Conveniently healthy: The impact of health endorsements on brand trust, brand loyalty and brand equity in Fast Moving Consumer Goods convenience versus shopping goods

Abstract

Purpose: While millions of dollars is spent yearly on health endorsements, and its associated research, findings in studies where product category wasn’t considered might be inaccurate.

Design/methodology/approach: An experimental research design was used to investigate the effect of health endorsements on FMCG brand loyalty, brand trust and brand equity of both convenience and shopping goods for 160 shoppers.

Findings/results: The study found that when looking at the impact of health endorsements overall, only brand trust was impacted. However, when distinguishing between product categories, health endorsements did not impact the brand trust, brand equity or brand loyalty of shopping goods, while having a great influence on those of convenience goods.

Practical implications: While most health endorsements are for shopping goods, these findings present an opportunity for marketers, to make better use of health endorsements in their packaging design. It presents an opportunity for health endorsers to target an untapped market, and it presents a challenge to producers to design convenience products worthy of health endorsements.

Originality/value: Studies considering the return on investment of health endorsements must consider the product category, in order to decrease the likelihood of encountering misleading results as the influence of health endorsements greatly differ between products.