Gluten-free products: Consumer perception of the functional properties and peculiarities of labelling

Abstract

The culture of food consumption is centered around innovative technologies and the healthy eating ideology. Against this background, manufacturers often use product information to promote products in the market without providing buyers with complete data on their practical purpose. The study tests the hypothesis that the ‘gluten-free’ logo has no effect on consumer choice, and the awareness of a product’s functional properties is formed in the context of marketing information received from the external environment. The methodological basis of the study is marketing theory in terms of consumer perception of products using neuromarketing technologies, oculography, and eye tracking. Practical outcomes were obtained through a pilot method implying a neuromarketing experiment on the visibility of ‘gluten-free’ labels. The empirical evidence covers the results of a survey of 200 buyers at large retail chains in the city of Simferopol in January 2023, as well as the results of an experiment involving 32 students and employees conducted by the Laboratory of Neuromarketing and Behavioral Economics of V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University. The study shows that consumers are dimly aware of the functional properties of gluten-free products. We found that visual attention to the ‘gluten free’ logo was 1.5 times lower than to any other labelling information. A relationship was found between the time spent on studying the product and the buyer’s choice of a test sample with the logo. According to the research results, it is necessary to provide more detailed information on gluten-free products’ packaging; to classify such products as functional, narrowly specialized goods and substitutes intended for consumers with autoimmune disorders; and to sell them in specialized departments or sales points.