Iron deficiency is still widespread as a major health problem even in countries with adequate food supply. It mainly affects women but also vegans, vegetarians, and athletes and can lead to various clinical pictures. Biofortification of vitamin C-rich vegetables with iron may be one new approach to face this nutritional challenge. However, so far, little is known about the consumer acceptance of iron-biofortified vegetables, particularly in developed countries. To address this issue, a quantitative survey of 1000 consumers in Germany was conducted. The results showed that depending on the type of vegetable, between 54% and 79% of the respondents were interested in iron-biofortified vegetables. Regression analysis showed a relationship between product acceptance, gender, and area of residence. In addition, relationships were found between consumer preferences for enjoyment, sustainability, and naturalness. Compared to functional food and dietary supplements, 77% of respondents would prefer fresh iron-rich vegetables to improve their iron intake. For a market launch, those iron-rich vegetables appear especially promising, which can additionally be advertised with claims for being rich in vitamin C and cultivated in an environmentally friendly way. Consumers were willing to pay EUR 0.10 to EUR 0.20 more for the iron-biofortified vegetables.

Informative food labels are one way to increase nutritional awareness in society and can essentially help individuals maintain balanced dietary practices. Nonetheless, making food labels ‘informative’, in the sense of applicability, is not always easy. Physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) food labeling is one approach to achieve this goal. Yet, it is neither understood how consumers perceive PACE labels, nor how effective they are in regards to healthy food choices. Moreover, it is of interest to assess the perception of real products in close-to-realistic environments. Therefore, this study examined a simulated purchase situation and consumers’ visual attention on PACE labels—on 20 different real snack products with varying health values. In a laboratory-shopping environment, the gaze behaviors of 91 consumers were examined with a head-mounted eye-tracker. In regards to perception, it was elucidated that every participant noticed at least one PACE label. On average 1.39 PACE label fixations on different products were counted with a mean fixation duration of 0.55 s and a mean time to first fixation of 22.46 s. On average, 22.9% of the participants viewed the PACE labels at least once, but the intensity and duration varied greatly between the different products; ’healthier products’ attracted more visual attention than ‘unhealthier products’. In regards to health choice, it became obvious that the choices observed were rather healthy and PACE labels attracted attention. This may have been especially true for participants with little involvement in physical activity and health behavior, which may have been the main target group. Hence, catchy, communicable PACE labels, as well as balanced product offerings may facilitate more healthy food choices. The real-world laboratory setting offered valuable insights, which should be followed-up on.

In the global attempt to combat rising obesity rates, the introduction of health warning messages on food products is discussed as one possible approach. However, the perception of graphical health warning messages in the food context and the possible impact that they may have, in particular at the neuronal level, have hardly been studied. Therefore, the aim of this explorative study was to examine consumers’ reactions (measured as neuronal activity and subjective reporting) of two different types of graphical health warning messages on sweets compared to sweets without warning messages. One type used the red road traffic stop sign as graphical information (“Stop”), while the other one used shocking pictures (“Shock”), an approach similar to the images on cigarette packages. The neural response of 78 participants was examined with the neuroimaging technique functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Different hemodynamic responses in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the frontopolar cortex (FOC), and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) were observed, regions which are associated with reward evaluation, social behavior consequences, and self-control. Further, the health warning messages were actively and emotionally remembered by the participants. These findings point to an interesting health information strategy, which should be explored and discussed further.

Against the background of rising societal interest for sustainable food and nutrition choices, food labels have gained importance in providing important information to consumers. However, little is known about how the differences between quality frames in labels are evaluated and how priming might serve as an anchor for label perception. This study aims to observe the neural reaction of this in the context of differently framed food labels for products of animal origin, claiming the presence or absence of an additional quality aspect and under the impulse of emotional priming. In an explorative setup, we measured the neural prefrontal cortex activity of 26 participants with the neuroimaging technology fNIRS. An idyllic prime and a prime related to a label claiming an additional product quality led to increased neural activity in the OFC and dlPFC. Shedding light on what elements are of importance to identify products that meet consumers’ requirements in terms of quality aspects, this could indicate that the prime stressed the meaning of the label. This strengthens the argument to positively phrase and anchor frames regarding quality attributions as opposed to negative declarations. It further demonstrates the ability of fNIRS to capture processing through labels and primes in the context of consumer behavior.

Iron deficiency is a widespread global health concern affecting women, in particular, but also individuals adhering to vegan or vegetarian diets, as well as athletes. Inadequate iron intake can lead to various diseases, necessitating an iron-rich diet or dietary supplements. In addition to existing iron-enriched functional foods and supplements, the potential emergence of iron-biofortified vegetables, high in vitamin C, could enhance iron absorption in the future. As these vegetables are not established in the German food market, identifying the target group before market launch is crucial. To address this, a quantitative online survey of 1000 German consumers was conducted, focusing on purchase and consumption motives such as sustainability, naturalness, fitness, fresh food, convenience, preventive medical care, and pleasure. The analysis revealed four health-oriented consumer clusters. The "holistically committed" cluster pursued a comprehensive health approach, including active self-care, medical precautions, and environmental considerations. The "fitness pragmatists" cluster, primarily composed of young consumers, prioritized external health aspects with a focus on physical appearance. The "simply provisioners" cluster viewed preventive health care as integral to medical attention, emphasizing the need for quick and easy health solutions. Despite initially appearing unrelated to health concerns, the "hedonist" cluster, valuing pleasure-driven food choices, regularly cooked and appreciated variety and naturalness, indirectly supporting a health-oriented lifestyle. The cluster analysis showed high purchase potential for biofortified foods among sustainability- and naturalness-focused innovators, as well as pleasure-oriented consumers. Their broad acceptance highlights the demand for healthy, minimally processed foods. However, biofortified foods compete with dietary supplements and functional foods, resulting in an individualized product mix among target groups.