Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G31 2ER, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Feb 23;21(3):258. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21030258.
Claims used in the marketing of commercial baby foods are often misleading, and there are concerns that they exploit parental anxieties. We adapted a hierarchical consumer emotions model to explore the emotional themes used in the marketing of commercial baby foods sold in the UK market. A survey administered in three large UK supermarkets collected in-store data on commercial baby food characteristics and the marketing claims used on commercial baby food packaging. The keywords found in these claims were entered in N-Vivo and allocated to four preexisting emotional themes: contentment, happiness, love, and pride. The prevalence of each theme was compared by age suitability (4+, 6+, 9+, and 12+ months) and taste (sweet/savoury) profile. A total of 1666 marketing claims (median 5, IQR 3) and 1003 emotional keywords (median 3, IQR 3) were identified on the packaging of 341 commercial baby foods. Foods suitable for infants aged 6+ months displayed more claims (50%, < 0.05) and emotional keywords (56%, = 0.07). Savoury foods displayed more emotional keywords (63%, < 0.001). The keywords "little", "encourage", "love(ly)", and "tiny" were the most frequently used words under the theme of love (36% total contribution). The emotional connotations of the keywords under the theme "love" are extensively used in the marketing claims on commercial baby food packaging. These might exploit parental vulnerabilities and influence their purchasing of commercial baby foods.
商业婴儿食品营销中使用的说法往往具有误导性,有人担心这些说法利用了父母的焦虑。我们改编了一个分层消费者情绪模型,以探索在英国市场销售的商业婴儿食品营销中使用的情绪主题。在三家大型英国超市进行的一项调查收集了商业婴儿食品特性和商业婴儿食品包装上使用的营销说法的店内数据。这些说法中的关键词被输入 N-Vivo 并分配到四个预先存在的情绪主题:满足、快乐、爱和自豪。通过年龄适宜性(4+、6+、9+和 12+个月)和口味(甜/咸)特征比较每个主题的流行程度。在 341 种商业婴儿食品的包装上共发现了 1666 条营销说法(中位数为 5,IQR 为 3)和 1003 个情感关键词(中位数为 3,IQR 为 3)。适合 6 个月以上婴儿的食品显示出更多的说法(50%,<0.05)和情感关键词(56%,=0.07)。咸味食品显示出更多的情感关键词(63%,<0.001)。“小”、“鼓励”、“爱(ly)”和“微小”是“爱”主题下使用最频繁的关键词(总贡献 36%)。“爱”主题下关键词的情感内涵在商业婴儿食品包装上的营销说法中被广泛使用。这些可能会利用父母的弱点并影响他们购买商业婴儿食品。