Framing Effect in Sugar-Free Labels: Evidence From Laboratory Experiments and Eye-Tracking Techniques

Framing elements frequently appear in food labels, but research papers have paid too much attention to the framing effect of food brand logo, and the interaction between framing elements and food labels has not been explored by academics. Therefore, this paper focuses on sugar-free labels and demonstrates the framing effect of sugar-free labels through a laboratory study and an eye-tracking study. The results show that consumers have higher taste perceptions of sugar-free foods that do not have a framing element in the sugar-free label, and that this effect is driven by the psychological mechanism of association of indulgence and is limited to hedonic foods. Finally, eye-tracking experimental data from participants who were native English speakers further validated this effect. These findings suggest that visual cues in the packaging of sugar-free foods may contribute to consumers' taste perception of such foods, and that the framing elements of sugar-free labels are one of them.