FOP labels don't necessarily influence product purchasing intent

NEW YORK — Front-of-pack labels may not sway customers from purchasing certain items in stores.

Conducting a study among more than 1,000 shoppers on their opinion of such labels and changes in purchase intent among 25 major brands with and without FOP labeling, HealthFocus International found that 43% of shoppers said that it’s unlikely that FOP labeling will impact their food choices. However, some purchase intent scores changed by more than 25%.

HealthFocus noted that such terms as “better for you” and “indulgent” garnered different attention. For example, purchase intent for such products as frozen pizza dropped with the FOP information, while the purchase intent for some cookie brands rose. Purchase intent for pasta dropped with the FOP information, while some canned soup brands increased.

Among the 25 major brands included in the study were DiGiorno rising crust supreme pizza, Nabisco Chips Ahoy, Barilla pasta and Progresso canned soup.