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Perceived health and taste ambivalence in food consumption

Harri Luomala Maijastiina Jokitalo Hannu Karhu Hanna-Leena Hietaranta-Luoma Anu Hopia Sanna Hietamki
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Perceived health and taste ambivalence in

food consumption
Harri Luomala, Maijastiina Jokitalo and Hannu Karhu
Department of Marketing, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
Hanna-Leena Hietaranta-Luoma and Anu Hopia

Functional Foods Forum, University of Turku, Turku, Finland, and
Sanna Hietamki
Department of Marketing, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland

Abstract
Purpose This study aims to explore how certain consumer characteristics (dieting status, health motives and food values) together with products
carrying ambivalent health and taste cues (light foods, convenience foods, functional candies) shape whether and why health and taste attributes
are perceived as inclusive (healthy is tasty and unhealthy is untasty) or exclusive (healthy is untasty and unhealthy is tasty).
Design/methodology/approach A qualitative methodology not yet applied in examining consumers healthiness and tastiness perceptions of
food was employed. It included gathering three separate data sets through both personal and group interviews (N 40).
Findings Consumers dieting status, health motives and food values shape the perception of inclusivity and exclusivity of health and taste of light,
convenience and candy products. Second, there are multiple sources for these perceptions including product type, ingredients, level of processing
and marketing cues. These factors interact to produce a unique consumer understanding of the relationship between health and taste for each single
food product.
Practical implications To ensure optimal consumer response, food companies and health educators need to understand how different target
groups form their inclusive/exclusive perceptions of health and taste for various foods.
Originality/value The majority of pre-existing food consumption research supports imply that a good taste and a high degree of healthiness are
incompatible with each other. The findings challenge this view. It appears that it is the unhealthy is untasty and healthy is tasty perceptions
that predominate in certain consumer groups. A novel conceptual framework for understanding the ambivalence of health and taste perceptions in
food consumption is offered.
Keywords Health, Taste, Product type, Ambivalence, Consumer characteristics, Food perception
Paper type Research paper
An executive summary for managers and executive

readers can be found at the end of this issue.
effects of product type and consumer factors, such managerial

actions can backfire and lead to unintended effects. For
example, the tastiness label increased the flavor intensity
perception for the Comt cheese, but not for the Emmental
cheese and this effect was dependent on consumers age
(Jacquot et al., 2013). It is exactly these kinds of complexities
the present study seeks to shed light on. Consequently, the
interplay between product and consumer factors in
determining whether and why healthiness and tastiness are
perceived to combine in various foods offers an intriguing
research avenue that possesses managerial relevance.
The majority of food consumption research supports the
conclusion that a good taste and a high degree of healthiness
are incompatible with each other. First, research on the
Introduction
Understanding and managing the complex relationship
between consumers and products is one of the most
fundamental tasks of food marketers. Sometimes, simple
managerial tools such as label information can be influential in
steering consumers responses. For example, labeling food as
tasty or using evocative terms such as succulent Italian
seafood filet is known to have a positive impact on
consumers expectations, acceptance, attention and hedonic
ratings (Wansink et al., 2005; Torres-Moreno et al., 2012).
Yet, due to the complexity pertaining to the relationship
between the health and taste attributes of food and interactive
The first empirical data were collected as a part of the understanding

consumers on the weight management markets-project (40182/09)
financed by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and eight Finnish
food companies. The second empirical data were collected as a part of the
the healthy choices tailored models for eating and exercising-project
(70102/08) financed by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and
five Finnish food companies.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/0736-3761.htm

32/4 (2015) 290 301
Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0736-3761]
[DOI 10.1108/JCM-11-2014-1233]
Received 25 November 2014

