Mindful claims: the relationship between nutritional claims and consumer’s mindfulness state
(A2019-8249)

AUTHORS

Rachel Rodriguez, EGADE Business School; Claudia Quintanilla, EGADE Business School; Edgardo Ayala, Tecnológico de Monterrey; Raquel Castaño, EGADE Business School

KEYWORDS

food choice; mindfulness; nutritional claim

ABSTRACT

As the world is nowadays suffering from an obesity epidemic (WHO, 2000), helping people to make better food choices have become important. In this research, we study how a consumer internal cue such as a mindful state can interact with an external food cue such as nutritional claims, in order to help them make less unhealthy food choices. Using a quantitative approach, we show how a nutritional claim has a negative effect on food choice, making consumers choose more than when it is not present. Also, we show how a mindful eating state can have an impact on this relationship, acting as a moderator and diminishing this effect. But, as the emotional response dimension of mindful eating has a bigger effect, we argue it is very delicate to induce a mindful state. We discuss some practical implications and encourage researchers to add to this literature.