Eating with a Purpose:Consumer Response to Functional Food Health Claims in Conflicting Versus Complementary Information Environments

Courtney M. Droms, Butler University
Rebecca Walker Naylor
Kelly L. Haws

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© 2009, American Marketing Association

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Abstract

Marketers of food products have recently introduced a variety of “functional foods” that promise consumers improvements in targeted physiological functions. However, despite the proliferation of functional food health claims promising more than basic nutrition, little is known about consumer responses to these claims, particularly in information environments in which inconsistent information may be available about the efficacy of a particular functional ingredient.