice, and this deserves special attention from the several stakeholders for healthier food consumption [ 170 ].

4. Discussion and Conclusions

The study presented here aimed to highlight the main contributions from the literature concerning the dimensions related to the interrelationships between food marketing and consumer choice. For this purpose, 147 documents from the Scopus database were considered in a search carried out on 16 October 2020 for the topics “food marketing” and “choices”. These documents were first analysed through bibliographic characterisation and after surveyed by literature review.

The bibliographic data reveals that there are opportunities to explore regarding these topics, considering the annual average number of documents published, the subject areas addressed, and the countries of the authors’ affiliation. On the other hand, there is great relatedness between food marketing and human obesity, especially in young people. In fact, the literature review highlighted that there is a great concern from several stakeholders about the impact of marketing strategies on the health of children and adolescents.

The literature review may be summarised in a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis approach, to better highlight the main insights, principally considering food marketing and consumer choice when building the matrix (see Figure 6 ).

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis to summarise the literature review.

Figure 6 shows that adjusted food image and name approaches, interrelated with the label, packaging, and brand, are crucial for a successful marketing strategy [ 6 ]. However, these powerful marketing instruments are often used by companies, through the media, to promote unhealthy food, especially for children and adolescents [ 49 ]. In parallel, new technologies and social media offer new and attractive opportunities for smaller operators, opening up new channels for them to communicate with consumers [ 118 ]. Nonetheless, these smaller stakeholders may be those most affected by restrictive policies to mitigate negative food marketing impacts on consumer health [ 47 ].

Traditionally, prices are amongst the most influential factors that condition consumption, including food choices, and the economic theory confirms this influence. Nonetheless, there are specific segments and new tendencies where quality, healthy attributes, and sustainability aspects are emergent dimensions. The sociodemographic, cultural, and behavioural domains also play their part in food consumption and preferences. This explains, in part, the emerging importance of neurosciences in marketing plans. In the universe of food marketing and consumer choice, it is important to highlight the relevance of the agricultural sector and its particularities, in the production of commodities, which condition the definition of effective marketing plans for the entire sector.

In terms of practical implications, it seems to be consensual that food marketing strategies have relevant implications on human health, and this framework deserves special attention from several stakeholders, particularly in the design of more adjusted policies in a standard way across countries, through World Trade Organization and World Health Organization negotiations. However, these regulations should be designed in order to have the right desired effect and avoid worsening the fragile context of smaller producers.

For future studies, it would be advisable to survey several stakeholders with regard to suggestions for designing new and efficient policies and regulations, so as to obtain a more adjusted regulatory framework and increase the operators’ compliance.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the CERNAS Research Centre and the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu for their support.

This work is funded by National Funds through the FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., within the scope of the project Refª UIDB/00681/2020.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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• Open access
• Published: 27 July 2022

A scoping review of outdoor food marketing: exposure, power and impacts on eating behaviour and health

• Amy Finlay 1 ,
• Eric Robinson 1 ,
• Andrew Jones 1 ,
• Michelle Maden 2 ,
• Caroline Cerny 1 , 3 ,
• Magdalena Muc 1 ,
• Rebecca Evans 1 ,
• Harriet Makin 1 &
• Emma Boyland 1  

BMC Public Health volume  22 , Article number:  1431 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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There is convincing evidence that unhealthy food marketing is extensive on television and in digital media, uses powerful persuasive techniques, and impacts dietary choices and consumption, particularly in children. It is less clear whether this is also the case for outdoor food marketing. This review (i) identifies common criteria used to define outdoor food marketing, (ii) summarises research methodologies used, (iii) identifies available evidence on the exposure, power (i.e. persuasive creative strategies within marketing) and impact of outdoor food marketing on behaviour and health and (iv) identifies knowledge gaps and directions for future research.

A systematic search was conducted of Medline (Ovid), Scopus, Science Direct, Proquest, PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and a number of grey literature sources. Titles and abstracts were screened by one researcher. Relevant full texts were independently checked by two researchers against eligibility criteria.

Fifty-three studies were conducted across twenty-one countries. The majority of studies ( n  = 39) were conducted in high-income countries. All measured the extent of exposure to outdoor food marketing, twelve also assessed power and three measured impact on behavioural or health outcomes. Criteria used to define outdoor food marketing and methodologies adopted were highly variable across studies. Almost a quarter of advertisements across all studies were for food (mean of 22.1%) and the majority of advertised foods were unhealthy (mean of 63%). The evidence on differences in exposure by SES is heterogenous, which makes it difficult to draw conclusions, however the research suggests that ethnic minority groups have a higher likelihood of exposure to food marketing outdoors. The most frequent persuasive creative strategies were premium offers and use of characters. There was limited evidence on the relationship between exposure to outdoor food marketing and eating behaviour or health outcomes.

Conclusions

This review highlights the extent of unhealthy outdoor food marketing globally and the powerful methods used within this marketing. There is a need for consistency in defining and measuring outdoor food marketing to enable comparison across time and place. Future research should attempt to measure direct impacts on behaviour and health.

Peer Review reports

Advertising of foods and non-alcoholic beverages, (hereafter food advertising), particularly for items high in fat, salt and/or sugar (HFSS), has been identified as a factor contributing to obesity and associated non-communicable diseases globally [ 1 ]. People from more deprived backgrounds or ethnic minority groups are disproportionately targeted and exposed to greater food marketing across a range of platforms [ 2 ], and this may contribute to social gradients in obesity and associated health inequalities [ 3 ]. Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA) as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” [ 4 ], and advertising is a key aspect of marketing, which seeks to “inform and/or persuade members of a particular target market or audience regarding their products, services, organizations or ideas” [ 5 ]. The World Health Organization (WHO) assert that the impact that food marketing has on consumer behaviour is dependent on both ‘exposure’ and ‘power’ [ 6 ]. Exposure is the frequency and reach of the marketing messages and power is the creative content and strategies used, both of which determine the effectiveness of marketing [ 6 ]. Hierarchy of effects models of food marketing consider that the pathways for these effects are likely to be complex [ 7 ], with evidence demonstrating that food marketing impacts food purchasing [ 8 ], purchase requests [ 9 ], consumption [ 10 , 11 ] and obesity prevalence [ 12 ].

Evidence suggests that children are likely to be more vulnerable to marketing messages than adults [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Furthermore, it has been proposed that the scepticism towards advertising that is developed in adolescence does not equate to protection against its effects [ 16 ], leaving both young children and older adolescents vulnerable to the effects of food marketing [ 17 ]. For this reason, policies enacted generally aim to decrease the exposure or power of food marketing to children, and so this is where much of the research is focused. Despite this, it is apparent that adults are similarly affected by food marketing [ 18 ], and therefore also likely to benefit from restrictions [ 19 ].

In 2010, WHO called on countries to limit the marketing of unhealthy foods, specifically to children [ 6 ]. Various policies have since attempted to enforce restrictions on HFSS advertisements [ 20 ], however, restrictions outdoors remain scarce [ 21 ] and implementation and observation of such restrictions has been found to be inconsistent and problematic [ 22 ].

Previous reviews have collated the evidence on the exposure, power and impact of food advertising on television [ 23 , 24 , 25 ], advergames [ 26 , 27 ], sports sponsorship [ 28 , 29 ] and food packaging [ 30 , 31 ] and in some cases across a range of mediums [ 2 , 32 ]. An existing scoping review [ 33 ] documents the policies in place globally to target outdoor food marketing, and the facilitators and barriers involved in implementing these policies. The lack of effective policies for outdoor food marketing may reflect the comparatively little evidence or synthesis of evidence on outdoor marketing or its potential role in contributing to overweight and obesity, relative to that for other media. Additionally, there are challenges in measuring outdoor marketing exposure compared to television and online [ 34 ]. As countries such as the UK and Chile [ 35 ] move to strengthen restrictions on unhealthy food marketing via television, digital media and packaging, it is plausible that advertisements will be displaced to other media such as outdoor mediums so that brands can maintain or increase their exposure [ 36 , 37 ].

Despite being a longstanding and widely used format [ 38 ] there is no agreed definition for outdoor food marketing. This may have implications for the comparability of data across study designs, which has been reported as a limitation in previous reviews [ 11 , 39 ]. Identifying the common criteria used to define outdoor food marketing, alongside considering best practice methodologies for outdoor marketing monitoring and impact research, are important steps to support the generation of robust, comparable evidence to underpin public health policy development.

Given that 98% of people are exposed to outdoor marketing daily [ 40 ], it is an efficient form of marketing for brands [ 41 ], and is likely successful in influencing purchase decisions through targeting potential shoppers in places the brands are sold [ 42 ]. Food marketing through media such as television and advergames have been shown to impact eating and related behaviours such as purchasing [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], and the evidence on this marketing and body weight has satisfied the Bradford Hill Criteria [ 47 ], which is used to recognise a causal relationship between two variables. However, the impact that outdoor marketing has on eating related outcomes is less clear.

Therefore, this scoping review aims to (i) identify common criteria used to define outdoor food marketing, (ii) summarise research methodologies used, (iii) identify available evidence on the exposure, power (i.e. persuasive creative strategies within marketing) and impact of outdoor food marketing on behaviour and health with consideration of any observed differences by equity characteristics such as socioeconomic position and (iv) identify knowledge gaps and directions for future research.

Given the broad objectives, a scoping review [ 48 ] was conducted and reported in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews [ 49 ] and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) [ 50 ]. The review was pre-registered on the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/wezug ).

Search strategy

A detailed search strategy was created by the research team (see supplementary material 1 ), which included an experienced information specialist (M.Ma), to capture both published and unpublished studies and grey literature. Search terms related to food, outdoor and marketing were developed based on titles and abstracts of key studies (identified from preliminary scoping searches) and index terms used to describe articles. For grey literature sources simple terms “outdoor food marketing” and “outdoor food advertising” were used. Searches were conducted between 21st January and 10th February 2021.

Databases searched for academic literature included Medline (Ovid), Scopus, Science Direct, Proquest, PsycINFO, CINAHL, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. An additional supplementary PubMed search was conducted to ensure journals and manuscripts in PubMed Central and the NCBI bookshelf were captured. Grey literature searches were conducted of databases Open Access Theses and Dissertations, OpenGrey, UK Health Forum, WHO and Public Health England. Other searches for grey literature included government websites (GOV.uk), regulatory and industry body websites (World Advertising Research Centre Database, Advertising Standards Authority) and NGO sites (Obesity Health Alliance, Sustain).

Eligibility criteria

Primary quantitative studies assessing marketing of food and non-alcoholic beverage brands or products encountered outdoors in terms of exposure, power or impact were considered for inclusion. We defined both marketing and advertising as per the AMA definitions [ 4 , 5 ].

Examples of outdoor marketing included billboards, posters, street furniture and public transport. Exposure was defined as the volume of advertising identified, with consideration of the brands and products promoted. Power of outdoor marketing was defined as the strategies used to promote products (e.g. promotions, characters) [ 51 ]. Eligible behavioural impacts of outdoor marketing were food preference, choice, purchase, intended purchase, purchase requests and consumption. Health-related impacts were body weight and prevalence of obesity or non-communicable diseases. Non-behavioural outcomes were ineligible, e.g., brand recall, awareness, or attitudes.

Studies in which outdoor marketing could not be clearly isolated from other marketing forms [ 46 ], or food could not be isolated from other marketed products (e.g. alcohol and tobacco) were excluded. Studies of health promotion (e.g., public health campaigns) were ineligible. Qualitative studies and reviews were not eligible for inclusion; however, reference lists of relevant reviews were searched.

Selection of sources of evidence

The full screening process is shown as a PRISMA flow diagram (Fig.  1 ). Titles and abstracts were screened by one researcher (AF). Full text review was conducted independently by two researchers from a pool of four (AF, M. Mu, RE & HM). Disagreement was resolved by discussion and where necessary ( n  = 4 articles) a third reviewer (EB) was consulted. Covidence systematic review software was used to organise the screening of studies. Inter-rater reliability for the full-text screening was high, with estimated agreement of 95.7% and a Kappa score of 0.91.

PRISMA flow diagram

Data charting

The extraction template was developed and piloted prior to data extraction. For more detail on the information extracted from each article see supplementary material 2 . Discrepancies in extraction were resolved by discussion. As the aim was to characterise and map existing literature and not systematically review its quality, as is common in scoping reviews [ 52 ] quality assessment (e.g. risk of bias) was not undertaken.

Synthesis of results

Studies that defined outdoor food marketing were grouped to identify common criteria used in definitions. Methodologies used to measure exposure, power and impact are summarised. Studies were grouped into exposure, power and impact for synthesis, with relevant sub-categories to document findings related to equity characteristics. We deemed foods classed as “non-core”, “discretionary”, “unhealthy”, “less healthy”, “junk”, “HFSS”, “processed”, “ultra-processed”, “occasional”, “do not sell”, “poorest choice for health”, “less healthful”, “ineligible to be advertised”, and “not permitted” as unhealthy.

Study selection

After removal of duplicates from an initial 4177 records, 3093 records were screened. Ninety-eight articles were then full-text reviewed. Fifty-four studies were excluded here (supplementary material 3 ). After grey literature and citation searches, the final number of included studies was 53.

Characteristics of included studies

All studies ( n  = 53) measured exposure to outdoor food marketing, n  = 12 also measured power of outdoor food marketing, and n  = 3 measured impact. N  = 15 studies provided at least one criterion through which outdoor food marketing was defined, beyond stating the media explored.

Studies were conducted across twenty-one countries, the majority took place in the USA ( n  = 16) [ 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 ], and other high-income countries ( n  = 23) as categorised by the world bank [ 69 ] (Tables  1 , 2 and 3 ).

Of studies including participants ( n  = 7), three measured exposure of children between the ages of 10 and 14 [ 89 , 93 , 102 ], two surveyed caregivers of children aged 3–5 [ 70 ] (79.2% mothers) and 0–2 years [ 85 ] (100% mothers) and two studies collected data from adults in select census tracts [ 53 , 71 ].

What common criteria are used to define outdoor food marketing?

As shown in Tables 1 , 2 and 3 , the majority of studies ( n  = 33) encompassed a combination of outdoor media [ 53 , 54 , 55 , 58 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 72 , 73 , 75 , 76 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 91 , 92 , 94 , 97 , 98 , 102 , 103 , 104 ]. Many ( n  = 11) focused on advertising solely on public transport property [ 64 , 70 , 71 , 86 , 90 , 93 , 95 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 106 ], five studies focused exclusively on billboards [ 63 , 74 , 77 , 85 , 96 ] and four measured advertising outside stores or food outlets [ 56 , 57 , 59 , 105 ].

Outdoor food marketing was inconsistently defined across studies. All studies stated the media they were measuring and some defined marketing or advertising generally, but often not how it related to the outdoor environment. Studies that provided specific criteria for outdoor food marketing ( n  = 15) or an equivalent term (i.e. outdoor food advertising) beyond simply stating the media recorded are listed in Table  4 . Figure 2 represents the criteria referred to most frequently when defining outdoor food marketing.

Common criteria used to define outdoor food marketing

What methods are used to document outdoor food marketing exposure, power, and impact.

Most included studies ( n  = 49) were cross-sectional, although four were longitudinal [ 68 , 90 , 95 , 100 ]. The methods used to classify foods were inconsistent, for example, often local nutrient profiling models were used to classify advertised products as healthy or not healthy (e.g. [ 80 ]), however in some cases the number of advertisements for specific food groups were tallied (e.g. [ 56 ]). Forty-two studies assessed the frequency of food advertising through researcher visits to locations. In four [ 82 , 83 , 86 , 93 ] studies, researchers visited streets virtually, through Google Street view. Real, rather than potential exposure was measured in three studies [ 89 , 93 , 102 ]. In two cases, children wore cameras which documented advertisements encountered in their typical day [ 89 , 102 ], and in a final study, children wore a global positioning system (GPS) device so researchers could track when they encountered previously identified advertisements [ 93 ]. Self-reported retrospective exposure (frequency of encountering outdoor food advertising) was measured in three studies [ 70 , 71 , 85 ].

When measuring advertising around schools/places children gather, researchers typically created buffer zones, ranging from 100 m [ 81 ] to 2 km [ 105 ], with 500 m being the most frequent buffer size ( n  = 8) [ 77 , 78 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 95 , 97 , 104 ]. Four studies used multiple buffers [ 82 , 87 , 93 , 97 ], allowing for comparison between the area directly surrounding a school (e.g. < 250 m) with an area further away (e.g. 250-500 m) [ 87 ], one study compared advertising in Mass Transit Railway stations in school and non-school zones [ 90 ], and another used GPS point patterns to determine the extent of advertising around schools [ 92 ].

Content analysis was used to characterise the food types promoted and strategies used in the advertising. Two studies investigated price promotions [ 55 , 56 ], two identified promotional characters and premium offers [ 75 , 78 ], one specifically assessed child-directed marketing [ 57 ]. Others examined a mix of strategies including sports or health references, cultural relevance and emotional, value or taste appeals [ 54 , 73 , 74 , 76 , 79 ].

All three studies measuring the impact of outdoor food advertising used self-reported data. In a study conducted in Indonesia [ 70 ], caregivers reported the frequency of food advertising exposures in the past week, and their children’s frequency of intake of various confectionaries at home in the last week. In a study conducted in the US [ 53 ], individuals reported consumption of 12 oz. sodas in the last 24 hours, and odds of exposure was assessed by the extent of advertising in surrounding areas. In the UK study [ 71 ], participants reported exposure to HFSS advertising in the past week, and body mass index was calculated from participants’ reported height and weight.

What is known about exposure to outdoor food marketing?

Content of food marketing.

Fifty-three studies investigated outdoor marketing exposure (Tables 1 , 2 and 3 ), n  = 22 reported specifically on exposure around schools or places children gather, n  = 9 documented exposure on public transport and n  = 4 outside stores/establishments. The remaining n  = 21 measured exposure across multiple settings.

Food products were promoted in between 7.8% [ 64 ] and 57% [ 91 ] of advertisements, the mean across studies was 22.1%. Of food advertisements, a majority (~ 63%: range 39.3% [ 64 ] - 89.2% [ 89 ]) were categorised as unhealthy. Healthier foods were advertised far less, with studies generally reporting between 1.8% [ 97 ] and 18.8% [ 91 ] of food advertisements being for healthier products. Fast food ( n  = 17) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs; n  = 22) were frequently n amed as some of the most advertised product types.

Coca Cola was frequently stated as the most prominent brand advertised [ 73 , 75 , 88 , 91 , 100 ]. Around 5% of all outdoor food advertisements in New Zealand [ 78 ] and Australia [ 100 ] were promoting a brand (rather than a specific product), however there were no brand only advertisements identified in a UK study [ 80 ].

Marketing to children

Over half of the studies included ( n  = 29) sought to examine children’s exposure to food advertising. One UK study [ 93 ] concluded that while it was unlikely that unhealthy products were advertised on bus shelters surrounding schools (100-800 m), children, particularly in urban areas, were likely to encounter advertising on their journeys to and from school. All other studies found food advertising to be prevalent around schools, often promoting unhealthy products, although in three studies, a minority of schools (20.4% [ 78 ], 15.4% [ 79 ], 33.3% [ 103 ]) did not have any food advertising nearby. Four studies found that there was more food advertising closer to schools or facilities used by children and adolescents, compared to areas further away from these facilities [ 87 , 97 ], specifically for unhealthy or processed foods [ 87 , 90 ] and snack foods [ 82 ], however one study found SSB advertisements increased as distance from schools increased [ 92 ].

Differences by socioeconomic position/ethnicity

Eight studies considered differences in exposure by ethnicity. Three of these found that ethnic minority groups were exposed to more food advertising [ 55 , 58 , 62 ], for example, schools in the US with a majority Hispanic population were found to have more total advertisements and establishment advertisements in surrounding areas [ 55 ], whilst in New York City, for every 10% increase in proportion of Black residents there was a 6% increase in food images and 18% increase in non-alcoholic beverage images [ 58 ]. In addition to this, associations were found between sugary drink advertisement density and Percentage of Asian or Pacific Islander residents and percentage of Black, non-Latino residents [ 62 ]. Two studies found that multicultural neighbourhoods had a higher proportion of food advertisements [ 94 ] and higher density of unhealthy beverage advertisements [ 61 ]. Unhealthy food [ 63 ] and beverage [ 61 ] advertising were found to be more prevalent in ethnic minority communities. Low-income communities with majority Black or Latino residents had greater odds of having any food advertising [ 53 ], generally more food and beverage advertising and greater unhealthy food space [ 61 ] compared to white counterparts. A US study [ 56 ] found that differences in exposure to food and beverage, and soda advertisements by ethnicity were no longer significant after controlling for household income.

Twenty-six studies considered differences in exposure by SES, five of these did not find a relationship [ 60 , 71 , 83 , 93 , 99 ]. Two studies showed that food and beverage advertisements were more prevalent in low SES communities [ 56 , 94 ]. Schools characterised by low SES had a higher proportion unhealthy food advertising nearby in two studies [ 78 , 104 ], although in one instance there was no significant difference in the number of unhealthy food advertisements [ 78 ]. One study conducted in Sweden [ 84 ] found no significant difference in the proportion of food advertisements by SES, however there was a significantly greater proportion of advertisements promoting ultra-processed foods in the more deprived region.

