Impact of health claims in prebiotic-enriched breads on purchase intent, emotional response and product liking

The impact of health claims on purchase intent, emotional response and liking has never been
previously reported. In this study, prebiotic-enriched bread was used as a model functional
food. Purchase intent, emotional response and liking were investigated in three phases:
(1) focus groups were used to gauge consumer perception of health claims and functional
foods, (2) the impact of health claims on purchase intent and emotional responses were
measured using an online survey (n=122) and (3) hedonic ratings on bread rolls presented
with or without any associated claims were obtained (n=100). A cluster analysis of the
purchase intent data identified two clusters of consumers who were either receptive or nonreceptive to health claims. Receptive and non-receptive consumers significantly differed in the
emotions they reported with respect to the claims. The hedonic ratings did not significantly
differ between the breads tasted with or without health claims.