Halo or horn? The role of prior attitudes in shaping consumer responses to high-protein food labels
Capuano, Durand and Besson, Food Quality and Preference 148, 106095, online 2026. Online experiment, 218 participants rating five products. No general health halo from a high-protein label; labelled products seen as more additive-laden and industrially processed; effect on calorie and sugar estimates depended on product calorie content, mainly high-calorie items; attitudes toward protein products moderated the label effect, drive for muscularity did not.
Capuano, Durand and Besson, Food Quality and Preference 148, 106095, online 2026. Online experiment, 218 participants rating five products. No general health halo from a high-protein label; labelled products seen as more additive-laden and industrially processed; effect on calorie and sugar estimates depended on product calorie content, mainly high-calorie items; attitudes toward protein products moderated the label effect, drive for muscularity did not.
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Capuano, C., Durand, F., & Besson, T. (2026). Halo or horn? The role of prior attitudes in shaping consumer responses to high-protein food labels. Food Quality and Preference, 148, 106095. doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2026.106095 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2026.106095