Description of what food labelling is to supermarket chains and to manufacturers and how / why different for these two stages in the supply chain.
Pepsi Company is a giant drink manufacturer that has branches all over the globe. The firm has effectively practiced food labelling in its drinks. The firm has advanced more information on food labels in relation to nutrition. Even though the company has improved its food labelling policy, I feel that there are more the company can take to improve its information on the drinks it sells. The increase in the food label usage has enabled the company to build more brand trust and woo more consumers.
Food labelling is a way of information that is earlier hidden to be finally spread in the marketplace. Moreover, different labelling plays a vital role in the marketing system in the PepsiCo branches. The food labels offer more information on the nutritional content of the various foods on the shelves of the supermarkets. The producers are obligated to provide particular information on the consumers purchase to have the capability to make sound decisions.
Food labelling information is broken down into small sections that are easy to understand on the nutrition contained in the food sachet or container. Nonetheless, the information will stress on the specific size of the vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates or fats.
There is a difference in food labelling between the supermarkets and manufacturers in the supply chain. The manufacturers tend to sell their products with less information on the food label to be able to woo more consumers while the supermarkets view to practice food labelling to attract a consistent number of consumers in the supply chain.
List and explain the reasons why supermarkets and manufacturers would want to increase food label usage as well as why they would want to decrease it.
An assessment of the consumer purchasing power views that the consumers do not pay a lot of attention to the labelling information. Such assessments are fond of creating an atmosphere of confusion among the supermarket chains. The inadequate experience on food additives and processing lays a platform for the PepsiCo will decrease the food labels because of several reasons. For instance, PepsiCo tends to provide food labels to enable the clients get a clue on the food they are buying. Most of the times the clients are driven by the urge contained in the food label (Davies &Len 57).
Davies &Len (58) postulate that PepsiCo use the product labels to give more information on the way to store and prepare the food. Therefore, a proper food label will be effective to enable the consumer to prepare the food when he or she has no the awareness (ibid). It is the duty of PepsiCo to provide the product labels to enable the clients to differentiate the poisonous and non-poisonous substances. The food labels give the clients more information that the food they have bought is healthy for human consumption.
PepsiCo offer product labels to enable the consumer to make choices on the dietary foods that he or she prefers. For instance, PepsiCo tend to describe in the product label whether the food is less or more nutritious. The difference in nutrition helps the supermarkets to target a certain group of clients that may buy the products (Steenhuis 107).
Several arguments tend to elucidate why the PepsiCo might ignore to put food labels on the foods. For instance, the PepsiCo stakeholders might feel that inserting product labels on certain products may tend to reduce the number of consumers in the markets. For instance, the allergic people to carbonate drinks may refuse to buy foods that contain a lot of sodium bicarbonate. This implies that the drinks manufacturer might incur losses because it finds it difficult to sell the products. Hence, the presence of allergic people in the economy tends to leave the supermarkets with no option rather than to decrease the tendency to put food labels on the food packages.
According to Kay (255), all producers are expected to convey information to potential clients of their goods and services. Manufacturers have always adopted product labeling techniques to advertise their products to consumers. Also, supermarket channels are working in hand with manufacturing companies to ensure that labelling is done in a perfect manner. Supermarkets have a limited shelf space which stocks a few products and the most in demand (Kay 256). At the same time, supermarkets ensure that they convey information about their food products with an aim of generating sufficient initial demand. The conveyed information aims at creating awareness to the consumers regarding product availability, product specification, and product quality (ibid). At the same time, manufacturing companies are expected to convey information that provides insight to product specification. The companies are also providing information on the quality of their goods.