Foods more frequently advertised in low SES areas were: SSBs, hamburgers and kebabs, diet soft drinks, vegetable snacks, dairy with no added sugar [ 103 ], staple foods [ 91 ], flavoured milk and fruit juice [ 101 ]. Low income communities in the US had lower odds of fruit and vegetable advertisements at limited service stores [ 56 ] and a higher density of unhealthy beverages [ 61 , 62 ] compared with higher-income communities.

Two studies found no significant difference in the number of core advertisements by SES [ 98 , 100 ], however a study of outdoor food advertising in Uganda found that there were more healthy food advertisements in high income areas [ 75 ]. Advertisements for fast food, takeaways, hot beverages and soft drinks were found to be more frequent in high-income areas [ 91 , 96 , 101 ].

A study comparing four schools of varying deprivation found the school with lowest deprivation had no advertisements but there was no clear trend in extent of advertising by deprivation [ 105 ]. Two studies conducted in Mexico [ 81 ] and New Zealand [ 86 ] found outdoor food advertising to be more frequent around public schools than private schools, however a study in Uganda [ 75 ] found no significant difference in the number of core foods advertised around private and government funded schools, in all three studies private school was considered a proxy of high SES. In this New Zealand study, low decile areas had the greatest number of advertisements for non-core food, core food and non-core food and beverage, however when high decile schools were combined with areas around private schools, the greatest number of all food and beverage advertisements and non-core advertisements were found in high SES areas [ 86 ].

What is known about the power of outdoor food marketing?

Twelve studies documented the power of outdoor food marketing (Table  2 ). This was measured by quantifying the use of a range of persuasive creative strategies and child-directed marketing. The persuasive creative strategies observed across studies are shown in Fig.  3 .

Powerful creative strategies observed in studies

Observed power

There was evidence of variation in the use of persuasive creative strategies in outdoor advertising, with premium offers (e.g. buy one get one free [ 78 ]) utilised in between 7.84% [ 74 ] and 28.1% [ 78 ] of food advertisements, and the proportion of advertisements featuring a person or promotional character ranging from 2.8% [ 79 ] to 46.8% [ 73 ]. Other strategies frequently identified were appeals related to price [ 55 , 56 , 72 , 74 , 76 ], emotion [ 72 , 74 , 76 , 77 ] and taste [ 72 , 74 , 76 , 77 ].

The proportion of advertisements considered to be targeted just at children or young people ranged from less than 1% [ 58 ] to 10.4% [ 73 ]. Studies assessing appeals to children considered the use of cartoon characters, popular figures, child models or characters, colours or images, toys and the placement of the advertisement [ 58 , 64 , 73 , 83 ].

Often, the foods promoted using persuasive creative strategies were soft drinks [ 73 , 76 ], non-core foods [ 77 ] and fast foods [ 57 , 76 ], however one study [ 75 ] observed outdoor food advertising in Uganda and found that 15% of healthy food advertisements used promotional characters.

Differences by socioeconomic status/ethnicity

A US study [ 55 ] found that schools with a majority Hispanic population (vs. low Hispanic population) had significantly more advertisements featuring price promotions within half a mile of the school. Price promotions were also more frequent outside supermarkets in non-Hispanic Black communities in the US [ 56 ], although this was no longer significant after controlling for household income. Supermarkets in low-income communities were significantly more likely to have price promotions [ 56 ] and being located in middle-income (compared to high) and black communities was marginally associated with increased odds of child-directed marketing [ 57 ]. Sometimes, local culture was referenced in food advertising through persuasive creative strategies [ 54 , 76 , 77 ], for example a US study quantifying advertisements in a Chinese-American Neighbourhood [ 54 ] found food advertisements were frequently relevant to Chinese culture (58.9% of food and 59.04% of non-alcoholic beverage advertisements), often featuring Asian models.

What is known about the impact of outdoor food marketing?

Three studies (Table  1 ) [ 53 , 70 , 71 ] explored associations between exposure to outdoor food advertising and behavioural or health outcomes, two of these found a significant positive relationship. Lesser et al. (2013) [ 53 ] found that for every 10% increase in outdoor food advertisements present, residents consumed on average 6% more soda, and had 5% higher odds of living with obesity. In Indonesia [ 70 ] self-reported exposure to food advertising on public transport was associated with consumption of two specific HFSS products. No associations were found between exposure and consumption of the other eight products considered. A UK study [ 71 ] found no significant association between self-reported exposure to HFSS advertising across transport networks and weight status. No studies measured differences in impact in relation to equity characteristics.

Summary of main results

This review is the first to collate the criteria used to define outdoor food marketing, document the methods used to measure this form of marketing, and identify what is known about its exposure, power and impact.

Fifty-three studies were identified which met all eligibility criteria. In brief, of studies with a definition, the criteria referenced most were; on or outside stores/establishments; and stationary signs/objects. The methods used to research outdoor marketing include self-report data, virtual auditing, in-person auditing, and content analysis. There was little consistency in the approach used to classify foods as healthy or unhealthy, although nutrient profiling models were used in some studies.

Food accounted for an average of 22.1% of all advertisements, the majority of foods advertised were classed as unhealthy (63%). Ethnic minority groups were generally shown to have higher exposure to outdoor food advertising, but findings on differential exposure by SES were inconsistent.

Studies showed frequent use of premium offers, promotional characters, health claims, taste appeals and emotional appeals in outdoor food advertisements. There was limited evidence of relationships between exposure to food marketing and behavioural or health outcomes.

Eight out of fifteen studies (Fig.  2 ) stated that outdoor food marketing must be on or outside of stores or establishments, seven studies included stationary signs or objects in their definition and five studies stated that advertisements must be visible from the street or sidewalk. However, the defining criteria was inconsistent across the fifteen studies, and some of the most referenced criteria are problematic. Although stationary signage is an important aspect of outdoor marketing, this excludes forms of marketing on transport e.g. the exterior of buses. Equally, not all outdoor marketing may be “visible from the street or sidewalk”, this could exclude advertising on public transport property, i.e. station platforms. Additionally, the share of digital out-of-home advertising rose from 14% in 2011 to 59% in 2020 [ 107 ]. Three studies did aim to document digital advertising [ 60 , 63 , 90 ] through observing a digital board for a set amount of time. This medium is likely to become more prevalent over time globally, and there are challenges due to its changing and interactive nature [ 108 ]. The literature appears dominated by studies of advertising. This may reflect that most marketing encountered outdoors is advertising, conversely, it may be that the literature is yet to consider some newer forms of marketing, such as increased digital platforms. It will be important for future research to consider the evolving nature of outdoor marketing and how this should be measured.

Only fifteen studies defined outdoor food marketing as a term. This has likely been a factor influencing the heterogeneity observed across studies (e.g. differences in scope), as inconsistencies in defining a factor can negatively impact the development of an evidence base [ 109 ]. Researchers should endeavour to work towards an agreed definition, perhaps through use of the Delphi method of consensus development [ 110 ], in order to improve consistency in the resulting research. However, this method can be open to bias if the researchers are of the same background as the experts involved [ 109 ] therefore it is important that any definition developed aligns with criteria used by industry to reduce likelihood of bias.

Methods used in outdoor food marketing research

Outdoor food marketing exposure and impact were measured using self-reported data, which may lack validity, as advertising can influence brand attitudes whether consciously or unconsciously processed [ 111 ]. While it can be useful to know the extent that individuals process advertising, this may not be a true representation of exposure. Equally, participants may alter their response to appear socially desirable which has previously resulted in misreporting of height and weight data [ 112 ].

Using Google Street View as an auditing tool is beneficial in saving time and resources whilst gathering large samples [ 113 ], however almost one third of advertisements in one study were unable to be identified [ 83 ], therefore systematically searching the streets in sample areas, and taking photographs for later reference is a more reliable method. Buffer areas are a useful tool for measuring advertising, particularly around specific sites such as schools, although stating advertising was present “around schools” has different meanings when comparing 100 m to 500 m, or to 2 km. GPS and wearable camera technology can identify how individuals encounter food marketing in the routes they use to travel through their environment. These methods should be replicated globally as a more objective measure of individual exposure to outdoor food marketing, although care must be taken in regard to privacy and ethical considerations.

There was little consistency in the methods used to identify persuasive creative strategies, which is typical in the field of food marketing [ 23 ]. The heterogeneity observed could be reduced through adherence to protocols for the monitoring of food marketing such as those developed by WHO [ 51 ] and INFORMAS [ 114 ]. This would improve comparability of future outdoor food marketing data across countries and time points which would better support policy action in this area. Nutrient profiling models are a useful tool for food categorisation, as opposed to grouping foods as “everyday” and “discretionary” or “core” and “non-core”, however, profiling models differ due to cultural differences in diet [ 106 , 115 ]. There is a need to balance the data required for country-level policy relevance with international comparability. Watson et al. (2021) [ 106 ] propose an amalgamation of the WHO EURO NPM and WHO Western Pacific models.

Exposure to outdoor food marketing

Marketing platforms outdoors remain accessible for the food industry and are relatively unrestricted. This is reflected by the extent of advertised food products (22.1%) and the proportion of those that were unhealthy (63%), which is problematic as discrepancies between the food types frequently promoted and dietary recommendations have been linked to changes in dietary norms and food preferences [ 111 ]. Whilst fruits and vegetables should make up 40% of daily intake [ 116 ], these products were rarely promoted. These findings are comparable to global data of other marketing formats, for example, a benchmarking study found that on average, 23% of advertisements on TV were for foods or beverages, and other studies have found 60–70% of food advertisements to be unhealthy across social media [ 117 , 118 , 119 ] and in print [ 120 ].

This knowledge adds to the existing evidence reporting the extent of children’s exposure through multiple forms of marketing [ 2 , 13 , 121 ]. Whilst efforts are being made to restrict their advertising exposure through other sources such as TV, for consistency, more must be done to protect children in the outdoor environment.

There is no consensus on clear trends in exposure by SES. In part, contradictory findings within this review, such as targeting of wealthier consumers, may reflect the occurrence of a nutrition transition occurring in low income countries, characterised by increased reliance on processed foods [ 122 ] which are more available to those with more disposable income. Further research should attempt to develop clear consensus on the differential exposure to outdoor food marketing by SES in both high- and lower-income countries.

Power of outdoor food marketing

The lack of research into the power of outdoor food marketing is most likely a result of the lack of established definitions and classifications for the powerful characteristics of marketing and in particular, child appeal of marketing [ 123 ]. The most frequent persuasive creative strategies identified across the twelve studies documenting power were premium offers, promotional characters, health claims, taste appeals and emotional appeals, similar to those identified in television food marketing [ 23 ]. These strategies are particularly salient to children: spokes-characters can be effective in influencing children’s food choice, preference, awareness and attention [ 124 ], whilst premium offers (e.g. collectible toys) can influence children’s likeability and anticipated taste of the promoted food [ 125 ] and can prompt choice of healthier meals [ 125 , 126 ]. One study found that children were more likely to choose unhealthy food products if they featured nutrient content claims such as “reduced fat, source of calcium” [ 127 ]. In this study participants were exposed to unknown brands, it is anticipated that larger responses would be present in brands recognised by participants. Future research should attempt to determine the success of different strategies in influencing behaviour, particularly as the rise in digital media used outdoors may increase the potential for power through increasing the variation and sophistication of outdoor marketing techniques. Policy in this field is largely focused on advertising directed at children, although it is important for research and policy to reflect that due to persuasive creative strategies used, advertising not wholly directed at children can still appeal to them [ 83 ].

Impact of outdoor food marketing

There is evidence that outdoor advertising exposure is related to consumption of SSBs and odds of obesity, Previous reviews on the impact of food marketing on television and digital media have found compelling evidence of a relationship between exposure and food intake [ 44 ], attitudes and preferences [ 24 ]. However, the small number of studies measuring impacts of outdoor food marketing in this review were correlational and therefore cannot demonstrate causality. This lack of evidence is likely preventing policy progress in this area. It is likely that the lack of studies measuring impact of outdoor food marketing is due to the difficulty in controlling for confounding variables in external settings [ 128 ] or replicating this form of marketing in a lab compared to other formats such as television. It is clear that unhealthy food marketing is prevalent outdoors, but our understanding of the resultant impacts is underdeveloped and must be further examined through experimental research.

Experimental research will enable clearer understanding as to whether outdoor food marketing influences behaviour as television and digital marketing do [ 10 , 24 , 129 ]. Understanding the impact of outdoor food marketing on body weight would require longitudinal research, although it is difficult to separate the impact of marketing from secular trends. Additionally, there is increasing recognition that attributing a behavioural outcome to a single marketing communication can be problematic and does not appropriately reflect the cumulative effects of multiple, repeated exposures [ 7 ]. Purchase data in response to marketing campaigns could be a useful indicator of marketing impact [ 130 ], however gathering sales data from industry is problematic. This could be made possible through changes such as those proposed by the UK national food strategy, and supported by the NGO sector [ 131 ], calling for mandatory annual reporting of product sales for large food companies [ 132 ]. Although this is only proposed in the UK, if the strategy is successful in encouraging companies to make changes to formulations or the proportion of healthy products available, this strategy may be adopted elsewhere.

The review was pre-registered, allowing for transparency in approach and reporting of results and the methodology and reporting of the review were robust and consistent with guidelines from both the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews and the JBI methodology. The systematic search strategy ensured a wide range of databases were searched and the identification of a large number of potentially relevant studies. The use of multiple independent reviewers in the full-text screening and data extraction ensured all relevant data was captured accurately.

Limitations

As this is a scoping review, non-peer reviewed sources such as letters to editors [ 96 ], conference abstracts [ 99 ] and grey literature [ 104 ] were included if they met inclusion criteria. Government websites beyond the UK were not included, which is a limitation of our searches, however multiple grey literature sources that were not UK based would have captured relevant international materials. The majority of studies included are focused on advertising and while some marketing aspects are considered, this review does not encompass all marketing communications. However, our searches were designed with thesaurus terms to capture words related to marketing that might not have been realised from a public health perspective. Therefore, it is likely that the relevant literature from marketing disciplines was identified, and is just limited.

As quality assessment was not deemed appropriate, there is potential for error and bias within the included studies, similarly, inaccuracies may arise from the self-reported data used in four studies. Although there were no limitations by language, no translation was required and all eligible studies were published in English. Further, discrepancies in the conduct and reporting of studies make it difficult to collate data and draw firm conclusions.

This review has documented the research on outdoor food marketing exposure, power, and impact. There is substantial heterogeneity in the criteria used to define and methods used to measure outdoor food marketing. Future research will benefit from using a consistent definition and measurement tools to allow for improved comparability between studies. Whilst all the studies documented exposure, few recorded the powerful strategies used in outdoor food marketing and it is still largely unknown how this marketing influences behaviour and ultimately health. In order to inform policy, further research will benefit from examining the causal processes through which outdoor marketing may influence behaviour and health outcomes.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available in the OSF repository, https://osf.io/b65jy/ .

Abbreviations

American Marketing Association

Global Positioning System

High in fats, salt and sugar

International Network for Food and Obesity/Non-communicable Diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support.

Nutrient Profiling Model

Place, race/ethnicity/culture/language, occupation, gender/sex, religion, education, socioeconomic status, social capital

Socioeconomic status

Sugar-sweetened beverages

World Health Organization

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EB and ER were involved in the conception of the study. The review protocol, design and extraction instrument were developed by AF, EB, ER, AJ and M.Ma. The search strategy was developed by AF and M.Ma. Searches, title and abstract screening and full text screening were completed by AF. A second independent full text screening of articles was completed by RE, HM and M.Mu. Data extraction was completed by AF, RE, HM and M.Mu. The manuscript was written by AF and EB. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Finlay, A., Robinson, E., Jones, A. et al. A scoping review of outdoor food marketing: exposure, power and impacts on eating behaviour and health. BMC Public Health 22 , 1431 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13784-8

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Received : 04 February 2022

Accepted : 12 July 2022

Published : 27 July 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13784-8

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Food, beverage and restaurant companies spend almost $14 billion per year on food advertisements in the United States [1] . More than 80% of this food advertising promotes fast food, sugary drinks, candy, and unhealthy snacks, dwarfing the entire $1 billion budget for all chronic disease prevention and health promotion at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [2] . Furthermore, these food companies often engage in "targeted marketing" to reach children, teens and communities of color with marketing for their least healthy products.

Food marketing negatively affects children’s and teens’ diets and health. It increases calories consumed, preferences for unhealthy product categories, and perceptions of product healthfulness. Rudd Center research analyzes food company marketing tactics, food facts, and informs policy efforts to reduce unhealthy food marketing affecting youth and their families.

[1] Rudd Center 2017 analysis of Nielsen data [2] CDC, 2017

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A series of Rudd Center Food FACTS research reports provide a comprehensive review of the targeted marketing techniques and nutritional quality of food and beverages targeted to children, teens and parents – including separate reports on children's foods, cereal, fast food advertisements, sugary drinks vs. healthy drinks, snacks, and baby and toddler food.

The full reports, along with resources for advocates, researchers, parents and the media can be accessed by clicking the link below.

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These presentations and videos are a resource for advocates to spread the word about unhealthy food and beverage marketing. We hope they will inspire collective action to make positive changes that improve health and limit unhealthy food and beverage targeted marketing in communities, schools and online.

Unhealthy Food & Beverage Marketing: The Basics

The overwhelmingly unhealthy food-marketing environment that surrounds young people is a significant contributor to the dramatic increase in childhood obesity. This handout explains what food marketing and food advertising studies have shown and what can be done to decrease unhealthy food marketing to children.

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Home » Resources » Food marketing online » Peeking behind the curtain: Food and marketing industry research supporting digital media marketing to children and adolescents

Peeking behind the curtain: Food and marketing industry research supporting digital media marketing to children and adolescents

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Children and teens in the U.S. must navigate an environment saturated with junk food marketing. Everywhere children and youth go, marketing follows them, touting foods and drink that they would be much better off avoiding. The landmark 2005 report, Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?, for example, found that most food and beverage marketing targeting young people promotes products that are high in sugars, fats, and salt, and low in nutrients, and that marketing influences children’s preferences, purchase requests, and ultimately what they consume. 1 Food marketers are doing everything they can to see that these trends continue as the media landscape changes, reaching ever more directly and intimately into children’s lives.

In the last five years, the digital media marketplace has grown dramatically, becoming an even stronger presence in the lives of young people. 2 Marketing techniques and technologies have shifted accordingly, with an emphasis on a variety of new techniques. These include, for example, behavioral and location-based targeting methods that allow marketers to pinpoint their pitches, even sending personally designed promotional messages to individual consumers in real time. Critical areas of this program include “neuromarketing,” or the use of such brain research techniques as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to probe deeply into consumers’ reactions to marketing; social media advances that tap consumers’ networks of family and friends; and mobile services that allow marketers to bypass parents and guardians and reach children directly in real time at specific locations.

Early concerns about the effects of food marketing barely touched on this rapidly changing digital marketing environment. To understand the scope and potential effects of food marketing targeting children and youth, public health advocates must understand the contours and dimensions of the global research infrastructure for digital marketing–especially the work focused on youth regarding food and beverages. Regrettably, scholarly research, much of it still rooted in broadcast technologies and traditional media like TV, has lagged behind developments in the field of online marketing.

To bring the public health community up to date on this front, we analyzed market studies and industry literature, and examined various digital food and beverage marketing campaigns themselves. In particular, we sought to illuminate (1) what are the latest developments in industry research on interactive marketing, (2) how have these advances affected the ways in which food and beverage marketing is done, and (3) what does this portend for the health of young people?

The Center for Digital Democracy and Berkeley Media Studies Group have closely followed how food and beverage companies and their network of partners are using research. Food marketers have invested in these efforts to ensure that their brands, many of which are low-density and high-fat products, are targeted to youth and take advantage of new media platforms such as social media, mobile phones, and online games. New commercially supported digital channels, including the Web, mobile, and gaming services, have already attracted huge numbers of children and adolescents 3 Other major platforms used for delivering food ads, such as TV, are being transformed as they incorporate many of the same interactive capabilities now found online 4 Precisely at a time when youth obesity is rising, powerful digital media marketing applications are undermining efforts to arrest the problem.

In order to advise policymakers, researchers, health advocates, and the public, we need to have as thorough an understanding as possible of the dimensions this research and of the findings it has generated. We also need to understand what the research tells us about how the health of young people may be affected, and what the goals in both the short and longer terms are for the food and beverage industries. To answer these questions, we collected and assessed publicly available research and literature from the food and beverage industry, and from the firms these companies hire to undertake specialized research.

Since 2006, we have closely tracked these research efforts in both the U.S. and abroad. Digital marketing is a global business; many brands whose products in the U.S. have raised concerns about obesity got their start in other markets around the world. For this report, we collected and assessed a range of publicly available work:

• in-house marketing research, including case studies carried out by leading companies throughout the world, such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi;
• digital marketing research conducted by major online ad companies, such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft;
• research and case studies conducted by and presented to the national and international associations addressing digital media, including ESOMAR, I-Com, Interactive Advertising Bureau, and Advertising Research Foundation;
• the work of digital ad agencies, including those that focus on multicultural markets;
• presentations and reports from major computer industry scholarly conferences, such as the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Knowledge Discovery in Data conferences.

