Impact of health claims in prebiotic-enriched breads on purchase intent, emotional response and product liking.

The impact of health claims on purchase intent, emotional response and liking has never been previously reported. In this study, prebiotic-enriched bread was used as a model functional food. Purchase intent, emotional response and liking were investigated in three phases: (1) focus groups were used to gauge consumer perception of health claims and functional foods, (2) the impact of health claims on purchase intent and emotional responses were measured using an online survey (n = 122) and (3) hedonic ratings on bread rolls presented with or without any associated claims were obtained (n = 100). A cluster analysis of the purchase intent data identified two clusters of consumers who were either receptive or non-receptive to health claims. Receptive and non-receptive consumers significantly differed in the emotions they reported with respect to the claims. The hedonic ratings did not significantly differ between the breads tasted with or without health claims.