Healthy, But Say It Out Loud? The Messaging Effect on Restaurants’ Healthy Food Promotion

This research aims to examine the role of menu messaging (implicit vs. explicit) used to disclose the healthy food item in shifting diner perceptions and purchase intentions. Drawing on a consumer experiment, the results establish a menu messaging effect on diners’ purchase intentions of healthy items and the underlying mechanism via psychological reactance and perceived attractiveness. Explicit (vs. implicit) messaging negatively affects consumer purchase intentions, which is due to 1) increased psychological reactance (i.e., perceived threat of freedom and counterarguing) and 2) decreased perceived attractiveness. The menu messaging effect is further conditioned by diners’ goal orientation (pleasure vs. goal). Under a goal-driven mindset, the messaging effect is more pronounced compared to a pleasure-driven mindset. This research is among the first to establish a significant role of menu messaging in healthy item communication at restaurants. Theoretical and managerial are further elaborated.