Should we trust front-of-package labels? How food and brand categorization influence healthinessperception and preference

Helping consumers make better nutritional choices is an important issue for policy makers and marketers. We examine the role of front-of-package (FOP) labels in guiding consumer preferences toward making healthier choices. We propose that, when consumers have a prior belief that a product/brand is healthy, reading an FOP label on product packaging thus increases consumer trust, as a result of the agentic role companies play in displaying voluntary FOP labels. This enhanced trust has a downstream positive effect on healthiness perceptions and preferences for foods displaying FOP labels. However, because consumers may be suspicious that an unhealthy brand or product displays an FOP label as an attempt to persuade consumers to buy unhealthy products, no comparable positive effects are found when consumers hold a prior belief that a product/brand is unhealthy.