Our study examined reports across a variety of formats and covering a diverse range of topics, including new platforms, online surveillance technologies, new metrics, and digital campaign awards. We also examined how this research was used in the campaigns themselves. For instance, the data obtained for this project included presentations by food and beverage companies in which they identified products, services, and strategies related to their own research and marketing plans. As we collected the research, we read each document, examining it for themes and the types of findings that were presented. Based on this initial assessment, we developed a classification scheme to organize the types of industry research. Using this system, we assessed each category to identify trends and patterns.

Emergence & Importance of New Marketing Research and Methods Food and beverage advertisers have played a leading role conducting and supporting research in digital marketing. Major brands have commissioned their own research, collaborated with leading ad agencies and research organizations, and cooperated with an array of digital media marketing companies. They are now part of broad industry efforts to expand both the research base on and the capabilities of digital marketing 5

Food and beverage marketing-oriented research using emerging marketing techniques includes some of the earliest work in the digital field. One of the pioneering studies from the U.S. digital marketing industry was the collaboration of the Microsoft Network (MSN), the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the Advertising Research Foundation, Dynamic Logic, and Marketing Evolution to evaluate whether online advertising contributed to campaign outcomes. The findings from their 2002 “XMOS Case Study: McDonald’s Grilled Chicken Flatbread Sandwich” included the conclusion that “traditional media underdelivers to a segment of the consumer population who are reachable primarily through Online Advertising.” The research also demonstrated that “online advertising promoted an increase in product awareness and image association.” 6 McDonald’s participated in this early study in order to better exploit the emerging digital marketplace.

The evolution of McDonald’s digital marketing is further illustrated in its deployment of mobile marketing techniques for location-based targeting. For a 2009 Snack Wrap Mac Campaign, the company documented its use of mobile coupons (with a sports tie-in) that resulted in a favorable response rate 7 For leading companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, we found multiple research studies conducted over the last several years as they developed and fine-tuned their digital marketing efforts 8 .

Overall we found that the food and beverage industry, together with the companies they contract, are conducting three major types of research. First, they are testing and deploying new marketing platforms, especially social and mobile media techniques, to reach consumers. Second, they are creating new research methods to probe consumers’ responses to marketing, such as neuromarketing research to analyze users’ deep cognitive and emotional reactions to advertising. And third, they are developing new means to assess the impact of new digital research on marketers’ profits through analysis of sales, branding, and by developing new measurement metrics. We also found substantial literature on how the industry puts this research program into action, specifically through its efforts to target two groups–communities of color and youth (see the table for examples of research from each category). Next, we explain how research is being used to inform food and beverage marketing.

Developing new marketing platforms

Food and beverage companies are regularly in the forefront of exploring the potential of new platforms to deliver branding and sales opportunities. We found eight major new marketing platforms recently deployed or still being developed by industry:

• social media like Facebook and Twitter, including the branded applications created within those services;
• digital games, which seamlessly integrate brands into “advergames”;
• content delivered on mobile devices; location-based marketing, which allows marketers to identify and reach individual users in geographical space in real-time;
• efforts to activate digital influencers, or key members of social networks who spread marketing messages via digital word-of-mouth campaigns;
• user-generated content, in which brands elicit consumers to actively produce marketing content;
• augmented reality campaigns, in which pictures of the user are melded into animated content online; and
• evolved versions of traditional media, such as interactive marketing delivered on television.

New platforms research explores, develops, and tests new means by which to market food and beverages, often to children. Burger King was an early sponsor of interactive television (ITV) ads, for instance, collaborating with Verizon’s FIOS service to examine cross-platform impact on engagement and sales. 35 This revolutionizes the traditional 30-second TV spot because ITV permits two-way conversations between marketers and viewers, as well as “telescoping” ads that offer additional details on particular products and services.

Among the research on new marketing platforms, Facebook itself has conducted research to illustrate how food and beverage brands have found success on its social media-marketing platform. Such research reflects the development and testing of various new ways to measure a social media campaign’s impact, such as metrics measuring “viral” activity. Mars and its brands, including M&M’s, Snickers, and Milky Way, used Facebook to offer free samples of their products. According to Facebook’s research, the social media site quickly delivered 1.2 million of its users who connected to the M& M page on the site. 36

Additionally, the mobile and location marketing company Navteq has documented success for McDonald’s, Domino’s, and others who are pioneering the use of digital tactics to transform mobile devices into a service that effectively delivers consumers to a nearby store. 37 Companies reach users on their mobile devices with ads targeted to a specific user in a particular location, and achieve an in-store sales opportunity by issuing digital coupons that can be redeemed at nearby stores.

Industry researchers are also tracking the impact of “virtual products” connected to real brands. This is important because it illustrates the growing number of methods used to promote food products using techniques that likely have an impact on a young person’s cognitive and emotional development. The ability of digital gaming to integrate real brands in the story, imagery, and design, for example, such as the Coca-Cola Kiosks that delivered “100,000 to 300,000 virtual purchases a day,” seamlessly integrates the brand into young people’s lives. Virtual characters, such as “Hello Kitty,” were successfully used by McDonald’s Hong Kong division to integrate the brand into the contact lists of users who exchanged millions of instant messages. 38 The McDonald’s effort combined the expertise of digital marketing research capabilities of leading digital technology and advertising companies. Microsoft Research, for example, plays a critically important role in advancing the capabilities of the Microsoft Advertising division. OMD, an international ad agency with over 140 offices in more than 80 countries and a key partner in the Hello Kitty campaign, has established its own digital marketing research lab.

Probing consumers’ response to advertising

A second major category of industry research includes a set of investigations that probe consumers’ emotional and cognitive reactions to advertising. Food and beverage companies are using sophisticated research to transform marketing, including neuromarketing related to brain research and new forms of social media persuasion. These span a broad array of research methods, but share a focus on realizing how deeper insights into the human psyche can be mined for future marketing efforts. We found five types of research on audiences’ responses to advertising:

• neuromarketing, which uses brain-scanning methods to analyze consumers’ reactions to advertising;
• biometric analysis, which examines consumers’ bodily and biological responses;
• location-based measurement, which uses data from mobile devices to allow research on consumers’ whereabouts in real-time;
• behavioral profiling, or advances in the capacity of research to identify individual consumers and craft messages for them;
• computational advertising, which Yahoo describes as “a new scientific sub-discipline, at the intersection of information retrieval, machine learning, optimization, and microeconomics.” 39 While varied in their approach and application, these techniques are all inter-connected in their contribution to the increased sophistication and effectiveness of interactive advertising. And for those concerned with the impact of such marketing on the public health in general and on children and youth in particular, understanding the subtle distinctions in these several approaches, and their collective impact on the evolution of advertising, is essential.

The industry uses neuromarketing, which draws on brain research to craft messages that bypass our rational, conscious decision-making process, to promote food and beverage products, such as the award-winning effort by Cheetos for “Orange Underground.” 40 That campaign involved neuromarketing by using a variety of research companies, especially Neurofocus, to analyze how to maintain Cheeto’s market share with young people, and to build a new audience of adults who positively identified themselves as having child-like behaviors.

An array of research initiatives at the corporate, trade association, and academic levels is underway to evaluate and refine the use of biometric measures to assess neural processing for product and brand promotion. Market researchers subject participants to branded stimuli and record a variety of bodily responses, such as heart rate, respiration, perspiration, and eye movements. This represents a move past such traditional forms of research as focus groups and surveys because the data not only help marketers narrow their focus and reach customers in real time, but the results also feed into constant improvements in marketing content.

New location-based measurement techniques made possible by mobile devices, and linked to product promotion and sales, have emerged as an integral part of the “path-to-purchase” consumer decision cycle, which is a major focus of marketing research. Digital marketing research has increasingly focused on the role of mobile and location-based marketing to help influence the purchasing decisions of consumers at all stages of the shopping process–both to stimulate and to maintain interest in a brand.

Advanced work is also being conducted to expand the ability of marketers to collect and analyze data for behavioral profiling. The landscape of marketing is being dramatically changed through the rapid rise of so-called “real-time bidding” digital ad platforms, where the right to target an individual (usually 13 or older) is bought and sold in milliseconds. A new generation of interactive marketing specialists plays a role in this new system, which combines a wide range of data on a consumer, whether they are surfing the Internet, watching an online video, or using their mobile phone. Information collected from social media, such as profile data, is also used for such real-time targeting. 41 There has been a dramatic growth in social media marketing data techniques, where brands (including food and beverage companies) can identify key online users and sites that favor their products.

Improving the bottom line: How research affects sales

Naturally, researchers are interested in documenting how digital marketing delivers in-store sales. The industry spends substantial effort researching the effectiveness of its marketing, developing new metrics used to measure campaigns, and using these data to improve promotional strategies in near real-time. The research demonstrates that digital marketing techniques have a powerful impact on the decisionmaking of consumers. We found two major types of research in this category: works that developed new metrics by which marketing is measured, and studies that examined the efficacy of marketing. The latter were not exclusively on sales, but also included intermediate measures of success, such as how well a brand was perceived, or how long consumers “dwelled” on or spent time with the brand during an engagement.

An innovative form of new marketing research methods the food industry uses is analytics, which involve “the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage.” 42 For example, in February 2011, Kellogg’s presented its social media strategy at a BlogWell conference, demonstrating that it was familiar with many of the leading social media analytic tools, including Radian6 (“a complete platform to listen, measure and engage with your customers across the entire social web”), Cymfony (“provides market influence analytics by scanning and interpreting the millions of voices at the intersection of social and traditional media”), and Alterian SM2 (“empowers businesses with social intelligence to successfully engage with their target audience”). 43 Such information reveals both the range of techniques being deployed, as well as how knowledgeable these companies are about current digital marketing developments.

There is a steady stream of in-depth reports, written by agencies and other online-focused companies, that analyze recent developments in digital media marketing and research. Another trend is research designed to quantify the value of new approaches to marketing, including social media. For example, there are multiple efforts underway to determine the worth of and methods of measuring a “Facebook impression,” an example of a new metric tied to spending on a brand or product. 44

Work assessed for this report included industry-wide studies documenting the positive impact digital marketing has on branding, and the increasing ability of market researchers to assess their campaigns across the “360-degree” experience of users (i.e., across a range of online, broadcast, print, events, and other offline media). Reports from leading digital marketing companies that analyzed the impact of new forms of digital targeting, such as a series produced by digital marketer Razorfish, are examples of the steady focus on encouraging marketers to take advantage of the latest tactics. 45

In addition, the food industry often taps allies in the technology sector to develop research on how well new digital campaigns are affecting the bottom line. Companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo have either created or supported research for food and beverage companies that measure such sales. For example, one report focused on Cadbury’s sales through the use of YouTube, claiming that for every 1 British pound spent on digital ads, 3 British pounds of spending by consumers were generated. 46 6 Google also engaged in research involving Coca-Cola to assess how online video and search engine marketing compared to television ads in terms of sales impact (they do so favorably). 47

Similar research has been used to test specific forms of digital marketing applications, including rich media, a digital marketing technique that uses a variety of interactive formats, including video, to foster immersive experiences for users. Such approaches are now being used to help design online coupons. Companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi have seen significant “lift” in store sales through rich media-enabled digital coupons. 48 Other research demonstrates the positive impact on brand sales from the posting of images and videos on Facebook and similar social media. Rich media research also focused on the development of new metrics to measure its impact, such as the emerging concept of Dwell, which measures time users spend with the interactive components of an ad. 49 This type of prospective work provides insights into how food and beverage campaigns will be constructed, as they take advantage of what emergent techniques are shown to be effective.

Case studies submitted for digital advertising awards provide first-hand documentation by both companies and advertisers of the efficacy of many food and beverage efforts. Such case studies reveal the “insider” discussions about what both the brand and the advertising agency think about the product’s success in the marketplace. These case studies are marketing tools by which the companies tout their ability to attract audiences and sell products, providing a window into the power of the new methods for marketing food and beverages to children and youth.

For example, Frito-Lay’s “SnackStrong Productions,” in its submission to the Effie awards in 2007, documented the use of multiple forms of digital marketing to attract its youth target. The campaign reversed a decline in sales, with 7 million bags of the “mystery” X-13D Doritos chip sold during one phase of the effort–without ever showing a picture of the product or of any food. Similar research for SnackStrong-related efforts reveals multiple studies documenting the impact of various digital marketing efforts. 50 The Effie submission illustrates a still-early example of how food and beverage companies have experimented with digital marketing techniques, documenting their impact on sales and other brandspecific goals.

A final source of research focused on the evaluation of specific techniques when combined with various platforms, such as the role of engagement in video ads online. Doritos, for example, was reported to have seen a variety of positive measures (purchase consideration, likelihood to recommend, brand recall) through marketing campaigns involving interactive video formats. 51 Food and beverage companies have evaluated their use of online games, including sponsorship and in-game ads. Doritos, in particular, developed a longstanding relationship with Microsoft’s Xbox, documenting the duration of brand-related interactions and the number of downloads conducted by users. 52

Research in action: Targeting communities of color

Digital marketers are exploring new avenues for reaching target audiences. There is a body of research aimed at ensuring that key groups such as mothers, including those from communities of color, receive branded digital marketing designed to promote sales of food and beverage products. Results from such research show a growing reliance on digital media by mothers, especially on mobile phones, for making purchasing decisions. Such research is designed to help food marketers shape their campaigns to reach the key person making shopping decisions, as well as simultaneously targeting youth as decision influencers. One other effort found in this research is the growing use of private online communities by food marketers (and others) to generate insights used to improve or plan marketing campaigns, as well as to develop strategies to help inform communications with the public. 53

Recent research published in academic marketing journals focused on multicultural groups, which demonstrates that there is a significant infrastructure of scholars engaged in work to improve how digital advertising works with targeted constituencies. 54 The focus on multicultural consumers and their relationship to digital marketing can be seen through a variety of initiatives led or funded by industry, such as the Advertising Research Foundation.

Research in action: Tracking youths’ media & consumption behaviors

The food and beverage industry, with the market research industry, tracks young people to understand their media usage patterns and their consumption behaviors. These advertisers seek to benefit from farranging research into digital media, especially concerning their impact on youth behaviors. The industry knows that the current generation of young people–the so-called “millennials”–are more connected to media than ever before, and thus seek to exploit the marketing opportunities this connectivity provides.

Marketers are closely examining how youth interact with and increasingly rely on digital media in their daily lives. Using a variety of investigative methods, digital marketers have supported research to help them understand how to target this group. Marketers have migrated their use of ethnographic research in the off-line environment to the digital arena, enabling them to assess both individual and what they have called online “tribal” behaviors of young people. 55

For youth, this industry research underscores what groups such as the Pew Internet & American Life Project and others have also reported–that young people are deeply connected to digital services and have an evolving relationship with commercial interactive media, shaped by the impact of digital marketing generally and reflecting the advances in its technological capabilities and the growing number of users that now have faster Internet connections and smart phones. 56

One area the industry focuses on is the multi-tasking and multi-platform behaviors of adolescents. Market research into the online activities of youth has recognized that they utilize a variety of media platforms, including the personal computer, gaming services, and mobile devices. Marketing campaigns are increasingly designed and measured to take such fluid use into account. AOL, for example, conducted its “Three Screen Nation” research in 2009, and found that teens were spending more time online than with television. 57 Microsoft’s youth research has found that young people frequently search for a brand online, and that older adolescents are targeted as “young adults.” 58 Research also revealed how marketers view specific groups, such as adolescents. One Advertising Research Foundation report involving Wrigley’s gum found that “teens are experience junkies,” susceptible to an array of digital ad techniques. 59

Other research reveals the regular collection and analysis of information on young people, and how it is used for various digital marketing campaigns. Coca-Cola, for example, has been a pioneer in the use of behavioral advertising through various forms of data collection strategies, such as the use of registration data from its MyCokeRewards program. A report from the technology company Coca-Cola used to create the data collection and measurement platform describes how the company uses sophisticated database strategies. 60 Such data are being used to identify youth “influencers” so quick-service restaurants can target them via social media. In other examples, food companies and other marketers were able to gather and exploit young people’s “profile data” on Facebook to help drive teen decisionmaking. 61 The collection of information on individual users based on both their online activities and a range of data records–so-called behavioral targeting–has contributed to the development of a variety of data-driven social media marketing applications. As with behavioral targeting, social media marketing techniques have been developed that can simultaneously foster and measure the activation and influence of individuals, including for food and beverage marketing.

What we’ve learned

Advertising and marketing innovations are playing a pivotal role in the evolution of communications media, which now extend to online video, social media, and mobile phones. The expansion of advertising throughout emerging key platforms, such as those found in online video and location-based digital ad services, is still at a relatively early stage. But it is clear, based on advances in interactive advertising’s capability to target online video users individually with personalized advertising, that such marketing will be a serious force in the lives of young people.

Food and beverage companies participate in and benefit from a global research infrastructure that seeks to enhance the role and impact of marketing. Food and beverage marketers are in the forefront of supporting this research, for the industry as a whole as well as for their individual brands and products. Overall, food and beverage marketers have learned that there is a fundamental change in media use, with both young people and their parents increasingly relying on digital media. Food and beverage companies are supporting research into digital media both to ensure they will have access to data for measurement, and also so the multiple interactive platforms fully support a robust advertising and marketing system. 62

These marketers are in the forefront in embracing innovative forms of marketing, and they are evaluating strategies to reach multicultural youth and their families. Digital food and beverage marketers are researching the direct impact on store sales, including the role of such marketing on multiple platforms. They are among the pioneers in evaluating emerging metrics both to implement and assess social media campaigns. Research into the integration of digital techniques, including those for in-store marketing, is documenting the ability to define a “path to purchase” for consumers–leading to the consumption of products by youth that may be harmful to their health. 63

Food and beverage marketers are engaged in a continual effort to document the impact of new marketing approaches, such as neuromarketing, mobile/location targeting, virtual worlds/video games, and online video. These new forms are extremely efficacious; they represent an important revolution in the marketing landscape. Yet they are also an extension of traditional marketing techniques (e.g., interactive television advertising), and are based on time-honored marketing principles (e.g., understanding and exploiting consumers’ aspirations). For example, companies have long tried to reach influencers such as mothers; with the advent of digital social networks, however, marketers can focus on activating key influencers within groups of mothers, multiplying their marketing payoff. What is so potent, therefore, are the ways in which new digital marketing techniques, and research methods, allow for unprecedented precision in the real-time targeting of individual consumers, prominently including young people.

Why it matters: The implications for public health

Food and beverage marketers are driving powerful new forms of high-fat, low-density food consumption that can harm young people’s health. Food marketers now have more channels to use in targeting young people, including videogames, mobile phones, and personal computers. They can launch, measure, and fine-tune in real time localized and national campaigns. Digital marketing enables food and beverage companies to use marketing techniques that tightly integrate play, gaming, entertainment, rewards (both virtual and “real”), and social relationships. Today, noncommercial actors such as young people’s friends and social networks are designing marketing campaigns, helping create a branding environment not directly linked to the food or beverage manufacturer, and not necessarily recognized as traditional advertising. These marketing efforts on behalf of food and beverages can generate significant sales of products, without the expenditures normally associated with major campaigns. Sales can be generated without even showing the product itself.

These campaigns are specifically designed to foster new forms of “social contagion” for products, text and video messages that are virally distributed, including by friends and those identified as “influencers.” Marketers are now able to measure sales in stores and quick-service restaurants tied to digital campaigns. Food marketers are using these new approaches to orchestrate campaigns targeting individuals designed to initiate the “path to purchase,” including promoting the idea to buy and then facilitating and measuring buying and post-consumption behaviors. Leading food and beverage marketers, their agencies, and digital marketing specialists are explicitly designing and implementing campaigns through neuromarketing efforts to influence emotional and subconscious brain processing. All of these developments are occurring in a still-early stage for digital marketing. Given the growing investment in digital advertising, ensuring that personalized interactive marketing is a core component of the new media landscape, what finally emerges in the next several years will have a significant public impact, especially on youth.

Moreover, research on behalf of food brands is a global effort, as the major digital marketing companies promote products to youth throughout the world. The market research infrastructure is a global phenomenon in which companies test out ideas appropriate to the local cultural context in order to maximize worldwide profits. Brands are delivering campaigns using many digital applications in Asia, Europe, and other regions. 64 As they demonstrate the power of these techniques, these practices will eventually be introduced into the U.S.

We also examined industry-wide studies that will have an impact on and public policy. For example, digital marketing researchers have engaged in studies of the emerging issue of “brand safety,” This recent trend, in which brands can better determine where their ads should be specifically shown as well as contexts that should be avoided, has implications for both regulation and research. 65 Advocates have already raised concerns with the FTC about the growing ability of digital marketers to use “real-time bidding” to specifically target a young consumer. Such practices raise important privacy and consumer protection issues. 66

If unaddressed by public health advocates and policymakers, the far-reaching capabilities of digital marketing will likely exacerbate the current obesity epidemic. Groups already at risk, such as youth of color, will be subject to increasingly sophisticated pinpoint targeting for high-fat, high-salt, sugary foods in their communities, in social settings, and on their personal electronic devices. Multiple viral marketing campaigns will be unleashed that could drive consumption of obesity-related foods. Through the use of measures designed to bypass or undermine rational decision-making, especially in adolescents, the brain itself could become more aligned with the goals of marketers.