Revised 16 March 2015
Accepted 6 April 2015
290
Perceived health and taste ambivalence
Harri Luomala et al.
Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301
relative importance of food choice criteria shows that in many

countries, taste is prioritized over health. In Russia, for
example, taste is the most important choice criterion, while
health is on the fifth position (Honkanen and Frewer, 2009).
Second, consumers themselves often perceive that tastiness
and healthiness are in contradiction (Luomala et al., 2004).
Raghunathan et al. (2006) demonstrate that when consumers
are given a cue for unhealthy food, they expect it to taste better
and enjoy its taste more than when they are given a cue for
healthy food these effects are unconscious (see also Mai and
Hoffmann, 2015). However, there are reasons to believe that
this effect is not universal. Werle et al. (2013) showed that in
France, unhealthy food is spontaneously associated with bad
taste, while healthy food is linked to tastiness. Third, using a
sociocultural research approach, Chrysochou et al. (2010)
defined the indulgent social discourse of healthy eating as
experiential and the controlled discourse as functional. These
discourses put healthiness and palatability in opposition:
research context. In three empirical studies, three variations of

the consumer characteristics and product type interaction are
then explored between:
1 dieting status and light foods;
2 health motives and convenience foods; and
3 food values and functional candies.
In each of these studies, the methodological premises are
outlined and the findings are reported. The article concludes
with a discussion highlighting the theoretical, managerial and
societal implications and future research suggestions.
Food product type and consumer characteristics

as shapers of health and taste perceptions
Observations concerning the relationships between product
type, dieting status, health motives and food values and
consumers health and taste perceptions can be made based on
prior research. However, not all of these inter-relationships
have been explored equally extensively and systematically. In
the cases of scarce pre-existing knowledge, topically tangent
studies are cited in the review that follows.
[. . .] consumers tending towards an experiential discourse may sacrifice

healthy eating for the sake of experiencing quality and taste in their food
choices, whereas consumer tending towards a functional discourse may to
achieve physical health compromise on taste or quality by optimizing the
nutritional content of their food choices (Chrysochou et al., 2010, p. 289).
Product type
Generally, the foods with positive health reputation (e.g. fruits
and vegetables) are perceived as healthier than the foods with
negative health reputation (e.g. so-called junk foods) even
when their energy values are actually equal (Oakes, 2005).
Not surprisingly, however, the latter foods are also perceived
as highly tasty (Dunn et al., 2008).
Consumers have been shown to perceive the full-fat
version of a food to taste better than its light version (Wardle
and Solomons, 1994). The low-fat label may activate
health-related schemas in the mind of the consumer and
stigmatize the product as having inferior taste (Ellen and
Bone, 2008). Yet, this does not necessarily mean that light
foods are uniformly perceived as more healthful because they
can also be seen as artificial and as containing additives and
other chemicals (Niva et al., 2013). In terms of convenience
foods, consumers appear to commonly associate them with
both unhealthiness and low sensory quality (de Boer et al.,
2004; Costa et al., 2007; Brunner et al., 2010). Of the product
class of sweets and candies, chocolate has received the
majority of scholarly attention. It is perceived as
overwhelmingly palatable (Zarantonello and Luomala, 2011),
but a group of consumers who believe in the positive health
impact of chocolate has also been identified (Januszewska
et al., 2000).
Still, there are studies that more generally imply that health
and enjoyment (cf. tastiness of food) can go hand in hand. In
a health meaning analysis, Luomala et al. (2006) uncovered
that many consumers typically think that one cannot stay
healthy without a temporary and justified relaxation. In a
similar vein, one of the health-related motive orientations
Geeroms et al. (2008a,2008b) identified was emotional
well-being. However, at the product perception level, this is
a virtually untested assumption in marketing literature.
Based on the preceding discussion, this research intends to
contribute to food consumption research in four ways. First, it
systemically explores how certain consumer characteristics
(dieting status, health motives and food values) together with
products carrying ambivalent health and taste cues (light
foods, convenience foods, functional candies) shape
whether and why health and taste attributes are perceived as
inclusive (healthy is tasty and unhealthy is untasty) or
exclusive (healthy is untasty and unhealthy is tasty). This
broadens the scope of knowledge related to the dynamic
inter-relationships generating consumers health and taste
perceptions. Second, the existence of these inclusive or
exclusive health and taste perceptions is approached and
supported by a qualitative research methodology. This
supplements the current quantitative empirical evidence that
mainly concerns the unhealthy is tasty intuition only. Third,
the trend of addressing the role of psychographics in food
consumption (Buckley et al., 2007) is followed by introducing
mental consumer factors that have not received much
attention in marketing research so far as shapers of consumers
inclusive and exclusive healthiness and tastiness perceptions.
Finally, based on the three studies conducted, a novel
conceptualization describing the formation of these
perceptions is offered for hypotheses development, testing and
additional elaboration by future research.
Next, a literature review concerning how product type and
consumers dieting status, health motives and food values
individually shape the perception of inclusivity or exclusivity
of health and taste is presented to justify their relevance in this
Dieting status
Dieting status refers to the extent to which a consumer
deliberately tries to lose weight. Dieting consumers report to
make a conscious attempt at it while non-dieting consumers
do not. In a field study conducted at grocery stores, Oakes and
Slotterback (2002) offer evidence suggesting that dieting
consumers use different criteria in judging the healthfulness of
foods than non-dieting consumers: the former group rely on
fat content, while the latter group on freshness. Moreover,
dieting consumers have been found to be more accurate at
estimating the amount of calories of healthy foods and more
attentive to foods fat, energy and sugar content than
291
Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301
non-dieting consumers (Carels et al., 2007). However, these

