What’s the Buzz? Preferences and perceptions of policies to reduce childhood energy drink consumption

Abstract

As global energy drink sales and caffeine content have surged, so have public health concerns over childhood energy drink consumption. With limited regulatory oversight, potential adverse effects, and recent claims of targeted marketing toward children, there is a need to better understand society’s evolving relationship with energy drink markets. This study uses experimental and survey data from a national panel of 1,036 U.S. adults to assess consumer preferences and perceptions toward energy drink policies and marketing. First, we use a best-worst scaling experiment to assess preferences for energy drink labeling requirements, sales channel bans, marketing restrictions, and caffeine caps relative to the status quo. A randomized information treatment also considers how information from health agencies highlighting risks to childhood health affects policy preferences. Without this information, respondents have the strongest preference for a mandatory and prominently displayed caffeine content label. Providing information on the potential childhood health risks, however, increases the relative ranking of policies banning sales to children in retail outlets and high schools. The exploratory survey analysis then provides insights into marketing perceptions that open avenues for future research. For example, we show that it takes the average consumer more than twice as long to find the caffeine content of an energy drink than its calorie count, most consumers believe energy drink packaging is at least somewhat appealing to children, and the perceived target audience of social media marketing varies across brands. These results and the corresponding discussion provide important global policy-relevant insights as the energy drink market develops.