Limitations

The research gathered and analyzed for this report provides a window into the food and beverage industry’s latest marketing techniques and inquiries about their effects. We have also tracked and analyzed digital marketing research in other product categories, including financial services and pharmaceutical and health products. In addition, we have surveyed the industry as a whole, including developments occurring in the European Union and Asia-Pacific markets. 67 The findings reported by the food and beverage companies, as well as the work they have commissioned or support, are in line with other product categories and global markets. Marketers understand the changes in media consumption and use. In 2010, digital ad revenues in the U.S. surpassed newspaper ad expenditures for the first time, for example. 68

However, we do caution that individual research reports, especially from companies promoting their products and applications, may overstate or over-generalize the actual impact of a specific campaign or technique. It is possible that companies such as Microsoft, which has a large stake in seeing its digital ad business grow, may provide a more optimistic analysis of its many food and beverage campaigns around the world. There is also a great deal of proprietary and specialized research that we have not been able to access, which perhaps includes analyses of the limitations or problems of relying on digital marketing.

We have access only to what marketers are willing to disseminate publicly; the real extent and effectiveness of new research and campaigns informed by the latest industry findings remain under wraps. But every indication is that digital marketing is transforming all of advertising, and communication in general, having a profound impact on individual and community behavior. It is the focus of significant investment in research and development to expand its capabilities, and is being actively deployed by the leading brands, agencies, and marketing companies. 69

This report and its accompanying online archive of industry research reports and case studies are designed both to serve as a resource for the field and also to help foster a broader discussion within the community of public health advocates and researchers focused on youth obesity. Along with related work done by the investigators and colleagues in developing a conceptual framework and research agenda to address food marketing in the digital era, this report, we believe, builds a foundation to support new and collaborative scholarly and public education efforts. 70 We encourage researchers and advocates to review and assess the materials assembled for this report, which should lead to more informed strategies for further research and debate. Ongoing efforts to collect industry’s marketing research will both create a record of how food marketers have used digital technologies and help the field keep abreast of the latest developments.

Finally, we suggest that funders, policymakers, and researchers informed by this report and its accompanying archive of materials work to minimize the impact of digital food and beverage marketing. If we are to avoid a continuing public health crisis in youth obesity, the field must better understand and respond to what we have described in this project.

Authored by Jeff Chester, Center for Digital Democracy; Andrew Cheyne, Berkeley Media Studies Group; and Lori Dorfman, Berkeley Media Studies Group

Report prepared May 31, 2011 for digitalads.org . Find the database of industry research documents discussed in this report online at digitalads.org .

Acknowledgements The authors thank Gary O. Larson for his assistance with the project.

Sponsored by The Healthy Eating Research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant ID #66966

1. J. M. McGinnis, J. A. Gootman, and V. I. Kraak, eds., Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity? (Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine, 2005).

2. Although online spending is still a relatively modest percentage of food industry overall U.S. ad expenditures, it is increasingly regarded as one of the most cost-effective ways to reach and engage young people. Unlike a traditional ad buy on television, a more modest amount of money can buy millions of online ad “impressions.” For example, Nielsen reported that just for the period of March 2-March 8, 2009, Kraft Foods, General Mills, and Unilever delivered 77 million, 62 million, and 54 million online ad impressions, respectively. Nielsen AdRelevance, “Data Glance: Leading CPG Advertisers, March 9-15, 2009, http://www.adrelevance.com/intelligence/intel_dataglance.jsp?flash=true&sr=36810 . ConAgra, Mars, Pepsi, Burger King and Yum Brands all increased their Internet display spending in 2007 from the previous year. But due to the nature of Internet marketing, actual expenditures do not necessarily reflect the impact of an ad or a campaign, especially when it involves social media marketing, user-generated ads, and other forms of peer-to-peer creation and transmission, which are very inexpensive to implement. “100 Leading National Advertisers,” Advertising Age, 23 June 2008, http://adage.com/datacenter/article?article_id=127791 . See also “Internet Advertising Revenues at $5.5 Billion in Q1 ’09,” IAB, 5 June 2009, http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/pr-060509 (all viewed 7 June 2009).

3. Nielsen Company, “How Teens Use Media: A Nielsen Report on the Myths and Realities of Teen Media Trends,” June 2009, http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/reports/nielsen_howteensusemedia_june09.pdf (viewed 24 Sept. 2009); V. J. Rideout, U. G. Foehr, and D. F. Roberts, “Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-year-olds,” Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010, http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf (viewed 28 Dec. 2010).

4. Futurescape, “How Connected Television Transforms the Business of TV,” 2010, p. 5, http://www.futurescape.tv/connected-television-white-paper.html (registration required).

5. See, for example, Advertising Research Foundation, “Current ARF Research Initiatives,” http://www.thearf.org/assets/research-initiatives (viewed 12 May 2011).

6. IAB, “Research Case Studies,” http://www.iab.net/insights_research/1672/1678/1690 (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

7. Tetherball, “McDonald’s Snack Wrap Mac Campaign,” http://www.tetherball360.com/files/McDonalds_Case_Study.pdf (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

8. Stephan Knble, “Benchmarking: The Great Leap Forward,” GfK Consumer Tracking, May 2010, http://www.yasni.com/ext.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.googleusercontent.com%2Fexternal_content%2Funtrusted_dlcp%2Fwww.google.com%2Fen%2Fus%2Fgoogleblogs%2Fpdfs%2Fgfk_germany_benchmarking_projects.pdf&name=+Knble&cat=document&showads=1 (viewed 12 May 2011).

9. “Sprite and 360i Awarded for Best Social Engagement Campaign at the 2009 DPAC Awards,” 360i Digital Connections, 14 Dec. 2009, http://blog.360i.com/360i-news/sprite-360i-receive-top-honors-2009- dpac-awards (viewed 20 May 2011).

10. Zemoga, “Cheezdoodles.com Case Study,” 2009.

11. Jeffrey Bardzell, Shaowen Bardzell, and Tyler Pace, “Design Lessons from User Generated Content: An Analysis of User Generated Internet Video and Flash Animations,” OTOinsights, http://www.slideshare.net/OnetoOneInteractive/design-lessons-from-user-generated-content-an-analysisof-user-generated-internet-video-and-flash-animations (viewed 20 May 2011).

12. MTV Networks Digital, “Subway ‘Fresh Buzz’ Social-Media Initiative: Insights from MTVN Digital & Meteor Solutions,” Feb. 2010, http://mtvndigital.com/news/pdfs/MTVND-Social.pdf (viewed 20 May 2011).

13. PointRoll, “Supervalu Drives in-Store Grocery Sales with Localized Expandable Rich Media Ad Campaign,” Mar. 2011, https://thesource.shoplocal.com/download/attachments/156959660/PointRoll_Case+Study_SUPERVALU+_03_2011.pdf?version=2&modificationDate=1300382063327 (viewed 20 May 2011).

14. One to One, “Quantemo Delivers a Single Quantitative Measure of Engagement,” http://www.onetooneglobal.com/insight/quantemo/what-is-quantemo/ (viewed 20 May 2011).

15. Jeff Zabin, “Coke’s New Marketing Platform Bubbles to the Surface,” ViewPoints, Fall 2006/Winter 2007, http://www.edmblog.com/weblog/files/MyCokeRewards.pdf (viewed 20 May 2011).

16. Microsoft Advertising, “Advertise,” http://advertising.microsoft.com/asia/advertise (viewed 20 May 2011).

17. Advertising Research Foundation, “The Advertising Research Foundation Develops Standards For NeuroMarketing Research,” 22 Mar. 2011, http://www.thearf.org/assets/pr-2011-03-21 (viewed 20 May 2011).

18. Microsoft Advertising, “Online Measures of Brand Engagement: Dwell Times Hold the Key to Success,” 3 August 2011, http://advertising.microsoft.com/europe/dwell-on-branding (viewed 20 May 2011).

19. Yahoo Labs, “Bangalore, India,” http://labs.yahoo.com/Yahoo_Labs_Bangalore (viewed 20 May 2011).

20. Communispace, “Frucor,” http://www.communispace.com/clients/clientdetail.aspx?id=636 (viewed 20 May 2011).

21. IAB, “McDonald’s/IAB Cross Media Optimization,” 21 Oct 2002, http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/4585 (viewed 20 May 2011).

22. Coca-Cola, “My Coke Rewards: Enter Your Code,” http://www.mycokerewards.com/enterCode.do (viewed 20 May 2011).

23. Acxiom, “Case Study: Yahoo: Turning Browsing Habits into Targeted, Large Scale Webvertising,” 2010, http://www.acxiom.nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/White_Papers/UK_YAHOO!_CASE%20STUDY.pdf ; Advertising Research Foundation, “Media Measurement in the Digital Age Forum,” http://www.thearf.org/assets/media-measurement-digital-forum (both viewed 20 May 2011).

24. GfK Media Efficiency Panel, “Marketing Mix Evaluator: Cadbury’s Chocolate Charmer Campaign Results,” July 2010, http://www.scribd.com/doc/45468533/Cadbury-Campaign-Results-Dec-2010 (viewed 15 Apr. 2011).

25. GfK Group, “Cross-media Increases Sales Significantly: GfK, Coca-Cola and Google Unlock the Secrets of Sales Effects from Cross-media Campaign Components,” 17 Apr. 2009, http://www.gfk.com/group/press_information/press_releases/003844/index.en.html (viewed 20 May 2011).

26. Jeff Cole, “How We Developed Our Global Social Listening Strategy,” BlogWell, 2 Feb. 2011, http://www.slideshare.net/GasPedal/blogwell-austin-social-media-case-study-kellogg-company-presentedby-jeff-cole (viewed 20 May 2011).

27. “Study by AOL’s Platform-A and OMD Finds that Today’s ‘Supermoms’ Pack 27 Hours of Activities Into 16-Hour Waking Day,” 22 Sept. 2008, http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080922005512/en/Study-AOLs-Platform-A-OMD-Finds-Todays-Supermoms (viewed 20 May 2011).

28. “MOBI 2009 Best Of Show / Winner: Best Mobile Creative / Finalist: Best Mobile Branding: Fanta, Millennial Media,” DM2Pro, 2 Sept. 2009, http://www.dm2pro.com/articles/20090902_1 (viewed 20 May 2011).

29. Effie Awards, “Winners Showcase: Snack Strong Productions,” 2008, http://www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2008/2772 (viewed 20 May 2011).

30. AOL Advertising, “Audiences/Teens,” http://advertising.aol.com/audiences/teens (viewed 20 May 2011).

31. “NeuroFocus Receives Grand Ogilvy Award from The Advertising Research Foundation,” 2 Apr. 2009, http://www.neurofocus.com/news/ogilvy_neurofocus.htm (viewed 20 May 2011).

32. Advertising Research Foundation, “Youth Council,” http://www.thearf.org/assets/youth-council (viewed 20 May 2011).

33. Microsoft Advertising, “Reaching Youth,” http://advertising.microsoft.com/uk/reaching-youth (viewed 20 May 2011).

34. Facegroup, “Coca-Cola Project Youth Hijack,” http://www.facegroup.co.uk/casestudies/cocacola%E2%80%99s-core-fizzy-range-coke-hijack (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

35. Verizon, “What is FiOS TV?” http://promo.verizon.com/omk/fios.shtml (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

36. Facebook, “Facebook Ads: Case Studies,” http://www.facebook.com/FacebookAds?v=app_7146470109 ; “SAMMY 2010 Best Branded Social Media Video and Social Cross-Media Finalist: Kellogg Co. / Pop-Tarts,” DM2PRO, 22 Aug. 2010, http://www.dm2pro.com/articles/20100823_2? (both viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

27. Navteq, “Domino’s Pizza,” http://navteqmedia.com/mobile/case-studies/dominos ; Navteq, “McDonald’s,” http://navteqmedia.com/mobile/case-studies/mcdonalds (both viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

38. Robbie Hills, “Presenting Sponsor–RockYou,” iMedia Connection, 3 May 2010, http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits/coverage/26617.asp ; Microsoft Advertising, “DigitalAdvertising Solutions,” http://advertising.microsoft.com/asia/WWDocs/Asia/ForAdvertisers/MS_advertising_APAC%20v5_090610.pdf (both viewed 15 Apr. 2011).

39. Yahoo Research, “Computational Advertising,” http://research.yahoo.com/Computational_Advertising (viewed 21 May 2011).

40. Advertising Research Foundation, “2009 ARF David Ogilvy Awards Winners–Cheetos, NBA and Obama for America,” http://www.thearf.org/assets/feature-ogilvy-09-winners (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

41. See, for example, Esomar, “Neuroscience–Theory and Application: Extending Consumer Understanding,” Esomar Summer Academy, Amsterdam, 8 June 2011, http://www.esomar.org/index.php/events-summer-workshop-academy-2011-seminar.html ; “Social Media Analytics: Tracking, Modeling and Predicting the Flow of Information through Networks,” KDD 2011 Tutorial, Stanford University, http://snap.stanford.edu/proj/socmedia-kdd/ (both viewed 16 May 2011).

42. Web Analytics Association, “The Official WAA Definition of Web Analytics,” http://www.webanalyticsassociation.org/?page=aboutus (viewed 21 May 2011).

43. “BlogWell Austin Social Media Case Study: Kellogg Company, presented by Jeff Cole,” http://www.slideshare.net/GasPedal/blogwell-austin-social-media-case-study-kellogg-company-presentedby-jeff-cole ; Radian6, http://www.radian6.com/ ; Cymfony, “About Us,” http://www.cymfony.com/About-Us/About-US ; Alterian, http://socialmedia.alterian.com/ (all viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

44. Jon Gibs and Sean Bruich, “Nielsen/Facebook Report: The Value of Social Media Ad Impressions,” Nielsen Blog, 20 Apr. 2010, http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/nielsenfacebook-adreport/ (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

45. comScore, “The Proof for Branding Online,” http://www.slideshare.net/ARBOinteractivePolska/theproof-for-branding-online ; Advertising Research Foundation, “ARF 360 Media & Marketing Super Council: Full Council–Kickoff Meeting,” 19 Feb. 2010; Razorfish, “Feed: The Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Report 2009,” http://feed.razorfish.com/downloads/Razorfish_FEED09.pdf (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

46. GfK Media Efficiency Panel, “Marketing Mix Evaluator: Cadbury’s Chocolate Charmer Campaign Results,” July 2010, http://www.scribd.com/doc/45468533/Cadbury-Campaign-Results-Dec-2010 (viewed 15 Apr. 2011).

47. Knble, “Benchmarking: The Great Leap Forward”; Microsoft Advertising, “Check Out–An ROI Analysis of the FMCG Sector,” http://advertising.microsoft.com/uk/online-research-fmcg-check-out (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

48. PointRoll, “SUPERVALU Drives In-Store Grocery Sales with Localized Expandable Rich Media Ad Campaign,” https://thesource.shoplocal.com/display/PRRC/SUPERVALU+Case+Study (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

49. Vitrue, “Anatomy of a Facebook Post: Vitrue’s Data Behind Effective Social Media Marketing,” 21 Sept. 2010, http://vitrue.com/blog/2010/09/21/anatomy-of-a-facebook-post-vitrue%E2%80%99s-data-behindeffective-social-media-marketing/ ; Eyeblaster, “Using Dwell to Measure Advertising Effectiveness,” Benchmark Insights, May 2010, http://www.mediamind.com/Data/Uploads/ResourceLibrary/Eyeblaster_Research_Global_Benchmark_Insights_May_2010.pdf (both viewed 15 Apr. 2011).

50. Effie Awards, “Winners Showcase: Snack Strong Productions,” 2008, http://www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2008/2772 ; “Doritos/iD3,” Contagious Magazine, http://www.contagiousmagazine.com/2009/08/doritos_2.php (both viewed 15 Apr. 2011).

51. VideoEgg, “Maximizing Brand Lift with Online Advertising,” 2010, http://www.wpp.com/wpp/marketing/digital/maximising-brand-lift.htm (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

52. Microsoft Advertising, “Doritos Drives Brand Engagement with Custom Xbox Games,” 1 Apr. 2011, http://advertising.microsoft.com/doritos-xbox-live-games (viewed 15 Apr. 2011).

53. OMD and AOL, “Living La Vida Rapida: Today’s Parents Living a Double Life at Double Time–Focus on Global Moms,” http://advertising.aol.com/research/white-papers/living-la-vida-rapida ; Effie Awards, Winners Showcase 2010: Only in a Woman’s World,” http://www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2010/4576 ; Anne Massey and Johanna Campbell, “Listening To A New Generation: How Frucor Is Leveraging A Private Online Community To Understand The Gen Y Mindset,” iMedia Connection, Sept. 2009, http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits/coverage/24449.asp ; Facegroup, “Coca-Cola Project Youth Hijack,” http://www.facegroup.co.uk/casestudies/coca-cola%E2%80%99s-core-fizzy-range-coke-hijack (all viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

54. Advertising Research Foundation, “Journal of Advertising Research–September 2010,” http://www.thearf.org/assets/pubs-jar-preview-sept-2010 (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

55. Ray B. Williams, “Is Social Networking Changing Tribal Behavior?” Psychology Today, 24 Jan. 2011, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201101/is-social-networking-changing-tribalbehavior (viewed 21 May 2011).

56. Pew Research Center, Internet & American Life Project, http://www.pewinternet.org/ ; Kaiser Family Foundation, “Daily Media Use Among Children and Teens Up Dramatically from Five Years Ago,” 20 Jan. 2010, http://www.kff.org/ntmedia/entmedia012010nr.cfm (both viewed 26 Apr. 2011). See also M. Ito, H. A. Horst, & M. Bittanti, et al., “Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project,” The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning, 2008; M. Ito, et al., Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009); E. S. Moore and V. J. Rideout, “The Online Marketing of Food to Children: Is it Just Fun and Games?” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 6, n. 2 (2007): 202-220; E. S. Moore, “It’s Child’s Play: Advergaming and the Online Marketing of Food to Children,” 2006, http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/7536.pdf (viewed 2 Oct. 2008) For an in-depth examination of the implications of the new media techniques on research, see Kathryn Montgomery, Sonya Grier, Jeff Chester, and Lori Dorfman, “Food Marketing in the Digital Age: A Conceptual Framework and Agenda for Research,” 1 Apr. 2011, http://digitalads.org/reports.php (viewed 17 Apr. 2011).

57. AOL, “Three Screen Nation,” 2009, http://advertising.aol.com/sites/default/files/webfm/research/AOL_Teens_Study.pdf (viewed 15 Apr. 2011).

58. Microsoft Advertising, “Understanding the Digital Youth Audience,” http://advertising.microsoft.com/uk/reaching-youth (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

59. Advertising Research Foundation, “The ARF 2011 David Ogilvy Awards,” 22 Mar. 2011, http://rethink.thearf.org/pages/ogilvy_awards (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

60. Fico, “Success Story: Marketing,” http://www.fico.com/en/FIResourcesLibrary/Coke_Success_2520CS.pdf (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

61. Lotame, “Case Studies,” http://www.lotame.com/resources/casestudies/ ; IMC2, “Primer: DriveBrand Engagement through Facebook,” http://www.imc2.com/pdf/library/DRIVEBRAND_Facebook_Primer.pdf (both viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

62. GfK Group, “GfK and Kantar Partner to Offer a Breakthrough,” 27 July 2010, http://www.gfkamerica.com/newsroom/press_releases/single_sites/006273/index.en.html ; GfK Group, “Cross-media Increases Sales Significantly,” 17 Apr. 2009, http://www.gfk.com/group/press_information/press_releases/003844/index.en.html (both viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

63. A. C. Nielsen, “Understanding the Path to Purchase,” Mar. 2006, http://it.nielsen.com/trends/documents/ESOMAR_Auto_paper.pdf (viewed 12 May 2011).

64. Microsoft has established one of its “labs” for data mining and ads in Beijing; Yahoo’s Bangalore facility in India works on “computational advertising”; and Google has an extensive global ad research apparatus that includes the funding outside scholars.