seemingly logical results have been challenged by Paradis and
Cabanac (2008). In this study, food shoppers receipts of their
grocery purchases were collected at cashiers. Perhaps
paradoxically, the self-reported dieting consumers had bought
more dairy and meat products and less vegetables and fruits
than the self-reported non-dieting consumers.
As a matter of fact, Irmak et al. (2011) have established how
the food name pasta activates dieting consumers to perceive
the item to be less healthful and tasty; this did not hold for
non-dieting consumers. On the other hand, dieting consumers
ate more (a sign of a positive taste perception) after being
primed with the healthful brand than with the unhealthful
brand, whereas no influence was observed for non-dieting
consumers (Cavanagh and Forestell, 2013).
(1999) offered evidence that consumers with weaker health

food values perceive the taste of reduced-fat frankfurters,
yogurts and chocolate as less pleasant than that of regular
versions. Moreover, consumers with higher health food values
experienced the taste of reduced-fat margarine as more
pleasant than the taste of regular margarine. The
health-valuating consumers like the taste of fruits, low-fat
dairy products, cereals and vegetables more than the
taste-valuating consumers who, in turn, prefer the taste of
meat, fish and sweets (Wadolowska et al., 2008).
Moving beyond the sensory perception, consumers with
high taste food values differ from consumers with high health
food values: The former group are more likely to believe they
are great cooks, opinion-leaders and more appreciative of
wine and fine dining and to rate themselves as less traditional,
more adventurous than the latter group (Wansink and
Westgren, 2003). As regards food choices, consumers with
high vs low health/taste food values have been demonstrated
to exhibit different selection patterns in terms of products that
are typically considered either as healthy or tasty (Roininen
and Tuorila, 1999; Zandstra et al., 2001).
Based on the preceding literature review, it can be expected
that variation in consumerproduct interactions plays a role in
how and why health and taste are perceived to combine or not
to combine in foods. To gain both a comprehensive and
nuanced understanding of this, an empirical exploration of
three cases of consumerproduct interaction is deemed
necessary. To create variation in the consumer side of the
equation, informant samples represent different populations:
dieting vs non-dieting consumers;
consumers with distinct health motives; and
health- vs taste-valuating consumers.
Health motives
Consumers attach numerous fine-grained meanings to health
(Luomala et al., 2006). These meanings represent different
motives for pursuing health. Geeroms et al. (2008a) identified
six health-related motive orientations (HRMO): health as
energy, health as emotional well-being, health as social
responsibility, health as physical well-being, health as
self-management and health as outward appearance and
reported that different health motive consumer groups preferred
different kinds of advertising (tailored vs untailored) designed
to promote fruit and vegetable intake. There were also
differences in the self-reported use of bananas, potatoes and
cooked vegetables.
In another study, they (2008b) showed that ready meal
consumption patterns differed between the identified health
motive groups. More importantly, their findings imply that
consumers representing certain health motive groups (Energetic
Experimenters and Conscious Experts) perceive that healthiness
and tastiness can combine in convenience foods, while in other
groups (e.g. Normative Carers), they are not viewed to come
together in the same extent. This study conveys important
information about the relationship between the inclusive or
exclusive health and taste perceptions and food consumers
different health motives. Moreover, Ronteltap et al. (2012) have
also recently marshaled out evidence in favor of the existence of
this relationship. Namely, they found that chocolate and chips
(highly palatable products) are perceived as more healthy when
consumers are guided to think about eating at a more abstract
level (e.g. lifestyle vs nutrient).
As the second way of ensuring qualitative diversity of the data,

