Do consumers care about clean labels? Willingness to pay for simple ingredient lists and front-of-package labels on beef and plant-based burgers

Abstract

We use an online hypothetical discrete choice experiment to examine willingness to pay for two dimensions of a clean label: simple ingredient lists and front-of-package labels. Experimental subjects were asked to choose between beef burgers, plant-based burgers, and hybrid burgers made with beef and plant protein. The burgers had either a simple or complex ingredient list and could also be labeled as organic or an excellent source of protein. Subjects were divided into two treatments: a treatment in which ingredient lists were always visible, and a treatment in which the ingredient lists were only visible if subjects clicked on the product image (click treatment). Subjects were willing to pay a premium of $4.55–$5.58 for products with simple ingredient lists in the visible ingredient treatment (relative to base prices of $5.00 to $12.50). This premium was reduced to $1.82–$2.29 in the click treatment. Willingness to pay for the organic and excellent source of protein labels was considerably lower and was generally insignificant, ranging from -$0.17 (and statistically insignificant) to $0.73. Willingness to pay for simple ingredient lists and front-of-package labels were not correlated, suggesting that demand for these attributes does not stem from an underlying preference for clean labels.