65. “Transparency, ‘Brand Safety’ Concerns Inhibiting U.S. Online Display Advertising Spending by as Much as $2 Billion Annually,” 14 Apr. 2010, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/transparency-brandsafety- concerns-inhibiting-us-online-display-advertising-spending-by-as-much-as-2-billion-annually- 90824309.html (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

66. See, for example, Center for Digital Democracy, “CDD and USPIRG Urge Commerce Department to Protect Consumers Online,” 28 Jan. 2011, http://www.democraticmedia.org/cdd-and-uspirg-urgecommerce-department-protect-consumers-online

67. See, for example, Center for Digital Democracy, U.S. PIRG, and World Privacy Forum, “In the Matter of Real-time Targeting and Auctioning, Data Profiling Optimization, and Economic Loss to Consumers and Privacy, Complaint, Request for Investigation, Injunction, and Other Relief: Google, Yahoo, PubMatic, TARGUSinfo, MediaMath, eXelate, Rubicon Project, AppNexus, Rocket Fuel, and Others Named Below,” Federal Trade Commission filing, 8 Apr. 2010, http://www.democraticmedia.org/real-time-targeting (viewed 29 Apr. 2011); Center for Digital Democracy, U.S. PIRG, Consumer Watchdog, and World Privacy Forum, “In the Matter of Online Health and Pharmaceutical Marketing that Threatens Consumer Privacy and Engages in Unfair and Deceptive Practices. Complaint, Request for Investigation, Public Disclosure, Injunction, and Other Relief: Google, Microsoft, QualityHealth, WebMD, Yahoo, AOL, HealthCentral, Healthline, Everyday Health, and Others Named Below,” Federal Trade Commission Filing, 23 November 2010, http://www.democraticmedia.org/sites/default/files/2010-11-19-FTC-Pharma-Filing.pdf (viewed 15 May 2011).

68. Natasha Singer, “Privacy Groups Fault Online Health Sites for Sharing User Data With Marketers,” New York Times, 23 Nov. 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/business/24drug.html ; IAB, “IAB Reports Full-Year Internet Ad Revenues for 2010 Increase 15% to $26 Billion, a New Record,” 13 Apr. 2011, http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/pr- 041311 (all viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

69. Advertising Research Foundation, “The ARF 2011 David Ogilvy Awards Winners and Case Studies,” http://www.thearf.org/assets/ogilvy-11-winners ; Advertising Research Foundation, “The ARF 2011 Great Mind Awards Winners,” http://www.thearf.org/assets/great-mind-11-winners (both viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

70. Center for Digital Democracy, “Digital Ads: Reports,” http://www.digitalads.org/reports.php (viewed 14 Apr. 2011).

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Food and social media: a research stream analysis

• Open access
• Published: 18 February 2023
• Volume 74 , pages 1145–1183, ( 2024 )

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• Ruth Areli García-León   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8984-2348 1 &
• Thorsten Teichert   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2044-742X 1  

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Interest in food and online communication is growing fast among marketing and business scholars. Nevertheless, this interest has been not exclusive to these areas. Researchers from different disciplines have focused their research on different concepts, target populations, approaches, methodologies, and theoretical backgrounds, making this growing body of knowledge richer, but at the same time difficult to analyze. In order to have a broader overview of this topic, this study analyzes the existent literature regarding food and social media in social sciences in order to identify the main research streams and themes explored. With this purpose, the present paper uses bibliometric methods to analyze 1356 journal articles by means of factor and social network analysis. The study contributes by revealing 4 clusters containing 11 dominant research streams within the social sciences, determining the linkages among the main research discourses, and recommending new future topics of research.

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1 Introduction

Food and social media is highly a controversial topic. While some studies point out that the use of social media can be associated with an increase of unhealthy food intake and Body Mass Index (BMI) (Coates et al. 2019a ; Khajeheian et al. 2018 ), other studies, as well as the OECD and the American Heart Association suggest that the use of social media could be used to sensitize the population regarding obesity and to promote public health regarding food (Chau et al. 2018 ; Li et al. 2013 ; OECD 2017 ).

People use the World Wide Web and social media to seek and share information, for social interaction, and to be part of a social network (Kavanaugh et al. 2005 ; Whiting and Williams 2013 ). Billions of opinions are shared on social networks every day (Mostafa 2019 ), breaking barriers across geographical distance and bringing people closer (Rimjhim et al. 2020 ). Social networks and online communities facilitate consumer-to-consumer communication (Sloan et al. 2015 ), and influence consumers’ opinions, attitudes, consumption experiences, brand perceptions, purchasing decisions, as well as post-purchase communication and evaluation, among others (Jansen et al. 2009 ; Mangold and Faulds 2009 ; Teichert et al. 2020 ).

The rapid growth of online communication among consumers has increased academic interest in electronic word of mouth (e-WOM). Zinko et al. ( 2021 ) define e-WOM as the “web-mediated exchange of information which occurs when one person tells another about their experience with a service or product” (p. 526). E-WOM includes blogs, online reviews, ratings, messages posted on online groups, and social media posts (Hennig-Thurau and Walsh 2003 ). Either as a topic of consumer health, sustainability, or as an opportunity for management development, studies regarding food and social media are gaining importance. Scholars from different disciplines have used different approaches, methodologies, theoretical backgrounds, and populations targets to address this topic. Additionally, due to the novelty of some internet-based communication tools, and the rapid emergence of additional ones, new concepts, definitions, and approaches are emerging too, making this growing body of knowledge difficult to explore.

Although the scope of food and social media research has partly been disclosed in literature reviews, these focus on a particular sub-segment of food consumption, a specific target population, area of research, research method, or a specific new technology or social media. For example, Chau et al. ( 2018 ) centered their research on the role of social media in nutrition interventions for adolescents and young adults. Rounsefell et al. ( 2020 ) explored the impact of social media exposure to image-content on body image and food choices in young adults. Chapman et al. ( 2014 ) analyzed literature regarding the use of social media for public health communication in order to explore the potential of social media as a tool to combat foodborne illness. De Veirman et al. ( 2019 ) studied the persuasive power of social media influencers over young children. Dute et al. ( 2016 ) examined literature regarding the promotion of physical activity, healthy nutrition, and overweight prevention among adolescents and students, through mobile apps. Allman-Farinelli and Gemming ( 2017 ) explored the state of the art in dietary assessment, using smartphone and digital technology regarding technology mediated interventions for dietary change. Tao et al. ( 2020 ) studied the use of text mining as a big data analysis tool for food science and nutrition. And Ventura et al. ( 2021 ) analyzed the topic of food in social media from a consumer-oriented point of view. However, there are no studies offering a general overview of a broad sample of articles within the social sciences regarding food and the use of social media.

Given this, the aim of this paper is to provide a broad bibliometric review for marketing and business scholars, companies, and organizations on past and current research regarding food and social media within the social sciences, in order to reveal the main addressed topics, as well as for suggesting future topics of research in this field of knowledge. To achieve the results, this research uses the co-word analysis of Keywords. Co-word analysis (Callon et al. 1983 ) is a type of bibliometric method which seeks to find connections among concepts that co-occurs in document abstracts, titles, or keywords as assessed by the authors (Zupic and Čater 2015 ). By conducting a co-word analysis of keywords, the present study aims to reveal the main research streams regarding food and social media studied in the social sciences. First, statistical analyses are applied to identify research streams as well as their interconnections in an objective manner. Single research streams are then analyzed in detail by a manual inspection of their key publications. Focal issues of past and current research are highlighted and opportunities for future research are identified.

2 Methodology

2.1 co-word analysis.

One of the most used bibliometric methods is co-citation analysis. Nevertheless, while co-citation analysis connects documents, authors, or journals in order to find the intellectual structure, the knowledge base, or influences on a research field (Small 1977 ; Zupic and Čater 2015 ) the co-word analysis uses the actual words contained in documents to determine relationships among concepts that represent a conceptual space of a field (Zupic and Čater 2015 ). In co-citation analysis, it is assumed that the more two items are cited together, the more likely is that their content is related, and since it takes time to accumulate citations, the analysis reflects the state of the field in the past and not how it could look now or tomorrow (Zupic and Čater 2015 ). In this regard, the co-word analysis offers a more actual state of the field since authors choose the words, concepts, titles, and keywords that best represent their studies. In their articles, authors construct different realities linking scientific and technical concepts that are shared by a specific research community (Callon et al. 1983 ). Therefore, the co-word analysis is more content-driven than the co-citation analysis.

The main target of this analysis is the keywords contained in the articles since keywords are chosen by the authors because they represent in a few words, the main content of the study. Web of Science database (WoS) is frequently used for bibliometric studies in management and organization, and it contains different valuable bibliographical data for indexed documents that include title, article type, authors, keywords, keywords plus, abstract and subject categories or areas, among others (Zupic and Čater 2015 ). Besides the Author Keywords, WoS provides Keywords Plus. They are index terms automatically generated from the titles of cited articles in an article that augment traditional keyword retrieval (Clarivate 2020 ). Therefore, this research analyzes the Author Keywords and the Keywords Plus provided by WoS.

2.2 Identification of literature

The search of documents was made on WoS by using a Keywords string containing the main concepts related to the objective of the research (see Fig.  1 for the overall design, search string, and interim steps taken). Although most of the well-known social media such as Youtube or Twitter appeared in the 2000s, some authors consider that the development of social media started during the 80 s with the introduction of USENET, a type of internet discussion system, real-time online chat services such as Compu Serve’s CB Simulator (1980), the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) (1988), or AOL’s chat rooms (1989) (Edosomwan et al. 2011 ; Lake 2009 ; Sajithra and Patil 2013 ). Others establish this development in the 90 s when the World Wide Web became public and web blogs, list-servers, and e-mail services allowed users to form online communities exploding networked communication (Simonova et al. 2021 ; van Dijck 2013 ). Therefore, in order to have a broader number of articles and consequently a broader scope regarding food and social media research in Social Sciences, the timespan 1990 to 2021 and the citation indexes Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) were used as limiters. The ESCI extends the scope of publications of WoS by including around 3,000 peer-reviewed publications that although they are not yet recognized internationally, meet the WoS high-quality criteria (Francis 2021 ). Besides, Articles, Reviews, or Early Access articles were included in order to capture the most recent published works. Early Access articles in WoS Core Collection are fully indexed articles that the publisher makes available online in a nearly final state (e.g. Articles in Press, Published Ahead of Print, Online First, etc.), they lack publication date, volume, issue, and page number (Clarivate 2021 ).

Sample generation process by steps

With this information, an initial database of 1400 records was created on July, 20 of 2021. Nevertheless, only articles containing Author Keywords and/or Keywords Plus were included; therefore, 29 articles without author Keywords and Keywords Plus were removed. In the end, just 1371 were included in the next analysis.

A first analysis of Keywords contained in the 1371 articles was made by using the KHCoder, a text-mining and text-analysis application ( https://khcoder.net/en/ ). To avoid the analysis of joined words separately, a total of 31 words strings, also called Force Pick Up Words, were chosen to extract different words as one concept (e.g. qualitative_research, corporate_social_responsibility) (see Table S1 in Supplementary material). The word frequency list revealed a total of 3,716 keywords and a total of 21,027 mentions. In order to include just the most representative concepts in the analysis, just concepts mentioned more than 5 times were included. Hence, just 655 Keywords representing 75.81% of all mentions were included in the second analysis.

The second step was an analysis of concepts, conducted by both researchers, in order to find similarities among words due to meaning, writing differences, use of abbreviations, or use of signs to unite words.

After this analysis, a list of 413 Keywords or “code words” containing the initial 655 Keywords was generated (the complete list of words and code words (*) could be seen in Table S2 in Supplementary material). This list of code words was introduced to KHCoder in order to generate a crosstab containing the concepts included in every article. As a result, 15 articles containing none of the 413 Keywords were discarded for further analysis.

2.3 Data analysis

The data were analyzed by using the package UCINET 6 (Borgatti et al. 2002 ), one of the most used software for network visualization (Zupic and Čater 2015 ), in order to generate an overall concept co-occurrence matrix. By executing a core-periphery analysis the core keywords contained in the food and social media literature were separated from the periphery keywords. The stable solution was found in 50 iterations (fitness = 0.609).

Then, a factor analysis was conducted using SPSS in order to group keywords based on their co-occurrences. Factor analysis can determine which indicators, in this case, keywords, may be grouped together. Factor analysis is known as a data reduction technique (Sallis et al. 2021 ). In order to identify groups of bibliometric data, researchers have used different statistical techniques such as factor analysis, cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, or multivariate analysis (Chen et al. 2016 ; Leydesdorff and Welbers 2011 ; Ravikumar et al. 2015 ; Wang et al. 2012 ; Yang et al. 2012 ), although, for practical use, some authors have not found a difference between cluster analysis and factor analysis (Lee and Jeong 2008 ).

The use of factor analysis has a long tradition in co-word analysis. Considered a quantitative form of content analysis, it can substitute commonly practiced techniques for content analysis, providing precision and validity in the resulting categories while investing less time and resources (Leydesdorff and Welbers 2011 ; Simon and Xenos 2004 ). Many studies have used factor analysis in co-word analysis as a reliable method to discover linkages among scientific documents. For example, by using the words contained in the titles and abstracts of research articles, Leydesdroff ( 1989 ) used factor analysis and cluster analysis to find linkages among biochemistry documents. Leydesdorff and Hellsten ( 2005 ) studied words related to stem-cell by using factor analysis. Leydesdorff and Zhou ( 2008 ) used factor analysis to analyze words of journal titles using Chinese characters. Wang et al. ( 2014 ) analyzed keywords from core journals in the field of domestic knowledge discovery by using factor and cluster analysis. Yan et al. ( 2015 ) analyzed the intellectual structure of the field of the Internet of Things by means of factor and cluster analysis of keywords. Gan and Wang ( 2015 ) used factor analysis to map the intellectual structure of social media research in china by using keywords, and Sun and Teichert ( 2022 ) used factor analysis to study the research landscape of ‘scarcity’ by using author keywords.

In the specific application field of bibliometrics, the method identifies different research streams (Kuntner and Teichert 2016 ). By reducing the number of variables in a dataset, the factor analysis finds patterns and therefore, the underlying structure of the data (Wendler and Gröttrup 2016 ). There are different methods to extract factors. This study applied a principal component analysis (PCA) with an orthogonal factor rotation Varimax with Kaiser Normalization of 15 iterations. Varimax is a very popular rotation method in which each factor represents a small number of variables and each variable tends to be associated with one or a small number of factors (Abdi 2003 ). It enhances clarity, interpretability, and efficiency when distinguishing among the extracted factors (Simon and Xenos 2004 ). PCA finds the linear combination between indicators that extract the most variance in the data and uses both common and specific variance to extract a solution (Sallis et al. 2021 ). Therefore, in order to find the main research streams regarding food and social media, the number of variables (i.e. Keywords) was reduced to identify the underlying structure based on the overall variance. By performing factor analysis, determined keywords are assigned to determined factors based on their factor loadings. Factor loads (FL) inform about the representativeness of a determined keyword for a determined factor, and the usage of a keyword in a research stream (Kuntner and Teichert 2016 ; Sun and Teichert 2022 ). That means that the keywords assigned to one factor are more likely to co-occur than the keywords of other factors. Therefore, by using this method, factors were interpreted as single research streams.

As a result of the analysis, 12 factors emerged, which explain 51.175% of the total variance (see Table S3 in Supplementary material for the complete concepts per factor). Factor 11 was found to address issues related to the pharmaceutical industry and the Food and Drug Administration of United States (FDA) guidance documents. This factor was omitted in the further analysis, as it primarily addresses the pharmaceutical industry does not have a direct relationship with food and social media.

In order to further identify group similarities across research streams, a cluster analysis in SPSS was conducted. Cluster analysis finds natural groups present in the data, but hidden, by identifying important and defining properties (Sallis et al. 2021 ). This analysis revealed four main research clusters that the researchers named: Psychological Research Realm, Action-Oriented Research, Broader Communication Issues, and Service Industry Discourse (see Table 12 for a summary of research clusters and their characteristics).

3 Results and discussion

In the following, the four different clusters of research are explained in detail considering the most representative publications of every factor or research stream.

3.1 Psychological research realm

The Psychological Research Realm contains four research streams; therefore, it is the biggest of the four clusters. These research clusters address mainly, the impact of social media use on consumers. It includes the streams “online tools for healthy diet intervention programs,” “food and use of apps,” “online food advertising exposure,” and “social media and mental disorders.”

3.1.1 Research stream on “online tools for healthy diet intervention programs” (Factor 1)

The first research stream explains 18.94% of the variance of keyword relationships, indicating a research stream of first-highest distinction. While obesity and diet were the most often listed keywords (130 and 123 mentions), the research stream was best represented (in terms of factor loadings) by the keywords diet (FL = 0.922) , followed by intervention. Program, related to (physical) activity, nutrition, prevention, adult, overweight, and association constitute the remainders of the top ten keywords. An inspection of the remaining 103 keywords confirms this focus on application-oriented topics from the perspective of healthy diet interventions. Thus, this research stream clearly addresses the topic “use of online tools for healthy diet intervention programs.”

Representative publications of this research stream (see Table 1 ) reference each more than 14 keywords of factor 1. Regarding theories and conceptualizations, most of the articles refer to healthy diets and the use of online tools. Thus, an inclusive and shared research discourse can be diagnosed.

A closer look at these articles (selected by maximum number of referenced keywords) provides insights about the methods used, the online tools evaluated, as well as the types of insights gained from this research discourse (Table 1 right columns). These articles address the use of online tools for healthy diet intervention programs by using randomized and controlled trial groups, among others. The studies analyze the development of novel online tools as well as the efficacy of other healthy diet intervention tools.

The consumption of junk foods, fast foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and carbonated drinks and beverages is associated with higher body mass index in children and adolescents due to their high content of free sugar and energy (Gupta et al. 2019 ). In order to promote public health sensitizing the population regarding obesity, the use of social media and new technologies has been recommended by the OECD and the American Heart Association (Li et al. 2013 ; OECD 2017 ).

In this regard, this research stream contains protocols of novel internet-based intervention tools to promote healthy diets (Helle et al. 2017 ; Røed et al. 2019 ), as well evaluations about the effectivity of online tools for intervention programs, and for the delivery of healthy eating information and recipes, among others. Ahmad et al. ( 2020 ) evaluated the effect of the family-based intervention program (REDUCE) on children’s eating behaviors and dietary intake via face-to-face and social media by using Facebook and a WhatsApp group to deliver information about the intervention and as platforms of interaction and problem solving. The authors found small changes in consumption of unhealthy snacks, as well as fruits and vegetables, without clinical impact. Dumas et al. ( 2020 ) explored the effects of an evidence-informed healthy eating blog written by a registered dietitian, finding no effects on dietary intakes, food-related behaviors, and body weight.

While these former studies did not reveal a strong positive impact, there are other studies showing positive results. For example, with the aim of evaluating the value of social media for delivering healthy diet interventions, Chau et al. ( 2018 ) found that the majority of the studies associated with this topic, from 2006 to 2016, showed positive outcomes regarding the use of only basic social media features. Tobey et al. ( 2019 ) evaluated the success of the Food Hero marketing campaign and suggest that in order to disseminate recipes to low-income audiences through social marketing campaigns, is recommended to understand the target audience, to add healthy/customizable recipes to family “go-to” recipe rotations considering the generational influences on family meals, and to create websites that meet the target audience criteria (e.g. simple and visually interesting).

By delivering healthy diet interventions through social media or online tools, studies in this research stream targeted mainly parents. Future research might evaluate the efficacy of social media or novel online tools by targeting parents and children separately, and by delivering strategies designed for each group.

3.1.2 Research stream on “online food advertising exposure” (Factor 5)

Explaining 2.78% of the variance of keyword relationships, the fifth research stream indicates a research stream of fifth-highest distinction. Here, the most often mentioned keywords were marketing and advertising (82 and 63 mentions). However, in terms of factor loadings, the research stream was best represented by the keywords advertising (FL = 0.915) , followed by marketing. Exposure related to (unhealthy) food, television, advergame, beverage, celebrity, youtube, and endorsement constitute the remainders of the top ten keywords. The inspection of the remaining 14 keywords confirms the online advertising exposure approach. Thus, this research stream clearly addresses the topic “online food advertising exposure.”

Representative publications (see Table 2 ), selected by the highest number of reference keywords, reference each more than 6 keywords of factor 5, and address the concept of influencer marketing , and among other social media, they analyze mainly YouTube videos, sharing an inclusive research discourse.

A closer look at these articles reveals that four of six articles of this research stream were led by the same author. In general, the articles of this research stream address the exposure to food advertising online by means of content analysis, questionnaires, and multivariate analysis, among others.

Regarding food and beverage marketing content on social media, Kent et al. ( 2019 ) found that although children and adolescents are exposed to unhealthy food and beverage marketing on social media, adolescents were more highly exposed to food marketing than children through user‐generated, celebrity‐generated content, and other entertainment content. Regarding food and beverage products featured on YouTube videos of influencers who are popular with children, it was found that less healthy products were the most frequently featured, branded, presented in the context of eating out, described positively, not consumed, and featured as part of an explicit marketing campaign, than healthy products (Coates et al. 2019b ).

Studies in this research stream have proved the persuasive power of social media influencer promotion of food, and their impact on children’s food intake, even when including a protective disclosure, due to their credibility and familiarity with children. Some authors situate social media influencers as a new type of advertising source that combines the merits of e-WOM and celebrity endorsement (De Veirman et al. 2019 ). YouTubers featuring videos of food and beverages high in fat, sugar, and/or salt (HFSS) are valued highly by children because they are viewed to fulfill their needs. Children develop sympathetic attitudes towards YouTubers because they are not strangers to them (Coates et al. 2020 ). Children look up to popular influencers who have certain celebrity status and are willing to identify with them while taking on their lifestyles, attitudes, and beliefs. Therefore, (marketing) messages spread by them are perceived as highly credible WOM, rather than as advertising, due to their perceived authenticity (i.e., they have no commercial interests) (De Veirman et al. 2019 ).