products that possess ambiguous health and taste images, but
yet stand for distinguishable food manufacturing and
marketing solutions are chosen for the target of analysis.
Therefore, three studies involving light, convenience and
candy products are reported in the following.
Study 1: healthiness and/or tastiness of light

food products as viewed by dieting vs nondieting consumers
Methodology
The data were collected through personal interviews with
dieters (5 men, 5 women, average age 54.0 years, average body
mass index [BMI] 33.4) and non-dieters (5 men, 5 women,
average age 55.6 years, average BMI 24.4). Dieting
informants included individuals who currently reported to try
losing weight, while non-dieting informants did not report
such attempts (a method to ensure variety within sample). As
expected, dieters were more obese than non-dieters.
The starting-point of the discussion was the food product
classification task in which informants were asked to position
(based either on their knowledge or on impressions), 21 real
food products into a matrix with the cells:
healthy and good-tasting;
healthy and bad-tasting;
unhealthy and good-tasting; and
unhealthy and bad-tasting.
Food values
Food values refer to a stable set of beliefs about the relative
importance of meta-attributes, consequences, and end states
associated with food purchase and consumption and include
naturalness, taste, price, safety, convenience, nutrition,
tradition, origin, fairness, appearance and environmental
impact (Lusk, 2011, pp. 452-454). Lusk (2011) demonstrated
how embracement of certain food values (environmental
impact and tradition) facilitated, while appreciating alternative
food values (price and convenience) inhibited buying of
organic milk and eggs.
More specific food values such as health and taste (referred
sometimes to as health and taste attitudes) have been afforded
a role in how consumers perceive food. Khknen and Tuorila
292
Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301
Among these were six light food products: blueberry soup,

blue cheese, orange soft drink, beer, sausage (frankfurters)
and salad dressing. The discussion revolved around the
following themes:
how they were classified;
why they were classified in this way; and
what needs to be changed in a product, so that it can move

from one cell (e.g. unhealthy and bad-tasting) into another
cell (e.g. healthy and good-tasting).
of the discussions concerning different light food products was

compared both at the individual and group levels. In the
second phase of the analysis, the first author reviewed the
findings and interpretations of the second author. Then with
these in mind, he read through the relevant sections of the
transcripts to evaluate their credibility. The few differences in
opinions in how to interpret certain findings were discussed
and reconciled.
The interview was performed by the second author and the

procedures were tested and rehearsed in three pilot interviews.
The interviews were recorded and fully transcribed (582
pages of analyzable text). The second author was responsible
in conducting the basic analysis of the data. First, the content
Findings
Overall differences in product classification task
Table I illustrates how dieting and non-dieting informants
generally perceived healthiness and tastiness to combine in
certain light food products. One light product was
Table I Examples of inclusive and exclusive healthiness and tastiness perceptions concerning light foods among dieting and non-dieting informants
Light food
Dieters
Non-dieters
Blueberry soup
Healthiness perception
Healthy and tasty

Its an old traditional healing food
Healthy and tasty

It has been scientifically proven that blueberry
contains ingredients that are good for your
mind. It speeds up the blood circulation in your
brains and prevents Alzheimers and dementia
It contains aspartame, but I consider it
healthy, because of its high blueberry content
Yes, yes, we eat blueberry soup on every day
Tastiness perception
I like the taste of blueberry, even though this product is sweetened

with aspartame
I think I have tasted this and it was extremely good
Salad dressing and

sausage
Healthy and both tasty and untasty
Unhealthy and untasty
If you use salad dressing in the first place, then this is a good
alternative
I guess it is healthy, because it says light
I dont fancy this kind of sausage at all
Well, all salad dressings are unnecessary

products. They contain a lot of fat and salt
All grill sausages are unhealthy
Light sausages are full of artificial stuff,
because they have tried to lower the fat
content
It might be a little bit healthier, because there
is more water in it, but it does not taste good
Besides, they are just flavours, water and a
little bit meat
One that kind of sausage, if grilled in summer, is not forbidden

from a dieter
Blue cheese
Unhealthy and tasty

It is still so fatty that it cant be healthy
I dont use light products just because they are healthier. Their
taste must also be suitable or me
Beer and orange soft drink

