Naturalness Against Environment-Friendliness: the Impact of Shelf Life on Food Perceptions and Purchase Decisions

We study the impact of shelf-life information on consumers' expectations about food healthiness, naturalness, and environmental friendliness, as well as purchase decisions. Through seven studies (and four additional studies reported in the appendix), we demonstrate that shelf-life information produces divergent effects: foods with a longer shelf life are perceived as less wasteful and more environmentally friendly but also as less natural and less healthy. Accordingly, we demonstrate that emphasizing naturalness or healthiness (vs. waste reduction or environmental friendliness) increases consumers' preference for foods with a shorter (vs. longer) shelf life. This happens even when foods with different shelf lives have nearly identical ingredients and nutritional quality, or when the longer shelf life can objectively be attributed to better packaging rather than the food itself, unless consumers are explicitly prompted to elaborate on why the foods differ in shelf life. Theoretically, these findings contribute to the literature on shelf life as a determinant of food choice and deepen understanding of perceptions of naturalness and environmental friendliness. Practically, our research provides insights on how consumers' preference for naturalness can ultimately lead to more waste by increasing the appeal of foods with shorter shelf lives.