Front-of-package Marketing on Fruit Drinks: Online RCT

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Consumer Preference; Consumer Behavior
• Interventions: Behavioral: front-of-package modification

• Registration Number: NCT04811690
• Lead Sponsor: Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)

Brief Summary

This study will test the independent and combined effects of front-of-package claims, imagery, nutrition disclosures, and added sugar warning labels on parents' purchases and perceptions of beverages for their children.

Detailed Description

Fruit drinks are widely consumed by 0-5-year-olds. Parents purchase these drinks for their children in part due to misperceptions that they are healthful, which may be driven by front-of-package (FOP) marketing. The FDA is considering changes to FOP marketing regulations but lacks data on how label elements influence consumer behavior. Our study will test the independent and combined effects of FOP claims, imagery, nutrition disclosures, and added sugar warning labels on parents' purchases and perceptions of beverages for their children.

We will conduct an online randomized controlled trial with 5,000 racially/ethnically diverse primary caregivers of children aged 0-5 years. Participants will choose a beverage for their child in an online store and rate health perceptions of different fruit drinks. Participants will be randomized to see high-added-sugar beverages (\>20% DV added sugar/serving) with 1 of 7 FOP label conditions: 1) vitamin C claim and fruit imagery (control); 2) imagery only; 3) claim only; 4) no claim or imagery; 5) claim, imagery, and % juice disclosure; 6) claim, imagery, and added sugar warning; or 7) claim, imagery, and added sugar warning w/teaspoons of added sugar.

Primary outcomes will include total calories and added sugar (grams) from chosen online store beverages. Secondary outcomes will include health perceptions and knowledge of added sugar and % juice content in low- and high-added-sugar fruit drinks.

This research will inform federal regulation to correct health misperceptions of sugary drinks.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2021-03-18
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-03-19
• Study First Posted: 2021-03-23
• Study Start: 2021-05-19
• Status Verified: 2021-07
• Primary Completion: 2021-07-21
• Study Completion: 2021-07-21
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-07-26
• Last Update Posted: 2021-07-28

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 5028

Inclusion Criteria

• Primary caregiver of a child 0-5 years old
• >= 18 years old
• U.S. citizen

Exclusion Criteria

• Participants who complete the survey in less than 1/3 of the median completion time
• Observations from duplicate IP addresses (keep first observation that is unique)
• Participants who answer data integrity check incorrectly

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
claim, imagery, and % juice disclosure	front-of-package modification	FOP fruit imagery, vitamin C claim, and % juice disclosure on all fruit-flavored drinks
claim and imagery	front-of-package modification	control condition (status quo) showing a front-of-package (FOP) vitamin C claim and fruit imagery on all fruit-flavored drinks.
claim only	front-of-package modification	FOP vitamin C claim on all fruit-flavored drinks, no fruit imagery on drinks high in added sugars
claim, imagery, and added sugar warning with teaspoons of added sugar disclosure	front-of-package modification	FOP fruit imagery and vitamin C claim on all fruit-flavored drinks; added sugar warning with teaspoons of added sugar disclosure on drinks high in added sugar
imagery only	front-of-package modification	FOP fruit imagery on all fruit-flavored drinks, no vitamin C claim on drinks high in added sugars (\>=20 %DV)
no claim or imagery	front-of-package modification	No FOP vitamin C claim or fruit imagery on drinks high in added sugars
claim, imagery, and added sugar warning	front-of-package modification	FOP fruit imagery and vitamin C claim on all fruit-flavored drinks; added sugar warning on drinks high in added sugar

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Added sugar content (grams) of beverage chosen in online store task	through study completion, an average of 15 minutes	Added sugar content (grams) of beverage chosen in online store task
Calories in beverage chosen in online store task	through study completion, an average of 15 minutes	Calories in beverage chosen in online store task

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Percentage of participants that chose each drink category in online store task	through study completion, an average of 15 minutes	Percentage of participants that chose each drink category (e.g., 100% juice, fruit drinks) in online store task
Percentage of participants that chose a drink high in added sugars in online store task	through study completion, an average of 15 minutes	Percentage of participants that chose a drink high in added sugars (\>=20%DV) in online store task
Fruit drink perceptions: likelihood to purchase for child, how healthy for child, how appealing to child, disease risk perceptions for child	through study completion, an average of 15 minutes	Fruit drink perceptions: likelihood to purchase for child, how healthy for child, how appealing to child, disease risk perceptions for child
Knowledge of juice and added sugar content in beverage	through study completion, an average of 15 minutes	Knowledge of % juice and added sugar content (categorical and continuous in grams) in beverage

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Online Recruitment, run via Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; 🇺🇸 Boston, Massachusetts, United States