Unhealthy and tasty

That kind of drink is not healthy. I would rather drink freshly
squeezed orange juice
In some soft drinks the taste difference between the light and
normal versions is small
Of light products, I like the drinks, like 7-Up and cider. They dont
hurt my teeth as much as the normal sugary versions do
Then I plan to buy something good to eat, even though I
shouldnt. Its no use of eating something healthy, if you are looking
for consolation
293
Unhealthy and tasty

I am afraid that because the fat content is only
13 per cent, you put more of it on your food
It is just so devilishly good!

Beer is never healthy, it contains alcohol and
a lot of energy
If I drink beer, I certainly dont drink light
beer. I drink strong dark beerits good!
Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301
predominantly viewed as both tasty and healthy, three

products as tasty and unhealthy and two products as nor tasty
or untasty and healthy by dieting informants. The
classification of non-dieting informants was different:
one product was predominantly considered as both tasty

and healthy;
one product as tasty and unhealthy; and
four products as both untasty and unhealthy.
Study 2: healthiness and/or tastiness of

convenience foods as viewed by consumers with
different health motives
Divergence in perceived merging of health and taste

Second, there were also differences in how dieting and
non-dieting informants perceive certain light food products.
Concerning the differences in the healthiness perception,
dieting informants regarded light salad dressing and light
sausages as healthy, whereas they were seen as unhealthy by
non-dieting informants. Non-dieting informants appeared to
believe that salad dressing and sausages are generally
unhealthy or even unnecessary products their light versions
did not change this perception (see Quotes 8 and 10 in
Table I). They were judged to contain a lot of fat, salt and
additives. The unnaturalness of light foods was a recurring
theme in their talk (see Quote 12 in Table I). In turn, dieting
informants evaluated these products to be healthy specifically
because of their lightness and the other product information
stressing its healthiness (see Quote 7 in Table I). Overall, they
seemed to be more open to product claims and marketing cues
than non-dieting informants (see quote 9 in Table I).
Methodology
An alternative qualitative approach, focus groups, was selected
for the second study. Thus, the product classification task (15
products of which 6 were convenience foods) was performed
in a more social setting. The convenience foods included in
the study were chicken Caesar-salad, ham casserole, chicken
pasta, ham sandwich, whole grain meat pastry and fish fingers.
The data for the study were collected in two phases.
In the first phase, a survey (n 1706) dealing with various
health issues was conducted. As a part of this survey,
respondents filled in the 45-item HRMO instrument
(Geeroms et al., 2008a). For the purpose of the present
inquiry, those with high or low scores on all of the health
motive orientations were identified (a method to ensure
variety within sample). The high scorers were labeled as the
Meaning-makers (n 320) (as they attach many strong
meanings to health) and the low scorers as the Neutrals (n
364) (as they do not attach strong meanings to health). These
groups differed statistically significantly along all of the six
health motive orientations (p 0.05).
In the second phase, focus discussions were run with both
two groups of Meaning-makers (n 9) and Neutrals (n 9).
The informants were purposively recruited from these two
groups to increase the likelihood of detecting qualitative
differences in ways they think and feel about convenience food
products in general and their healthiness and tastiness in
particular. Meaning-makers were an older (m 53)
female-dominated (7 women, 2 men) group, while Neutrals
were a little bit younger (m 45) male-dominated (6 men, 3
women) group. Meaning-makers BMI (25.3) was about the
same as Neutrals (24.4). The focus discussions were
moderated by two doctoral students (a consumer researcher
and a health scientist) and followed the logic of Study 1. The
interview procedures were piloted and rehearsed.
The interviews were recorded and fully transcribed (99
pages of analyzable text). The third author was responsible in
conducting the basic analysis of the data. First, the content of
the discussions concerning different convenience food
products was compared both within and between groups. In
the second phase of the analysis, the first author reviewed the
findings and interpretations of the third author. Then with
these in mind, he read through the relevant sections of the
transcripts to evaluate their credibility. The few differences in
opinions in how to interpret certain findings were discussed
and reconciled.
Role of eating pleasure