Silayoi, Pinya, and Speece (607) conducted an exploratory study that demonstrated the importance of packaging design in marketing. According to the authors, both manufacturing companies and supermarket channels have realized that a packaging design is an effective vehicle that can be used as a brand to succeed in competitive markets (Silayoi, Pinya and Speece 608). The study used a focus group methodology in understanding the behavior of the consumers towards food products and at the same time examine how the elements of packaging affect buyer’s decisions. As a result, supermarkets and manufacturing companies have adopted the visual package elements and simplified their label information to attract more clients (ibid). The researchers faced difficulties in integrating packaging elements into an efficacious purchasing decision model. Silayoi, Pinya, and Speece highlights that packaging is an important communication aspect and thereby, proposes the need for future research so that producers, manufacturers, and sellers can develop a thorough understanding of consumer response to packaging elements (p.627).
The article by Russo et.al “Nutrition Information in the Supermarket” focuses on the design of the information programs that succeeds in altering the knowledge and purchase patterns of consumers (p.48). In the article, results of two studies that measured specific aspects of the information programs are discussed. Supermarkets are posting nutrition information to lessen the information-processing costs that arise from equaling alternative food products. In the first experiment, the lists of vitamins and minerals improved the nutrition knowledge of consumers although it had zero impact on the purchasing power of consumers (McCann 153). Nevertheless, in the second experiment, a list of added sugar (a negative component of food) influenced consumers purchasing power as the market share of low-sugar breakfast cereals improved to unimaginable levels compared to high-sugar brands ( Russo et.al 63). Therefore, the results and findings in the article expressed that effort-reducing displays are highly effective in increasing information use, particularly for extremely valued negative nutrients (Russo et.al 67).
According to Davies, Mark, and Lens (57), the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion can be applied in supermarkets channels and by manufacturers in advertising. The ELM helps users to examine the approach used by consumers in evaluating messages received. The client is persuaded to purchase food products if the motivation and capability to evaluate information remains high (ibid). Contrariwise, the purchasing behavior might be influenced by consumer attitudes when the motivation is low. As a result, supermarkets have implemented executional features to promote the purchase of food products. This comprises the use of visual images or any other effective channel. The ELM is not only important in analyzing advertising messages but can also be used convey marketing information through food labelling, logos, and branding. In labelling, the packaging is a fundamental element that is very useful in the promotional mix. The way a label is presented has an impact on the consumer purchasing behavior. The food products that are labelled in an attractive and unique way on supermarkets shelves are consumed highly by the customers. Labelling is usually comprised of eye-catching colors, graphics, symbols, and pictures (Davies, Mark, and Lens 66).
Hawley et.al article, “The science of front-of-package food labels” provides a comprehensive analysis of the influence and need of front-of-package food (FOP) food labels. An FDA study indicated that 67% of respondents agreed that FOP symbols influenced their purchasing behavior (Hawley et.al 432). The study goes ahead to illustrate that the collection of non-standardized labelling system makes it tough for buyers to assess and compare the nutritional profiles of different foods. The FOP labelling systems have a weakness since it exposes consumers who are in a hurry to shop to fall victims of food manufacturers who highlights healthy elements of an overall unhealthy product (ibid). As a result, policymakers and advertisers must formulate an informative, easy to understand, science-based FOP labelling system. Supermarkets and manufacturers prefer using the FOP labelling systems that will increasing their sales but are less concerned about the benefits of these food products to consumers (Hawley et.al 337).
Voordouw et.al conducted a qualitative study outside a supermarket to examine the preference for labeling practices for food allergic consumers. The objective of the study was to establish whether the current labelling practices meets the expectations of food allergic consumers (Voordouw et.al 98). The study involved 40 consumers who were asked to pick 15 food items that had problems and could not be used in their homes. When the participants were questioned about their preferences, the participants pinpointed the problems associated with the food labelling practices (Tajeddini 355). The research findings indicated that that labelling practices can either be helpful or unnecessary depending on the information displayed. The common food labelling practices that are used by supermarkets and manufacturers and misleads consumers includes inappropriate use of fonts, improper colors and fonts, and lack of harmonization in the practices (Voordouw et.al 94).
