When indulgence meets self-discipline: Exploring the effect of vice-virtue bundle’s contagion potential on food purchase intention

Virtue foods in vice-virtue bundle help consumers alleviate guilt associated with indulgent consumption, enhancing their preference for the bundle. However, few studies explored whether there are cues in vice-virtue bundle can further enhance consume intention for the bundle. This study explores how contagion cues in vice-virtue bundle can strengthen consumer purchase intention for bundle through three online experiments set in the context of foodservice industry. Results indicate that high contagion potential vice-virtue bundle increases consumers’ perceived entitativity, leading them to perceive a transfer of healthy essence from virtue foods to vice foods. Consumers exhibit a higher purchase intention for high contagion potential vice-virtue bundle. The vice-virtue bundle label moderates the indirect effect of perceived entitativity and transferred essence. This study offers novel insights into the mechanism of contagion effect, and provides implications for foodservice enterprises and consumers’ health management.