The tastiness perceptions were more idiosyncratic. Dieting
informants rated light beer and light orange soft drink to a
larger extent tastier than non-dieting informants (see Quotes
22 and 24 in Table I). Thus, a good taste and eating
enjoyment seemed more important to them. This
interpretation is supported by the facts that their accounts
were replete with emotional eating episodes (see Quote 25 in
Table I) and their BMI was higher.
Findings
Table II illustrates how the informants representing
Meaning-makers and Neutrals perceived the healthiness and
tastiness to combine in certain convenience food products.
Meaning-makers classified three convenience products
predominantly as both tasty and healthy, one product as tasty
and unhealthy, one product as untasty and healthy and one
product as untasty and unhealthy. In turn, Neutrals
In other words, non-dieting informants seemed more critical

of what is tasty and healthy.
Convergence in perceived merging of health and taste
More specifically, two key observations can be made. First,
there were products such as light blueberry soup and light blue
cheese that were perceived in the same way by both informant
groups: the former as tasty and healthy and the latter as tasty
and unhealthy. Blueberries as the core raw material of the
soup contributed to informants healthiness perception (see
Quotes 1, 2 and 4 in Table I). They were believed to contain
so much fiber, antioxidants and flavonoids that the presence of
aspartame in the soup was forgiven (see quote 4 in Table I). Of
wild forest berries, blueberry was well-known and easily
palatable due its round and sweetish taste (favorable tastiness
perception, see Quotes 3, 5 and 6 in Table I). In turn, blue
cheese was construed as a delicacy; its high fat and salt content
boosted the unhealthiness and tastiness perception (see
Quotes 16 and 19 in Table I). For some informants, a part of
the unhealthiness perception was the light status it
encouraged excessive eating (see Quote 17 in Table I).
294
Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301
Table II Examples of inclusive and exclusive healthiness and tastiness perceptions concerning convenience foods among informants with different
health motives
Convenience food
Meaning-makers
Neutrals
Fish fingers
Healthy and untasty

It has the Heart healthy-sign on it. It must be healthy.
Sure, fish is healthy
If I eat fish fingers, I need to peel off the breading or

Ill get stomach ache

These are already breaded. It sucks all the fat when you fry
it on the pan at home. The fish content is only 60 per cent
and there are no vitamins left
Where does this chicken meat come from? Is it domestic?
It is not stated here
They dont taste that nice. But you can tune them by
adding some Tabasco and other spices
Whole grain meat pasty


Smaller size is a positive thing, but it still contains a
lot of fat. It has been boiled in full fat
It makes me sick, its so greasy, I dont even like the
normal meat pasties

I dont know how you can make healthy meat pasties. They
are always so fatty
Generally, meat pasties are disgusting food. Whole grain
flours make me think that it tastes bad
Ham sandwich
Unhealthy and tasty

Wheat toasts have not much fibre in them. And they
have messed this with mayonnaise. So, it is greasy

Mayonnaise, salt and that meat can come from anywhere
and be old. Even though the other half is dark bread, its
not healthy
You cannot see in what form the ham is in the sandwich.
Pieces or slices?
You can taste additives in it. They have used old salad, the
taste is rancid
Its good, but not so healthy. I think that everything

that tastes good is unhealthy
Chicken pasta and ham

casserole
Healthy and tasty
Unhealthy and tasty
It, nevertheless, contains chicken meat and is a low fat

product. Its made of potatoes, they are healthy
Its good, I cannot deny that. I like pasta foods too
much. The casserole has less additives in it. So, I see it
as both healthy and tasty
It should be pretty clear that if you eat convenience foods,

you are not eating healthy food
They have used traditional cream, not vegetable fats. It
improves the taste
Healthy and tasty

It contains salad, you should eat it a lot. It has chicken
meat in it too, you get protein
Caesar-salad is one of my favourites. I like white
meat
Healthy and tasty