It has been discovered that children exposed to influencer marketing in a YouTube video of a branded unhealthy snack (with and without an advertising disclosure) consumed more of the marketed snack and significantly increased intake of unhealthy snacks specifically whereas the equivalent marketing of healthy foods had no effect. Therefore, it has been concluded that influencer marketing increases children's immediate intake of the promoted snack, even when including a “protective” advertising disclosure, which does not reduce the effect of influencer marketing (Coates et al. 2019a , 2019c ). Results reveal that increasing the promotion of healthy foods on social media could not be an effective strategy to encourage healthy dietary behaviors in children (Coates et al. 2019c ).

In sum, most of the articles in this research stream address children and adolescents’ exposure to unhealthy food influencer marketing contained in YouTube videos. Further research could evaluate the use of influencer marketing on children for healthy food intake, not just in YouTube, but also in other video content social media like TikTok, or Instagram. Other studies could compare different target groups (e.g. adults, adolescents, and children) in different countries.

3.1.3 Research stream on “social media and mental disorders” (Factor 8)

The eights research stream explains 1.93% of the variance of keyword relationships, indicating a research stream of eight-highest distinction. The research stream was best represented (in terms of factor loadings) by the keywords depression (FL = 0.793) , followed by anxiety. The same words were, as well the most listed keywords (18 and 17 mentions) . Addiction, disorder, symptom, distress, psychological, stress, well-being, and personality constitute the remainders of the top ten keywords. An inspection of the remaining 6 keywords confirms this focus on application-oriented topics from the perspective of mental disorders. Thus, this research stream clearly addresses the topic “social media and mental disorders.”

Representative publications of this research stream (see Table 3 ) reference each more than 4 keywords of factor 8. Regarding theories and conceptualizations, although this research stream has not a leading theory, they analyze different mental disorders and their relationship with social media. Thus, an inclusive and shared research discourse can be diagnosed.

A closer look at these articles (selected by maximum number referenced keywords) provides insights about the methods applied and types of insights gained from this research discourse (Table 3 right columns). These articles address social media use and mental disorders by using questionnaires, addiction scales, and personality inventories, among others. Hence, antecedents and consequences of social media use and mental disorders are analyzed.

Regarding the antecedents of addictive behaviors, it was found that personality traits and gender, as well as certain mental disorders, are associated with different behavioral addictions. For example, the profiles “elevated levels of gaming and pornography addictions” as well as “highest levels of all addictions” are predominantly male, while the profile “elevated levels of study, Facebook, shopping, and food addictions” are almost exclusively female (Charzynska et al. 2021 ). Besides, it was concluded that “individuals higher in anxiety sensitivity/hopelessness used food or alcohol to cope which, in turn, significantly predicted unhealthy snacking, and hazardous drinking, respectively” (Reaves et al. 2019 , p. 921).

Regarding the use of social media and its impact on mental disorders, Kicali et al. ( 2021 ) found that although food addiction is associated with some personality traits, personal habits, and psychiatric symptoms, more than five hours a day of social media consumption hat a direct relationship with internet and eating addiction. Kircaburun et al. ( 2021 ) found that a Problematic YouTube Use (PYU), which refers to different activities like watching specific YouTube channels or viewing online video games, is associated with loneliness and depression. Other works in this research stream explored images shared on social media and their relationship with mental disorders. E.g., Bogolyubova et al. ( 2018 ) concluded that while in Russian language people shared more images of food with hashtags for stress, images of alcohol were associated with stress hashtags, and hashtags for fear were related to the “scary” in popular culture and not to psychological distress.

Other works in this research stream addressed the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on mental health. Bountress et al. ( 2021 ) determined that instead of a single overarching COVID-19 impact, there are discrete impacts of various COVID-related factors. Therefore, they suggest a five-factor COVID model (i.e. exposure, worry, housing/food instability, social media, substance use) which is able to predict the risk of mental health symptomology, as well as other adverse sequelae of the COVID-19 pandemic at large. On the other hand, Panno et al. ( 2020 ) confirmed that COVID-19 related distress is associated with alcohol problems, social media, and food addiction symptoms. Following this line of research, future research might explore further the use of social media for mental health.

3.1.4 Research stream on “food and the use of apps” (Factor 12)

The twelfth research stream explains 1.32% of the variance of keyword relationships, and is the research stream of twelfth-highest distinction. Mobile and adoption, were the most often listed keywords (24 mentions each). Nevertheless, the research stream was best represented (in terms of factor loadings) by the keywords application (FL = 0.621) , followed by mobile. The remainders of the top five words were (Smart)phone and app. A closer look at the main keywords confirms its orientation to application-oriented topics from the perspective of the use of apps, focusing clearly on the topic “food and the use of apps.”

Representative publications reference each more than 2 keywords of factor 12 (see Table 4 ). Although this research stream has not a leading theory, most of the articles investigate the topic of food and the use of apps, sharing an inclusive research discourse. The representative publications chosen by the highest number of referenced keywords (Table 4 right columns), address the use of apps in relation to food by means of literature review, questionnaires, and interviews, mainly. Among others, social media content, as well as antecedents, and contingencies regarding food tourism are analyzed.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) (e.g. internet; mobile technology; and social media platforms among others) influence the daily living activities of persons, specifically Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) (e.g. activities requiring complex problem solving, cognitive function, coordination, and scheduling) (Quamar et al. 2020 ). In this regard, children interact with and consume visual advertising when visiting sites or applications related to online gaming (23%), food and distribution (18%), entertainment (8%) and fashion (8%), and when using smartphones with Internet access, Chilean children receive 14 min per hour of use of visual advertising more than from other media, such as television (Feijoo-Fernandez et al. 2020 ).

Regarding the antecedents of the use of mobile phones and apps for service purposes, it was found that the adoption of services and apps is driven by individual’s mobile phone technology maturity and business development (Paas et al. 2021 ). An analysis of user’s feedback on Twitter of four prominent food delivery apps and app store reviews of these apps revealed that the main concerns of users are related to issues regarding customer service, orders, food, delivery, time, app, money, drivers, and restaurants (Williams et al. 2020 ). Regarding mobile dining (e.g. use smartphone apps, to find restaurants, to read food menus, to select food, and to order it) it was found that consumers’ purchase intention is shaped by perceived values (i.e. navigation system, review valence, credibility, as well as service, and food quality) (Shah et al. 2020 ).

Other studies explored the use of smartphone apps for healthy lifestyles and dietary change. While Allman-Farinelli and Gemming ( 2017 ) concluded that apps have proven to be effective for glycemic control but not yet regarding weight loss and food intake, other studies found that monitoring apps enable users to set targets and monitor themselves. Besides, it is possible to acquire tailored feedback, and subsequently to raise awareness and increase motivation regarding dietary intake and physical activity. Moreover, apps with incorporated social features, characterized as social media, facilitate social interaction and support, can provide social comparison and social support (Dute et al. 2016 ). Concerning the development of smartphone apps to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among disadvantaged young adults in nonurban settings or indigenous communities, Tonkin et al. ( 2017 ) identified the importance of design to facilitate comprehension, and that in order to increase satisfaction the use of social features such as audio, leader boards, games, and team challenges could be helpful.

Studies in this research stream explored the use of specific apps for service purposes or dietary change, in just one region or sample. Further research could conduct comparative studies among apps, with different target groups in different geographical areas or regions.

3.2 Action-oriented research

This research cluster analyzes the content of social media and its impact on consumers' food risk information seeking and perception, behavioral intention and buying of green products online, as well as food tourism for destination image and its promotion. It includes the research streams “online food risk communication,” “behavioral intention and buying online,” and “social media and food tourism.”

3.2.1 Research stream on “online food risk communication” (Factor 3)

This research stream of third-highest distinction explains 3.79% of the variance of keyword relationships. Communication and risk were the most often listed keywords accounting 151 and 102 mentions respectively. However, in terms of factor loading, it was best represented by the keywords ( food) safety (FL = 0.827) , followed by ( risk) communication. The remainders of the top ten keywords were the keywords public and (risk) perception related to safety, (food) risk, crisis, and amplification . The remaining 35 keywords indicate its focus on themes from the perspective of online communication, addressing clearly the topic “online food risk communication.”

Table 5 displays the representative publications of this research stream, which reference each more than 8 keywords of factor 3. Most of them address the risk communication concept, sharing therefore an inclusive research discourse. These articles address the topics of online media consumption and food risk by means of surveys and quantitative content analysis, among others. They focus mainly on the coverage of topics related to health risk, consumers´ food risk information seeking, and consumers´ risk perception.

Some studies in this research stream explore how online information sources cover different healthy risk themes. For example, during the 2008 Irish dioxin contamination of food, Shan et al. ( 2014 ) found that social media responded faster than traditional media, using offline and online media news messages as primary sources, in reporting limited topics. Related to the coverage of biological, chemical, nutritional food risks, and related safety issues, Tiozzo et al. ( 2020 ) discovered that the most widely covered topics were nutritional risks and news about outbreaks, controls, and alerts. Moreover, national sources covered food risks, especially during food emergencies whereas thematic sources devoted major attention to nutritional topics.

In regard to the antecedents of consumers’ online information seeking behavior, concerning food safety issues, Wu ( 2015 ) concluded that Facebook use intention is determined by risk perception, emotion, social trust, and support. Regarding Genetic Modification (GM) issues, (Hanssen et al. 2018 ) discovered that the frequency with which people seek information is low, and it is driven by a positive attitude toward science and technology, trust in organizations, negative trust in regulations, as well as by gender and educational level. As a tool for food safety risk, specifically, to combat foodborne illness, Chapman et al. ( 2014 ) identified that the use of social media could be helpful for public health and food safety risk, since social media provide access to real people´s discussions and feedback, allow communicators to reach people where they are, create communities, and can be used to build credibility by providing decision-making evidence.

Regarding risk perception, some studies in this research stream found that risk perception depends on the topics and the online source used by consumers. For example, mixed media have a stronger positive relationship regarding public risk perception (PRP), than traditional media or internet social media (Niu et al. 2022 ). And, in the case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), individuals exposed to more internet news had higher risk perceptions in terms of how BSE could affect themselves, while respondents exposed to social networking sites were concerned about how the disease could affect others (Moon and Shim 2019 ).

With most of the articles of this research stream addressing risk perception, or consumers’ food risk information seeking, further research could explore how social media could be used effectively for public health and food safety risk by using quantitative and qualitative methods of research.

3.2.2 Research stream on “behavioral intention and buying online” (Factor 4)

The fourth research stream explains 3.02% of the variance of keyword relationships, indicating a research stream of fourth-highest distinction. The research stream was best represented (in terms of factor loadings) by the keywords organic (FL = 0.765) , followed by purchase, although attitude and intention were the most often listed keywords (79 and 66 mentions) . Theory and (planed) behavior related to buying, food-intake , belief, and acceptance, were the remainders of the top ten keywords. As it can be confirmed by analyzing the remaining 20 keywords, the focus of this research stream relies on the perspective of behavioral intention, addressing thus the topic of “behavioral intention and buying online.”

Representative publications of this research stream (see Table 6 ), selected by the highest number of referenced keywords, contain each more than 7 keywords of factor 4. Addressing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and/or the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Ajzen and Fishbein 1980 ), most of the articles address the concept of “behavioral intention” regarding green, or organic products, showing an inclusive and shared research discourse.

With six of seven articles using TPB or TRA, this research stream addresses the topic of behavioral intention regarding green products by means of structural equation modeling.

The TPB is an improved version or extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Ajzen 1991 ; Hofmeister-Tóth et al. 2011 ). The TPB differs from the TRA, “in that it takes into account perceived as well as actual control over the behavior under consideration” (Ajzen 1985 , p. 12). Ajzen ( 1985 ) explains that actions are controlled by intentions. Therefore, the TPB is a model that predicts behavior based on the intention to perform the behavior and the perceived behavioral control where the attitude towards the behavior , the subjective norm, and the perceived behavioral control influence intention (Aertsens et al. 2009 ).

Studies of this research stream concluded that the information contained in social media tools can influence the intention to perform a behavior regarding green or organic products. Considering green cosmetics purchase intentions, Pop et al. ( 2020 ) point out that social media can increase consumers’ environmental concerns, consumers’ attitudes, subjective norms, altruistic and egoistic motivations, and therefore consumers’ green cosmetics purchase intentions. By using the value-belief-norm theory and the elaboration likelihood model, Jaini et al. ( 2019 ) discovered that e-WOM communications influences consumers’ green cosmetics purchase decisions, with personal norm affecting this choice, especially when they are actively involved in obtaining positive feedback via e-WOM communication. In addition, pro-environmental beliefs, which eventually affect consumers’ personal norms, are affected positively by hedonic, and altruistic value.

Regarding organic food, it was confirmed that consumers’ attitudes towards organic food can be shaped by social media forums and informative webpages featuring product quality and certification. They have a great moderating effect on purchase ratings and reviews that positively influence consumers’ online impulse buying behavior (Tariq et al. 2019 ). Background factors like information (i.e., social media information and labeling), individual (i.e., health consciousness and purchase attitude), and social (i.e., self-perceived vegetarian and environmentalism), impact consumers’ intention of purchasing organic food (Li and Jaharuddin 2021 ). Lim and Lee-Won ( 2017 ) discovered that dialogic retweets (i.e. retweeting user mentions addressed to an organization), are more persuasive than monologic tweets because dialogic retweets lead to a higher level of subjective norms, more favorable attitudes toward behavior, and greater intention to adopt the behavior advocated by an organic food organization in the messages. On the other hand, a lifestyle of health and sustainability influences the attitude of customers toward sustainable consumption and therefore, consumers’ sustainable consumption behavior (Matharu et al. 2021 ). Furthermore, regarding western imported food products in a Muslim country, Bukhari et al. ( 2020 ) found that product attributes, price, self-concept, brand trust, personality, and religiosity are positively correlated with consumers’ purchase intention in Pakistan.

This research stream concluded that the information contained in social media can influence the intention to consume green or organic products. Nevertheless, it is known that there is an intention-behavior gap, identified between positive attitudes toward organic products and actual purchase behavior (Padel and Foster 2005 ; Pearson et al. 2011 ). Thus, further research could explore, by means of mixed methods, how social media could reduce the intention-behavior gap.

3.2.3 Research stream on “social media and food tourism” (Factor 10)

The tenth research stream explains 1.54% of the variance of keyword relationships, indicating a research stream of tenth-highest distinction. While image (58 mentions) and destination, (content) analysis and instagram (30 mentions each) were the most often listed keywords, the research stream was best represented (in terms of factor loadings) by the keywords destination (FL = 0.645) , followed by authenticity. Place, related to travel, culinary, image, wine, and gastronomy constitute the remainders of the top ten keywords. These 10 keywords in this research stream confirm the application-oriented topics from the perspective of food tourism. Therefore, this research stream clearly addresses the topic “social media and food tourism.”

Representative publications of this research stream (see Table 7 ) reference each more than 2 keywords of factor 10. Regarding theories and conceptualizations, although this research stream has not a leading theory, they analyze food tourism and its relationship with social media. Thus, an inclusive and shared research discourse can be determined.

A closer look at these articles (selected by maximum number of referenced keywords) provides insights about the methods applied and types of insights gained from this research discourse (Table 7 right columns). These articles address food tourism related to social media use by means of content analysis, semi-structured interviews, and literature review, among others. The articles analyzed social media content, as well as antecedents and contingencies regarding social media and food tourism.

The use of social media to increase destination image or to promote a food destination is the main focus of this research stream. Over the past two decades, the key themes regarding food tourism were authenticity through food experiences, the offer of unique food experiences, food tourism and sustainability, as well as the use of food destination in marketing; nevertheless, Okumus ( 2021 ) suggests that future studies should focus on the role of social media in promoting food tourism experiences, among others. In this regard, Filieri et al. ( 2021 ) found that on Instagram, users communicate their destination brand love through photographs of some destination attributes (e.g. people, food, weather, etc.) accompanied by specific positive emotions (e.g. attractiveness, pleasure, amazement, etc.) or providing emotional support during a destination crisis. Besides, Ramirez-Gutierrez et al. ( 2021 ) concluded that in TripAdvisor, tourists’ communications of gastronomic experiences contain both aesthetic and personal values.

Other studies in this research stream reveal social media strategies and how specific online tools can help to promote food destinations. While memories influence positively the loyalty for a food destination (Bachman et al. 2021 ), the description of food on TikTok brings an effect of intention to travel and to obtain information, impacting the affective image of a destination and increasing potential tourists’ attention (Li et al. 2020 ). As a tool to advertise food-based cities, Yu and Sun ( 2019 ) recommend the use of Instagram to attract the attention of consumers including hashtags to reach more users and to generate interactivity. Moreover, the endorsement of celebrity chefs on social media can help to promote cities as culinary destinations by giving provocativeness (i.e. attractiveness and customer engagement), credibility (i.e. trustworthiness, leading, and reliability), and supportiveness (i.e. localism and match-up) (Demirkol and Cifci 2020 ). Besides, Vrontis et al. ( 2021 ) suggest that the support interactions between destination managers and stakeholders by using online technology; can be transformed into a word-of-mouth source that could affect perceptions and sustainable development of the territory producing the place brand.

Finally, by conducting a content analysis of 600 Instagram images containing the hashtag #fitspiration, Tiggemann and Zaccardo ( 2018 ) found that most images of women contained objectifying elements, and only one body type: thin and toned. Authors point out that although ‘fitspiration’ images may be inspirational for viewers, they contain elements that could affect negatively the viewer’s body image.

This research stream analyzed the role of social media in food tourism on Instagram, TikTok, and Tripadvisor. Further research might explore the use of further social media tools in order to enrich this research stream with comparisons among tools and countries.

3.3 Broader communication issues

This research cluster analyses online communications regarding Alternative Food Networks (AFN), online communication, and eating disorders, as well as the analysis of online food related data by means of novel tools. This cluster includes the research streams “sustainable food communication online,” “analysis of online food related data,” and “online communication and eating disorders.”

3.3.1 Research stream on “sustainable food communication online” (Factor 6)

Explaining the 2.66% of the variance of keyword relationships, this research stream of sixth-highest distinction was best represented (in terms of factor loadings) by the keyword sustainability (FL = 0.727) , followed by agriculture, although network and sustainability were the most often listed keywords (68 and 60 mentions) . The remainders of the top ten keywords, were the words innovation , system, economy, chain, alternative, supply, and farmer . The remaining 24 keywords confirm the focus on sustainable food communication. Thus, this research stream clearly addresses the topic “sustainable food communication online.”

The most representative articles of this research stream (see Table 8 ) were selected by the highest number of keywords referenced, in this case, each more than 6 keywords of factor 5. Without a leading theory, most of the articles rely on the concept of AFN, and local food networks or systems. They address the topic of sustainable food and online communication, linked both by means of content analysis, data mining, semi-structured interviews, surveys, and participant observation, among others. Media content is investigated, as well as antecedents and contingencies regarding sustainable food communication online.

Regarding the antecedents of the use of internet communications, in this research stream, it was found that initiators and participants of AFN are individual shoppers and nascent activists that organize strategies, build networks, and use internet communications to extend their reach, and expand linkages to emancipatory spaces of global and social justice movements (Schumilas and Scott 2016 ). Online spaces (e.g. websites and social media platforms) supplement the socio-material connections in AFNs’ offline spaces providing a ‘virtual reconnection’ or an additional real for reconnection (Bos and Owen 2016 ). By using social media, participants in citizen-drive initiatives (e.g. for waste-prevention) create collaborative local networks to develop green/sustainable consumption practices (Campos and Zapata 2017 ). Exploring communications with the hashtag #sustainability on Twitter, Pilar et al. ( 2019 ) discovered six communities (i.e. Environmental Sustainability, Sustainability Awareness, Renewable Energy and Climate Change, Innovative Technology, Green Architecture, and Food Sustainability), and 6 hashtags related to sustainability (i.e. innovation, environment, climate change, corporate social responsibility, technology, and energy).

Regarding the use of online communications by producers and intermediaries, it was found that producers establish consumers’ trust by satisfying the consumer´s desire for safe food, and that they use social media to construct food materiality and the perception of this materiality in order to fit the consumer´s ideal of freshness (Martindale 2021 ). Besides, Kummer and Milestad ( 2020 ) discovered that social media is used as an advertising tool in the growing practice of box schemes (i.e. a type of locally oriented distribution system used by community supported agriculture (CSA) farms or enterprises) in Europe. Other works in this research stream studied the motivations for buying sustainable agricultural products (e.g. Ashtab and Campbell 2021 ).

Further research could explore not just the use of social media for communication, but also how these communications influence behavior-change and sustainable food consumption among their participants.