The food industry is influenced by a wide-range of marketing decisions. For instance, supermarkets and manufacturers are allocating enough resources in brand building. An effective advertisement is believed to increase the willingness of the consumers to pay for food products. For example, the Coca-Cola company has used and still uses numerous capital to perfect its formula and promote its brand (Perner 1). Also, manufacturers are capable of leveraging their prevailing brand names that create new product lines. Heinz is a good example of a manufacturer that started out as a brand for pickles but later on expanded into ketchup. At the same time, manufacturers are alert and ensures that brand extensions do not tarnish the label of the original brand (Perner 7) Manufactures that have remained consistent in maintaining high-quality products have continued to succeed in the competitive market. Establishing a consumer brand loyalty is fundamental and increases the preference of consumers to purchase a particular product (Burt 875).
PepsiCo Global Labelling Company illustrates the company’s commitment to helping consumers make up-to-date decisions. Labelling has helped the company to avail information that is fact based and easy to understand to their potential clients. Through their labels, PepsiCo describes the key nutritional components of their food products. Their aim is to convey information that depicts that their products are safe for human consumption because they meet the standards of a balanced and healthy diet. PepsiCo labelling provides information regarding the amount of energy, carbohydrate, protein, total fat, sodium, amongst others. PepsiCo Company provides the nutritional content of their products and this conveys health information to their potential clients.
Recommendations (Comprehensive plan)
PepsiCo and supermarket chains can work together to provide tools that will keep all consumers informed of what they are eating. The suggestions and recommendations include
Setting and implementing food standards
PepsiCo and Supermarket chains should work together to establish safety, quality, and labelling standards. The two stakeholders should liaise and come up with the broadest possible scale that meets the global standards of the food industry. Labelling should reveal the expected food standards to the population. PepsiCo and supermarket should devise effective strategies and develop uniform safety standards for their food products. For instance, labelling is expected to offer an equal level of protection to all consumers. It is also fundamental for supermarkets and manufacturers to inform the target market on the protection standards applied in the labeling process. PepsiCo manufacturing company should work together with supermarket chains to employ control measures that will guarantee a real and meaningful safety.
Establishing a standardized nutrition rating system
Implementing a standardized nutrition rating system will work to benefit supermarkets chains, manufacturers, and consumers. In the past, the nutrition systems have proved to be flawed because they failed to adopt an essential criteria to determine the nutritional contents in food products. A standardized system will have the capability to assess the exact nutritional components and increase the confidence of consumers. A standardized nutrition rating system is a tool that will motivate the consumers to purchase a more nutritious mix of products. The tool will also reduce the purchase of food products that have a little nutrition content, and promote the purchase of more nutritious foods.
Adhering to the U.S Food and Administration
Supermarkets and PepsiCo should work together to ensure that the foods sold on the shelves of the supermarkets contain food labels. The drink manufacturer should be ready to certify to the supermarkets that the food products they have manufactured have reached the FDA standards. For instance, PepsiCo should comply with the FDA recommendations and explain the nutrition in bottles of sodas.
The manufacturers should offer training to the supermarket stakeholders.
Collaboration between the PepsiCo and retailers such as supermarket can be significant to the consumers if the manufacturer decides to offer corporate training to the supermarket sales people. The salespersons should be able to clarify to the customers what they are consuming regardless of the presence of the food label. Furthermore, the sales person should have either passion or knowledge on the food that he or she sells to the consumers. A skilled salesperson on the preservation and consumption of the foods can help to reduce cases of food poisoning.
Conclusion
As expounded above, food labelling gives the customer more information on the food that he has bought. Supermarkets and PepsiCo insert labels on the foods to allow the consumer to get awareness on the dietary foods, nutrition, and non-nutrition foods, shell life of the food and the tutorial of storing and preparing the foods. However, some supermarkets and food firms may attempt to decrease the food label usage to attract other categories illegally such as allergic people to fats to consume fat foods. The two stakeholders can highlight the nutrition of the consumer by ensuring that the products they sell the clients are in alignment with the FDA standards. Moreover, the two parties can improve the nutritional status of the customer by ensuring that the salespeople have sufficient knowledge on the food in question.
Work cited
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