The effect of information among established and new sustainability labelling on consumers' preference and willingness to pay

A sustainable diet that respects planetary boundaries is becoming increasingly important. When purchasing food, labels are one way to communicate sustainability features of a food product to the consumer. Recently, more and more sustainability labels are coming on the market or are being developed and tested. Therefore, this research evaluates the provision of information about different labels addressing sustainability and the resulting differences in consumers' preferences and willingness to pay. Data were obtained from an online survey consisting of choice experiments to assess four sustainability labels (Nutri-Score, Eco-Score, nutrition claims, and organic labels) and price. In total, 1087 consumers took part in the online survey in Germany. Consumers exhibited a high preference for interpretative labels and nutrition claims. With further information provided, consumers' preferences or avoidance were even stronger for the interpretative labels. However, interpretative labels worked remarkably well without providing additional information. The willingness to pay was highest for the Eco-Score A and Nutri-Score A. Furthermore, the label category C of the interpretative labels seemed to have no effect on consumer preference. These findings hold great potential for marketing of food products and companies pricing policies.