3.3.2 Research stream on “analysis of online food related data” (Factor 7)

The seventh-highest distinction research stream explains 2.14% of the variance of keyword relationships. In terms of factor loadings, the keywords (sentiment) analysis (FL = 0.74) , and tweet are the main keyword representing this research stream . The top ten keywords were led by twitter with 102 mentions, followed by (sentiment) analysis and datum with 35 mentions each. Halal, detection, topic , mining, classification, and sentiment are the remainders of the top ten keywords. Analyzing all keywords, it can be confirmed the use of words related to methods for the analysis of online data. Therefore, this research stream addresses the topic of “analysis of online food related data.”

Although the representative publications (see Table 9 ), with more than 5 keywords of factor 7, do not share a leading theory, they share a research discourse by analyzing Twitter communications. With three articles led by the same author, articles in this research stream address the analysis of online data related to food by means of social network analysis, data mining, and sentiment analysis. Media content, antecedents, and contingencies regarding the analysis of online food related data are analyzed.

Many studies in this research stream emphasize the use of different methods and tools to analyze online communication data. By using opinion mining techniques, Mostafa ( 2019 ) analyzed food sentiments regarding halal food expressed on Twitter detecting a generally positive sentiment toward halal food, as well as a heterogeneous group of halal food consumers divisible by concern for food authenticity, self-identity, animal welfare attitudes, and level of religiosity. By using social network analysis Mostafa ( 2021 ) examined the structure, dynamics, and influencers in halal food networks, founding that few social mediators or “influencers” control the diffusion of information through a small world preferential attachment network that links digital halal food consumers. The same author analyzed Wikipedia’s clickstream data in order to study users’ halal food navigation strategies on Wikipedia servers discovering that only a few articles or “influencers” within close-knot communities control the flow of halal food information (Mostafa 2022 ).

As well the use of geocoding has an important place in this research stream. By using geocoding, Rimjhim et al. ( 2020 ) analyzed data from Twitter and Wikipedia, to know how the conversational discourse on online social networks vary semantically and geographically over time finding that although there is a significant homogenization in online discussion topics, despite geographical distance, it is not similar across all topics of discussion and location. Zhang et al. ( 2020 ) explored individuals’ emotions and cognition of cultural food differences among people from South and North China by using the machine learning method of natural language processing (NLP) by posting on the Zhihu Q&A platform the question “What are the differences between South and North China that you ever know?” They found that food culture is the most popular difference among people from North and South China and that individuals tend to have a negative attitude toward food cultures that differ from their own. Analyzing geo-located and reciprocal user mention and reply tweets over the course of the 2016 primary and presidential elections in the United States, Koylu ( 2019 ) found that the discourse was divided between election-related discussions of the political campaigns and candidates, and civil rights, being the last the more dominant. Ullah et al. ( 2021 ) propose an architecture to store data to accelerate the development process of the machine learning classifiers using rule-based and logistic regression.

The contribution of this research stream to the social sciences lies, without doubt, in the novel approaches to analyzing online data. Further research could extend the use of these tools in their research or propose new ones. And, since most studies analyze text, it is recommended the development of tools to analyze images.

3.3.3 Research stream on “online communication and eating disorders” (Factor 9)

The ninth research stream explains 1.76% of the variance of keyword relationships. Blog and site were the most often listed keywords (62 and 38 mentions), but in terms of factor loadings, the stream was best represented by the keywords discourse (FL = 0.557) , followed by blog. An inspection of the remaining seventeen keywords, confirms the eating disorders approach. Hence, this research stream studies the topic of “online communication and eating disorders.”

Without a leading theory, representative publications of this research stream (see Table 10 ) analyze online communication related to eating disorders, sharing the same discourse. Articles address online communication related to eating disorders by means of virtual ethnography, netnography, and interpretative phenomenological analysis, among others. They analyze web and social media content as well as antecedents and contingencies regarding online communication and eating disorders.

Some studies in this research stream explore online narratives, experiences, and discussions regarding eating disorders (ED) online. By using content analysis of ‘food porn’ websites and blogs, as well as participant observation and interviews regarding ‘pro-anorexia’ websites, Lavis ( 2017 ) found that participants “eat” in, and through cyberspace, beyond and among bodies. Cinquegrani and Brown ( 2018 ) explored narratives of experiences and conceptualizations through online social media forums regarding the eating disorder Orthorexia Nervosa (ON), a fixation on eating proper food accompanied by excessive exercise. The authors found three main narratives: pursuit (i.e. the individuals are on a quest to ‘better’ themselves), resistance to the illness narrative, and the recovery (i.e. after accepting the ‘illness narrative’). The authors suggest considering ON a lifestyle syndrome embodied in social and cultural processes. By analyzing TikTok posts containing the hashtag (#) EDrecovery, Herrick et al. ( 2021 ) concluded that creators share their personal experiences with recovery by using popular (or viral) video formats, succinct storytelling, and the production of educational content.

Other studies explored online conversations in order to understand how individuals confer value and meaning to ‘healthy’ eating behaviors. Consumers are active co-producers of value and meaning regarding the impact of green products on their health and the environment, and their understanding of health and sustainability is affected by cultural meanings and pleasure, which lead them to attribute additional unsubstantiated traits to certain products ascribed as virtuous (Yeo 2014 ). Examining the visual and textual framings of ‘superfoods’ on social media, it was found that superfoods are a marker of idealized identity mobilized by using postfeminist, neoliberal, and food justice discourses (Sikka 2019 ), the healing potential of veganism is derived from a passionate investment of the self that redefines young women’s ways of being in the world (Costa et al. 2019 ).

In sum, this research contributes to the understanding of the complexity of eating disorders by uncovering the processes and meanings of eating disorders and how they are portraited online. Some studies in this research stream also discloses how individuals confer meaning to healthy eating behaviors and how an idealized identity ascribes virtuous attributes to some foods. Further research could explore if this initially idealized identity of healthy foods leads to future eating disorders.

3.4 Service industry discourse on “food online reviews in the service industry” (Factor 2)

One research stream was found in this cluster, which possesses an integrative discourse: “food online reviews in the service industry.” This research stream explains 9.87% of the variance of keyword relationships, indicating a research stream of second-highest distinction. While word-of-mouth and satisfaction were the most often listed keywords (77 and 60 mentions), the research stream was best represented (in terms of factor loadings) by the keywords hotel (FL = 0.868) , followed by ( online) reviews. Performance and (consumer) satisfaction related to restaurant, service, hospitality constitute the remainders of the top ten keywords. An inspection of the remaining 49 keywords confirms this focus on application-oriented topics from the perspective of the service industry. Thus, this research stream addresses the topic “food online reviews in the service industry.”

Representative publications of this research stream (see Table 11 ) reference each more than 10 keywords of factor 2. Regarding theories and conceptualizations, most of the articles refer to electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) and online review. Thus, an inclusive and shared research discourse can be diagnosed.

A closer look at these articles (selected by maximum number of referenced keywords) provides insights about the methods applied and types of insights gained from this research discourse (Table 11 right columns). These articles address online food reviews as an indicator of service quality, linking both by means of regression analysis or structural equation modeling. Antecedents, consequences as well as contingencies of online food reviews are analyzed.

In a narrow effects perspective, Kim et al. ( 2016 ) found that the number of online reviews correlates with restaurant performance. By analyzing online customer comments on Yelp.com, Bilgihan et al. ( 2018 ) found that a focus on selected menu offerings, food, ambiance, and service can create buzz in social media. Addressing the broader scope of tourism industry, Abrudan et al. ( 2020 ) studied customer review scores on booking.com to analyze the impact of different hotel facilities on customers’ overall ratings, confirming the special relevance of food service for hotel ratings. Another analysis of online reviews from 68 online platforms however did not confirm such a special relevance of food services, with hotel attributes, including quality of rooms, Internet provision, and building to impact hotel performance most (Phillips et al. 2017 ). Altogether, these works highlight the importance of food reviews as drivers of positive consumer feedback primarily in the restaurant industry but less so in the broader hospitality industry.

Other works critically reflect on the antecedents of consumers’ online food reviews. Investigating consumers´ personal drivers to write food reviews, Liu et al. ( 2020 ) found that personal motivation, and especially altruism, influences the posting of negative consumer online reviews. Cambra-Fierro et al. ( 2020 ) discovered that a company’s corporate social responsibility can steer consumers to identify and link themselves to brands generating buy-back and recommendation behaviors. These works thus reveal behavioral drivers on the creation of food reviews both at the consumer and company level. Finally, several works investigate contingencies regarding the effects of food reviews: Zinko et al. ( 2021 ) found that reviewer-submitted (food) images influence consumers’ attitudes only when they are consistent with the review text. This contingency perspective on the effects of food reviews in social media seems the more needed given that previous research, as outlined above, came to divergent conclusions about the impact of online food reviews on consumers’ service ratings.

With most articles in this research stream addressing written food reviews online on different social media, further research might analyze not just the use of written messages, but as well the use of images in online reviews.

3.5 Patterns of the overall research system

The previous analyses were restricted to the level of single research streams. To complement this perspective, the relationship between research streams is analyzed by means of a network analysis. Hereto, a multidimensional scaling of the linkages of the top-ten keywords per factor is calculated and visualized in Fig.  2 . While the size of nodes displays the relative mentioning frequency of each keyword, their positioning within the figure informs about their overall centrality and connectedness. Although the largest nodes or most often mentioned keywords are communication, diet, risk, and obesity , this chart indicates a clear focality on the keyword communication .

Network Visualization of Factors´ Top-10-Keywords Relations

The closeness of single keywords indicates their relationship with each other, and with other research streams. To ease interpretation, each factors’ keywords are marked in different colors. Thus, the distance between keywords stemming from different research streams reveals not only their closeness but as well interconnections between their respective research streams. For example, obesity and diet are closely linked to advertising . This implies close connections between the discourses on “Online Tools for Healthy Diet Intervention Programs” (factor 1, marked in red) and “Online Food Advertising Exposure” (factor 5, marked in dark green). While these two discourses assume a different actor perspective, zooming into consumers’ or marketers’ interest, they nonetheless discuss related topics from a complementary perspective.

In contrast, a large distance among words or factors shows a weak relationship or missing links between research streams; for example, a large distance can be observed among keywords related to “Sustainable Food Communication Online” (factor 6) and to “Social Media and Food Tourism” (factor 10). This shows that these two research streams are not yet strongly related. Future research might contribute by linking those different perspectives together.

Furthermore, the location of keywords related to “Social Media and Mental Disorders” (factor 8) at the outer skirt of the figure reveals that this research stream is a truly peripheral discourse. Finally, the method-driven discourse on “Food Online Reviews in the Service Industry” (factor 2) is clearly more related to the core discourse, to twitter and the different methods of analysis.

4 Conclusions and implications

This study presents a bibliometric analysis of the research conducted regarding food and social media within the social sciences. By using co-word analysis, this study evaluated 413 main Keywords contained in 1356 articles by means of factor and social network analysis. The study shows that the number of studies conducted on this topic has increased rapidly, indicating a growing interest in food and social media. Besides, the results reveal four main research clusters (i.e. Psychological Research Realm, Action-Oriented Research, Broader Communication Issues, and Service Industry Discourse) containing the main topics of research.

The Psychological Research Cluster analyzes online tools for healthy diet intervention programs, the use of apps for service purposes or dietary change, the exposure of children and adolescents to influencer marketing in YouTube videos, as well as the antecedents and consequences of social media use and mental disorders. The Action-Oriented Research cluster analyzes online food risk communication, behavioral intention and buying online, as well as the use of social media for food tourism. The Broader Communication Issues cluster studies sustainable food communication online, online food related data, and the relationship between online communication and eating disorders. Finally, the Service Industry Discourse cluster explores online reviews in the service industry.

Future research could transfer topics in order to have a broad scope of research. For example, the insights gained on the discourse “food and the use of apps” (factor 12), could be transferred to studies regarding “online food risk communication” (factor 3). A further alternative is to transfer the potential of the sophisticated text-mining as method of analysis used in the discourse “analysis of online food related data” (factor 7) enriched by picture mining, in order to address research questions related to how food is perceived and marketed (e.g. factor 6). Another possibility is to intersect, for example, the topic of factor 1, which addresses more positive psychological constructs in detail, and factor 8, which addresses topics more related to clinical psychology. Further integration of theoretical models stemming from psychology (e.g. factor 1 and factor 2) into the practically oriented joint discourse on service industry setting (Factor 2). More theoretical foundations might help to generate broader insights. Other studies could compare target groups (e.g. comparing adults, adolescents, and children), in different countries, regarding the same topics (e.g. fast-food intake while consuming social media). Additionally, the analysis of texts or reviews could be enriched through the analysis images, or by developing tools to analyze images. Other ideas are summarized in Table 12 , and elaborated in the discussion of the single research streams above.

By suggesting future research directions, this study help scholars to find relevant future topics of research in this area of study. The findings presented in this study can be beneficial for marketing and business scholars, as well as companies, and organizations interested in understanding the relationships between food and social media.

Data availability

On request.

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García-León, R.A., Teichert, T. Food and social media: a research stream analysis. Manag Rev Q 74 , 1145–1183 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-023-00330-y

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Food and beverage marketing influences the diets and health of children and adolescents. In 2019, fast-food restaurants spent $5 billion in total advertising to children. Black and Hispanic youth are disproportionally targeted by unhealthy food and beverage advertising compared to their White peers. The foods and beverages most heavily marketed to youth are for unhealthy products, high in calories, sugar, fat, and/or sodium, that do not align with national recommendations for healthful diets. Research in this area examines how the elements of marketing—including product, price, placement, and promotion—influence the food and beverage preferences and choices of children and youth, as well as their weight status, and how such elements can be used to promote healthier eating.

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Mixed methods evaluation of the covid-19 changes to the wic cash-value benefit for fruits and vegetables.

Recent cash-value benefit (CVB) increases are a positive development to help increase WIC participant fruits and vegetables (FV) access. This mixed method study aimed to evaluate (a) the CVB changes’ impact on FV access among WIC child participants measured by CVB redemption rates, (b) facilitators and barriers to CVB changes’ implementation, and (c) differences in More

Height and Weight Measurement and Communication With Families in Head Start: Developing a Toolkit and Establishing Best Practices

Head start (HS) programs are required to collect children’s height and weight data. Programs also communicate these results to families. However, no standardized protocol exists to guide measurements or communicate results. The purpose of this article was to describe the development of a measurement toolkit and best practices for communication. HS programs contributed to the More

Promoting Healthier Purchases: Ultraprocessed Food Taxes and Minimally Processed Foods Subsidies for the Low Income

Fiscal policies can shift relative food prices to encourage the purchase and consumption of minimally processed foods while discouraging the purchase and consumption of unhealthy ultraprocessed foods, high in calories and nutrients of concern (sodium, sugar, and saturated fats), especially for low-income households. The 2017–2018 packaged food purchase data among U.S. households were used to More

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The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides nutrition support for racially and ethnically diverse populations. In 2021, the monthly cash value benefit (CVB) for the purchase of fruits and vegetables increased from $9 to $35 and was later adjusted to $24. This study investigated, by racial and ethnic groups, whether More

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Maize Price Shocks, Food Expenditure and the Mediating Role of Access to Market in Ghana

May 14, 2024 - Edward Martey, Justina Adwoa Onumah, Frank Adusah-Poku

The existing empirical literature on the impact of food price shocks on food consumption has primarily concentrated on market-purchased foods, offering limited insights into home-produced foods and food quality. Addressing this gap, our study employs panel data from Ghana to investigate the relationship between exposure to positive maize price shocks and price variability and household consumption patterns of nutrient-dense and less nutrient-dense diets, considering both market purchases and home production. Our findings indicate that maize price shocks lead to a reduction in households' consumption of purchased nutrient-dense and less nutrient-dense food groups, while increasing the consumption of home-produced nutrient-dense food groups. The effects of maize price shocks on diet consumption vary across household types, primary crop cultivation, and wealth status. Additionally, access to markets emerges as a crucial mechanism through which maize price shocks influence households' consumption of nutrient-dense and less nutrient-dense diets. The implications of our study underscore the significance of enhanced market access and policy interventions aimed at mitigating food price increases to improve food nutrition security.

 maize price shocks; food consumption; nutrient-dense diets; market access; Ghana

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Junk food marketing on videogame livestreaming platforms increases purchases and consumption among teens, study finds

F ood and drink advertisements on videogame livestreaming platforms (VGLSPs) like Twitch are associated with more positive attitudes towards, and purchases and intake of, unhealthy foods that are high in fat, salt and/or sugar (HFSS) like energy drinks among adolescents aged 18 or younger, according to new research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Venice, Italy (12–15 May).

The concerning findings prompt researchers to call for stronger regulations on digital marketing of unhealthy foods to young people on these platforms, where there is currently no effective regulation and minimal efforts to control it.

Although the causes of obesity are complex, junk food marketing is associated with overweight and obesity in young people of all ages. As major users of digital media, adolescents (aged 12–18 years) are particularly exposed to their potential benefits and harms.

VGLSPs are a growing form of digital media where individuals can watch streamed videogame footage and communicate via a live chat. They can be accessed via PC, tablets, mobiles, and gaming consoles.

The top VGLSPs globally at the time of the research were Twitch (with 77% of the market share by hours watched), YouTube Gaming (15%), and Facebook Gaming Live (7%). However, a relatively new platform, Kick, has now replaced Facebook Gaming in third spot. The use of VGLSPs is rapidly growing with nearly 30 billion hours of content viewed on the top three platforms in 2023.

Because VGLSPs are popular with young people, they offer an opportunity for food and drink brands seeking to engage with teenagers.

As lead author Dr. Rebecca Evans from the University of Liverpool explains, "Endorsement deals for prominent streamers on Twitch can be worth many millions of dollars, and younger people, who are attractive to advertisers, are moving away from television to these more interactive forms of entertainment. These deals involve collaborating with brands and promoting their products, including foods that are high in fats, salt and/or sugar."

To study this possibility, Dr. Evans and her University of Liverpool colleagues investigated the extent and nature of food marketing via VGLSPs, and its impact on eating behavior in teenagers.

They started by conducting a content analysis to examine the extent and nature of food cues displayed in 52 Twitch videos (52 hours of video content) uploaded to the platform during October 2020 to September 2021 by three influencers popular with adolescents.

Then they systematically reviewed the evidence for a link between exposure to digital game-based (e.g., in-game advertising, advergames) or influencer food marketing (two key techniques used on VGLSPs), and food-related outcomes (attitudes, preferences, purchase, consumption) in young people (aged 18 years or younger).

They went on to survey 490 young people (average age 17 years, 30% female, 76% white, recruited via social media, schools, and a youth research panel) to further explore the link between recall of food marketing on top VGLSPs (i.e., Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming Live) and relevant food-related outcomes. Participants were asked about their age, gender, ethnicity, VGLSP viewing habits, their recall of food marketing on VGLSPs, and their food and drink attitudes, preferences, purchase, and consumption of marketed foods.

Finally, the researchers conducted a lab-based randomized controlled trial to explore associations between HFSS food marketing via a mock Twitch stream and subsequent snack intake.

In total, 91 young people (average age 18 years, 69% female, 81% white) took part in an experiment in which they viewed a mock Twitch stream containing either an advert (an image overlaid on the video featuring a brand logo and product) for an unhealthy snack brand or a non-food brand.

Participants were told that they would be completing a memory task about what happened in the stream, to disguise study aims. They then had a "snack break" during which they were offered the branded snack from the stream and a supermarket brand version of the snack. They were also asked about their age, gender, ethnicity, and VGLSP viewing habits.

Viewers exposed to 52 minutes of food advertising every hour

Overall, the analyses found that food cues on Twitch appeared at an average rate of 2.6 every hour, and the average duration of each cue was 20 minutes.

Overall, this amounts to 52 minutes of exposure per hour (including overlapping exposure from multiple food cues on-screen at the same time). Most (71%) of the cues were for HFSS foods, and among these, energy drinks were the most featured category, accounting for 62%. Most food cues (81%) were branded (e.g., an image overlaid on the video featuring a food brand logo) and only 2% had an advertising disclosure.

Most food cues appeared as either product placement (44%) or looping images (41%), and several features that would appeal to adolescents (e.g., tie-ins, logos, offers, slogans) were used. The nature of this advertising means that it is always visible on screen (i.e., viewers cannot "skip" or "close" it).

Familiarity with junk-food ads influences adolescents' unhealthy diet

The researchers also found that the digital game-based marketing was associated with more positive attitudes and greater preferences toward marketed food and drink brands, with young people twice as likely to prefer these products. Additionally, influencer and digital game-based marketing were associated with eating more HFSS food post-marketing exposure (~37 additional kcals in one sitting).

Further analyses found that recall of HFSS food marketing on VGLSPs was associated with more positive attitudes towards advertised HFSS food categories (e.g., fast food, energy drinks), and in turn purchases and consumption of marketed HFSS foods.

Nevertheless, in the randomized trial, acute exposure to HFSS food marketing in a mock Twitch stream was not associated with immediate consumption of unhealthy foods. This may be because participants were only exposed to one type of advert (a static image), and this was presented in isolation (i.e., no other adverts were present). However, the more time young people reported spending watching VGLSPs each week, the more of the marketed snack they ate, suggesting that habitual exposure is impactful.

According to Dr. Evans, "Our findings provide crucial new information on the extent, nature, and impacts of HFSS food marketing via VGLSPs on young people's eating behavior. The high level of exposure to digital marketing of unhealthy food could drive excess calorie consumption and weight gain, particularly in adolescents who are more susceptible to advertising. It is important that digital food marketing restrictions encompass innovative and emerging digital media such as VGLSPs."

The authors acknowledge that some of their findings show observational differences rather than evidence of cause and effect, and cannot be generalized to all teenagers. They also note that some of the findings are based on a self-reported survey of viewing and eating habits that can lead to problems of recall and bias, which could have affected the results.

Provided by European Association for the Study of Obesity

Top 10 Companies in Artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data in Food Industry Market in 2024

Introduction 

In today's digitally transforming food industry, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data has become a game-changer. This blog explores the top 10 companies at the forefront of this innovation, leveraging technology to revolutionize the way we produce, distribute, and consume food. These companies have earned their positions based on market share, revenue, innovation, reputation, and profound impact on the industry.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data are revolutionizing the food industry by optimizing supply chain management, enhancing food safety and quality control, improving customer experiences through personalized interactions, enabling predictive analytics for demand forecasting, and fostering sustainable practices in agriculture. AI-driven technologies automate tasks like crop monitoring and quality assurance, while Big Data analytics provide insights into consumer preferences, supply chain transparency, and food safety, ultimately transforming how food is produced, distributed, and consumed globally.

The rising integration of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the food industry is generating vast amounts of data, driving revenue growth by enabling improved traceability, food safety, and supply chain accountability. AI algorithms analyze IoT data to optimize equipment performance, monitor shipments, and ensure optimal storage conditions. Big data further refines marketing strategies, product innovation, and competitive intelligence, with technologies like RFID and GPS enhancing distribution efficiency and reducing waste. Strategic initiatives by major companies, such as Givaudan's Customer Foresight platform, leverage AI and big data to co-create innovative food solutions, though the high implementation costs and data security concerns pose challenges to market growth.

The worldwide AI and big data in food sector market size was worth USD 6.86 billion in 2022, and it is predicted to grow at a high revenue CAGR of 44.4% over the forecast period. Rising need for AI and big data technologies to improve overall efficiency in food production and distribution is the key driver of market revenue development.

World’s Prominent Companies Offering Artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data in Food Industry; Top 10 by Revenue

• Intel Corporation
• SAS Institute Inc.
• Cargill, Incorporated
• Nutrien Ag Solutions, Inc.

Top 10 Globally Leading Companies in The Artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data in Food Industry Market

Cargill, incorporated [annual revenue: usd 176.7 billion].

Cargill, Incorporated is a global leader in the food and agriculture industry, with a rich history dating back to 1865. The company specializes in commodity trading, food processing, and supply chain management, offering a diverse range of products from agricultural commodities to food ingredients and animal nutrition. Cargill is known for its commitment to sustainability and innovation, leveraging AI and Big Data technologies for supply chain optimization, quality control, and crop management. With a focus on quality, safety, and global reach, Cargill continues to be a key player in shaping the future of the food industry.

IBM [Annual Revenue: USD 62.07 Billion]

IBM , a global technology leader, offers cutting-edge AI and Big Data solutions for the food industry. Their Watson AI platform enables personalized nutrition and supply chain optimization, while IBM Food Trust ensures transparency and safety through blockchain technology. IBM's data analytics tools empower decision-making with deep insights into food quality and consumer trends. With a legacy of innovation, IBM continues to drive efficiency and sustainability in the food sector through advanced technology and industry expertise.

Intel Corporation [Annual Revenue: USD 54.2 Billion]

Intel Corporation , founded in 1968, is a leading technology company known for semiconductor innovations. Their product range includes microprocessors, SoCs, and software. In recent years, Intel has focused on AI and Big Data solutions, offering specialized hardware like Intel® Nervana™ Neural Network Processors (NNP) and software for diverse applications. In the food industry, Intel's AI and Big Data technologies enable quality control through computer vision, optimize supply chains, enhance predictive analytics for inventory management, support smart agriculture, and provide valuable consumer insights. Intel's commitment to AI and Big Data aligns with industry demands for efficient, sustainable, and consumer-centric food production and distribution.

Oracle [Annual Revenue: USD 52.51 Billion]

Oracle Corporation is a leading technology company known for its database software and enterprise solutions. Founded in 1977, Oracle has evolved to offer a comprehensive suite of products, including the Oracle Autonomous Database and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, which incorporate AI and Big Data capabilities. For the food industry, Oracle provides specialized software solutions for point-of-sale, inventory management, and supply chain optimization. Leveraging AI and machine learning, Oracle enables predictive analytics, demand forecasting, and personalized customer experiences, making it a strategic partner for businesses seeking advanced technology solutions in the food sector.

Nutrien Ag Solutions, Inc. [Annual Revenue: USD 29 Billion]

Nutrien Ag Solutions, Inc. is a leading global provider of agricultural products and services, formed in 2018 through the merger of Agrium Inc. and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. They offer a comprehensive suite of solutions including seeds, fertilizers, crop protection chemicals, precision agriculture technologies, and digital farming tools, leveraging AI and big data for optimized farming practices. Notable for their commitment to sustainability, Nutrien provides farmers with data-driven insights and predictive analytics to enhance productivity and environmental stewardship, making them a key player in advancing digital agriculture globally.

Capgemini [Annual Revenue: USD 22.5 Billion]

Capgemini is a global leader in consulting, technology services, and digital transformation, founded in 1967. With a comprehensive suite of offerings including strategy consulting, digital solutions, and industry-specific services, Capgemini excels in AI and Big Data applications for the food industry. Their expertise enables businesses to leverage AI-driven analytics for demand forecasting, supply chain optimization, and personalized customer experiences, making them a valuable partner for enhancing efficiency and competitiveness in food industry operations.

SAP. [Annual Revenue: USD 17.3 Billion]

SAP (Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing) is a global enterprise software company founded in 1972, known for its ERP solutions and business applications. Key offerings include ERP, CRM, SCM, and BI tools. Notable achievements include SAP HANA, a groundbreaking in-memory database platform. In the food industry, SAP's AI and Big Data capabilities enable predictive analytics for demand forecasting, quality control through image recognition, and enhanced traceability using blockchain, empowering companies to optimize operations and ensure compliance across the supply chain. This integration of technology underscores SAP's commitment to driving digital transformation in the food sector.

SAS Institute Inc. [Annual Revenue: USD 3.2 Billion]

SAS Institute Inc. is a renowned analytics and AI software company founded in 1976. It specializes in providing advanced analytics, machine learning, and big data solutions to industries like the food sector. SAS's offerings enable food businesses to optimize supply chains, ensure food safety, and derive customer insights from data, aiding in targeted marketing and product development. With a strong focus on innovation and industry-specific applications, SAS remains a key player in leveraging analytics for business success in the food industry.

FoodLogiQ [Annual Revenue: USD 9.8 Billion]

FoodLogiQ is a leading provider of food safety and supply chain management solutions, founded in 2006. They offer cloud-based software tailored to the food industry, specializing in traceability, supplier management, and quality incident handling. Recent developments include integrating AI and big data analytics for predictive insights into food safety risks and supply chain optimization. FoodLogiQ's comprehensive solutions and industry leadership make them a trusted partner for major food brands globally, ensuring transparency, compliance, and efficiency throughout the supply chain.

io [Annual Revenue: USD 8.1 Billion]

IO in AI and Big Data for the food industry revolutionizes operations by integrating advanced analytics and AI technologies tailored for agriculture, production, distribution, and consumer insights. Notable achievements include precision agriculture, automated quality control, and personalized marketing strategies driven by predictive analytics. Recent developments include AI-driven robotics for harvesting, IoT sensor applications in transportation, and NLP for consumer sentiment analysis. IO's unique selling points lie in its scalable, end-to-end solutions focusing on sustainability and efficiency improvements across the food value chain.

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A surprising solution for reducing our food waste

Every year, we waste 1.3 billion tonnes of food. Here's how that could change. Image:  Pexels/Kelly

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Stay up to date:, food insecurity.

• Every year, 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally, the equivalent of one-third of all food produced for human consumption.
• Busy lives and cooking habits lead to neglecting fresh produce until it spoils, adding to the problem.
• New research finds that keeping a 'food log' for 6 weeks can reduce the amount of waste by an average of 108g per week, an effect that can still be seen six months later.

You’ve had a long day and you’re tired. Faced with making dinner, you look in the fridge and decide to cook something that requires little effort. This is a common scenario, and one that many people act out without really thinking about it.

The fact that there is often little or no conscious thought involved in routine daily food preparation means that ingredients that must be used before they expire are often left to go off.

Two billion people in the world currently suffer from malnutrition and according to some estimates, we need 60% more food to feed the global population by 2050. Yet the agricultural sector is ill-equipped to meet this demand: 700 million of its workers currently live in poverty, and it is already responsible for 70% of the world’s water consumption and 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

New technologies could help our food systems become more sustainable and efficient, but unfortunately the agricultural sector has fallen behind other sectors in terms of technology adoption.

Launched in 2018, the Forum’s Innovation with a Purpose Platform is a large-scale partnership that facilitates the adoption of new technologies and other innovations to transform the way we produce, distribute and consume our food.

With research, increasing investments in new agriculture technologies and the integration of local and regional initiatives aimed at enhancing food security, the platform is working with over 50 partner institutions and 1,000 leaders around the world to leverage emerging technologies to make our food systems more sustainable, inclusive and efficient.

Learn more about Innovation with a Purpose's impact and contact us to see how you can get involved.

In research that colleagues and I recently published , we found that overcoming this habitual behaviour is key to cutting food waste. Here’s how to do it.

Every year, 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally. This is the equivalent of one-third of all the food produced for human consumption.

In the UK alone, households wasted 6.4 million tonnes of food between 2021 and 2022. Accounting for the fossil energy used to grow and harvest that food, as well as the greenhouse gases released when it rots in fields or landfills, this waste equates to 18 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

Food waste harms the environment, but reducing how much food is produced only to be thrown away can curb hunger . It could also save the world more than US$120 billion yearly (£96 billion) – and around £700 a year per household.

We measured fruit and vegetable waste from 154 households across the UK for an initial six-week period. Fruit and vegetables are among the most commonly wasted types of food. This may be because supermarkets often sell these ingredients in bulk or because people buying them sometimes fancy something less healthy and more convenient to prepare when the time comes to cook.

During those six weeks, half of the participants were asked to log what fresh fruit and vegetables they bought and when their purchases had to be used according to the label on the packaging, as well as guidelines provided by the researchers.

In each of these homes, the log was placed on the fridge as a daily reminder of what needed to be used each day to avoid waste. Participants also received daily text messages reminding them to check their food log and add any newly bought fruit and vegetables.

The other half of the households involved in this experiment simply measured their food waste at the end of each week without any reminders to use the fresh produce they had.

We expected the half of households receiving reminders to cut their waste more effectively – in fact, there was only a small difference between the two groups. But we did find that simply measuring fresh produce waste made all households more likely to think about what they were wasting.

This was evident from a range of responses from the participants. Taking part in the study also made participants feel as if they could control the amount of food they were throwing away.

It seems that simply asking people to measure their food waste each week for six weeks kickstarts a thinking process that guides people’s behaviour in future.

Food waste on the brain

Our findings may seem obvious, but there is more to them.

We found that across all households the reduction of fresh produce waste averaged 108 grams a week. This was sustained for six months after the experiment ended.

The experience of measuring food waste weekly during the experiment seemed to instil a mindfulness about food waste that meant participants were still throwing less away half a year on. It is interesting that only a short period of conscious effort is necessary to encourage lasting changes in behaviour.

Research into the psychology of food waste tends to focus on nudges, which are subliminal actions to change behaviour, such as menus designed to highlight plant-based options. It is not clear whether such methods, which bypass the conscious mind, work in the long term .

Our study suggests that it takes thought to alter habits. But the good news is that we found people only had to think about reducing food waste for a short time to form an enduring habit of reducing the amount of food they throw away.

Have you read?

7 innovative solutions for fighting food waste, food waste makes up ‘half’ of global food system emissions, could dehydrating meat and vegetables help solve the global food waste problem.

Most people have busy lives and simply don’t have the mental capacity to spare each day. Strategies for reducing food waste that require only a short-term commitment of mental effort are likely to be most effective.

And even a small reduction in household food waste can make a difference. Our study showed that it is relatively easy for people to cut how much fruit and vegetables they discard each week. If just 1,000 people could do the same, it would save over 9.5 tonne of CO₂ a year, the equivalent of 1,140,000 smartphone charges.

Thinking about food waste for six weeks is a small price to pay if the result is a significant and long-term difference to our planet’s wellbeing.

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Key takeaways

• J.P. Morgan Research forecasts that the GLP-1 market will exceed $100 bn by 2030, driven equally by diabetes and obesity usage.
• Total GLP-1 users in the U.S. may number 30 mn by 2030 — or around 9% of the overall population.
• The increasing appetite for obesity drugs will have myriad implications, boosting sectors such as biotech and creating headwinds for industries such as food and beverage.

Ozempic. Wegovy. Mounjaro. Zepbound. Originally developed to treat diabetes, these GLP-1 agonists — now also popularly known as obesity drugs — have been making headlines for their weight-loss effects. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. has grown from 30.5% over 1999–2000 to 41.9% over 2017–2020.

What’s whetting the consumer appetite for these weight-loss drugs, and what does this mean for sectors ranging from biotech to food? 

“The newest generations of GLP-1s and combos lead to 15–25+% weight loss on average, well above prior generations of products.”

Chris Schott

Senior Analyst covering the U.S. Diversified Biopharma sector, J.P. Morgan

What are GLP-1 agonists?  

Glp-1 agonists are a class of medications used to treat type 2 diabetes (t2d). besides helping to lower blood sugar levels, they also suppress appetite and reduce calorie intake — fueling their growing popularity as obesity drugs. , “glp-1s have been used to treat t2d since 2005, starting with the approval of byetta, with follow-on products continually improving on efficacy. the most recent, ozempic and mounjaro, offer significant advantages over previous products and have accelerated class growth,” said chris schott, a senior analyst covering the u.s. diversified biopharma sector at j.p. morgan. “indeed, the newest generations of glp-1s and combos lead to 15–25+% weight loss on average, well above prior generations of products.” .

What’s driving the increase in appetite for obesity drugs?

Originally developed to treat diabetes, GLP-1 agonists — or obesity drugs — have risen in popularity thanks to their weight-loss effects.

J.P. Morgan Research forecasts the GLP-1 market will exceed $100 bn by 2030, fueled equally by diabetes and obesity usage.

Total GLP-1 users in the U.S. may number 30 mn by 2030 — or around 9% of the overall population.

This could lead to a paradigm shift in health care and also impact other sectors, from biotech to food.

What’s the market for obesity drugs?

J.p. morgan research forecasts the glp-1 category will exceed $100 bn by 2030, driven equally by diabetes and obesity usage. , today, glp-1s are used by around 10-12% of t2d patients in the u.s. “we model glp-1 usage expanding to around 35% of diabetics in the u.s. in 2030 and would not be surprised to see upside to this number, especially as outcomes data continues to emerge,” schott noted. “in addition, we forecast that around 15 mn obese patients will be on glp-1s by the end of the decade.” overall, total glp-1 users in the u.s. may number 30 mn by 2030 — or around 9% of the population. , the glp-1 landscape is currently dominated by two major players: u.s.-based eli lilly and denmark-based novo nordisk. “we expect the obesity market to largely be a duopoly between both companies, with modest share attributed to later entrants,” schott said. “while demand could continue to outstrip supply for the next several years, we do see these issues resolving in the longer term with more plants coming online and more competitive oral options becoming available.” , the u.s. obesity market is expanding rapidly .

The U.S. obesity market is forecast to reach $44 bn in 2030 — up from just $0.5 bn in 2020.

Sector implications

What this means for … health care.

The growing popularity of GLP-1s could transform how obesity is viewed and managed. “We believe this marks the beginning of a paradigm shift in the way that obesity is treated, with physicians moving to a weight-centric treatment of multiple co-morbidities associated with the condition. We expect this to drive substantial uptake of GLP-1s,” said Richard Vosser, Head of European Pharma & Biotech at J.P. Morgan. For instance, GLP-1s may aid in the management of cardiovascular disease and heart failure, which around 9 mn obese patients suffer from. 

Likewise, the rise of GLP-1s will shape diabetes treatment. “In diabetes, we see growth of GLP-1s driven by a shift in medical guidelines, including those proposed by the American Diabetes Association and European Association for the Study of Diabetes, which place weight management and assessment of co-morbidities profile on par with glycaemic control,” Vosser added. 

What this means for … biotech

With the GLP-1 market proving to be highly lucrative, new biotech firms will seek to enter the drug race. “Naturally, with a class so potentially unprecedentedly large, we expect many biotechs across the market cap range to be motivated to participate. Even capturing a small share of such a large market could be very interesting for some companies, and these efforts may also lead to attractive partnering opportunities,” said Jessica Fye, a Senior Analyst covering the Large-Cap Biotechnology sector at J.P. Morgan. 

There is also scope for biotech firms to explore, through clinical trials, how certain medications work in tandem with GLP-1s. “For example, we believe companies investigating drugs targeting certain cardiovascular indications may want to consider planning to generate data that includes patients on GLP-1s,” said Anupam Rama, a Senior Analyst covering the U.S. Biotechnology sector at J.P. Morgan. “All in all, we see GLP-1s as an exciting category, with biotechs angling for a slice of the pie.” 

What this means for … medtech

How will GLP-1s impact other technologies used to treat diabetes and obesity? Despite the recent fall in medtech share prices, J.P. Morgan Research does not see an imminent threat to devices such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). “In fact, we anticipate CGM utilization could increase as they will be vital to track progress and determine if GLP-1s are actually working,” said Robbie Marcus, a Senior Analyst covering the U.S. Medical Supplies & Devices sector at J.P. Morgan. “Plus, the weight loss benefit from CGMs, while not quite comparable to that of GLP-1s, is nevertheless material, especially considering how much more affordable they are.” 

Weight loss surgery will also continue to be in demand due to its superior and more sustainable clinical outcomes. “Even those patients who opt for drugs will most likely still undergo bariatric surgery down the line due to the low adherence rates and high recurrence of weight gain from GLP-1s,” Marcus noted. 

Overall, the outlook is still positive for the medtech industry. “With medtech now trading at a slight discount to the S&P 500 vs. a 15–25% historical premium, we think a reasonable amount of GLP-1 risk is already priced in,” Marcus said. “While GLP-1s will be a huge drug class, medtech volumes can also increase over time. We think both can live side by side and don’t see them as mutually exclusive.” 

What this means for … insurance

In the U.S., many insurance providers are scaling back on coverage of GLP-1s due to the high costs involved. As of November 2023, a month’s supply of Zepbound is priced around $1,060, while a month’s supply of Wegovy is around $1,350.

However, J.P. Morgan Research expects coverage to eventually improve, especially for obesity treatment. “Coverage for obesity currently far lags that for T2D, and this will likely remain the biggest debate in the class for some time,” Schott noted. “We estimate current coverage at only around 40%, but this will likely reach the 80% range by the end of the decade, driven by a series of outcomes studies that we expect will show broad health benefits from losing weight.”

In the life insurance space, companies that cover mortality risk will benefit the most from GLP-1s to the extent that the treatment of diabetes, obesity and related co-morbidities translates to longer life spans for the insured population. “In financial terms, higher life expectancies would allow life insurers to earn more premium income and higher investment income on reserves, as mortality claims are deferred,” said Jimmy Bhullar, Head of the U.S. Insurance research team at J.P. Morgan. 

On the other hand, GLP-1s could have a negative impact on life insurers that cover longevity risk through products such as structured settlements and pension risk transfer (PRT) plans, or lapse-supported policies such as long-term care and universal life with secondary guarantees (ULSG), where insurer economics deteriorate the longer the policy stays in force. “This is because longer life spans would translate to more benefits paid in the future,” Bhullar noted. 

What this means for … food and beverage

GLP-1s could have a significant impact on food and beverage consumption. The advent of GLP-1 use for appetite suppression has been a key factor in the median larger-cap U.S. food producers underperforming the S&P 500 by nearly 40% year to date. “We have seen a number of trends and possible disruptions come and go in consumer staples over the years, but never one quite like GLP-1s,” said Ken Goldman, Lead Equity Research Analyst for the U.S. Food Producers and Food Retailers sectors at J.P. Morgan. 

Using data from alternative data provider Numerator, J.P. Morgan Research has found that current GLP-1 users purchased around 8% less food — including snacks, soft drinks and high=carb products — for at-home consumption over the last 12 months compared with the average consumer. Food intake could decrease by  -3% in North America by 2030E, though the figure could be higher for packaged foods. While European food companies derive up to 30–40% of their sales in North America, many of them have broad category and regional exposures, mitigating potential headwinds.

“Overall, we think that if GLP-1s start to make a meaningful difference in consumption patterns, grocers will be hurt less than packaged food companies,” Goldman said. “This is especially as they sell a lot of higher-margin fresh food, which could offset much of the impact on the center store and snacking in particular.” 

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