This product is more healthy than unhealthy. It is a better
lunch choice than a ham sandwich
This is both healthy and tasty, since it contains salad and
vegetables. Yet, there are pieces of white bread
It is extremely good, if the ingredients are fresh. Of course,
the quality of the dressing matters too
Chicken Caesar-salad
convenience food product classification was strikingly

different:
only one product was predominantly viewed as both tasty

and healthy;
two products as tasty and unhealthy; and
altogether, three products as both untasty and unhealthy.
tastiness perception appeared to emanate from multiple

sources. Many informants liked chicken and the parmesan
cheese chips, and the possibility to add sauce and pieces of
white bread to the salad to tailor the taste was appreciated (see
Quotes 20 and 22 in Table II). As regards the meat pasty,
wheat flours have been replaced with whole grain flours and
the size is smaller in comparison to conventional pasties.
Despite these health improvements informants still
perceived them as unhealthy and actually they seemed to
trigger the untastiness perception as well (see Quotes 5, 6, 7
and 8 in Table II).
Thus, Neutrals were more critical toward the healthiness of

convenience food than Meaning-makers.
Convergence in perceived merging of health and taste
As in Study 1, in some cases (chicken Caesar salad and whole
grain meat pasty), the healthiness and tastiness perceptions
converged between the informant groups. The fact that
chicken Caesar-salad is a product based on green salad and
vegetables facilitated its healthiness perception in both of the
groups (see Quotes 18 and 21 in Table II). The positive
Divergence in perceived merging of health and taste

Yet, and again resembling Study 1, there were certain
differences in the healthiness and tastiness perceptions. First,
chicken pasta, ham casserole and fish fingers were experienced
295
Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301
as healthy by Meaning-makers, but as unhealthy by Neutrals.

The latter group was more against the idea of convenience
foods, used the list of additives as a proof of the unhealthiness
and expressed concerns about the origin of ingredients of
foods (see Quotes 3, 13 and 15 in Table II). In contrast,
Meaning-makers judged these as decent basic foods if high
quality ingredients are used and the level of energy
consumption is sufficient (see quote 14 in Table II). Second,
fish fingers had a heart healthy sign on its package.
Meaning-makers seemed to believe this (coupled with the
general perception that fish is healthy) and as a result placed
them in the healthy category (see Quote 1 in Table II), while
Neutrals remained skeptical of this (due to deep-frying) and
placed this product in the unhealthy category (see Quote 2 in
Table II). In this sense, Neutrals were similar to non-dieting
informants and Meaning-makers to dieting informants of
Study 1.
analysis of the data. The general logic and analytical process

were similar to that of Studies 1 and 2.
Findings
According to the results of Fishers exact test, Taste-valuators
classified the conventional and functional candy products
differently (see Tables III and IV) than Health-valuators (p
0.02, p 0.04, respectively). In the case of conventional
candy products, the key difference between the groups was
that Taste-valuators classified them 34 times as tasty and
unhealthy; Health-valuators did this only 22 times. At the
same time, Health-valuators regarded the conventional
candies as untasty and unhealthy 12 times, while
Taste-valuators did this only six times. The functional
candies show a different story. Taste-valuators viewed them as
tasty and healthy 21 times, while Health-valuators did this 13
times. Furthermore, Taste-valuators never classified
functional candies as untasty and healthy, but Healthvaluators did this five times.
Focusing independently on either the health or taste
perception, Fishers exact test produced the following results.
Taste-valuators perceived the conventional candies as
unhealthier and marginally tastier than Health-valuators (p
0.04, p 0.10, respectively). Concerning the healthiness of
functional candies, there were no differences between the
groups (p 0.16). Both regarded them as more healthy than
unhealthy. Again, Taste-valuators connected tastiness also
with this form of candies marginally more (p 0.06) than
Health-valuators.

One difference in the taste perception was observed between
the groups. It dealt with the ham sandwich (half of the bread
was white, the other brown). Neutrals rated its taste
negatively, whereas Meaning-makers positively. Neutrals
taste expectations were deteriorated by the ingrained belief
that convenience foods cannot taste good and by the fact that
ham or vegetables were not visible or if visible, then they did
not signal high quality (see Quotes 11 and 13 in Table II).
Perhaps Meaning-makers, as dieting informants in Study 1,
derive more pleasure from eating and the combination of
mayonnaise, ham and white bread conjures up the positive
tastiness perception. However, the data did not offer direct
support for this.

How should these findings be interpreted? First, they suggest
that regardless of the type of candies, Taste-valuators have a
tendency to view them tastier than Health-valuators. This
tendency emerged from the data in three ways. First, the
frequency of candy eating seemed higher for Taste- than
Health-valuators. Second, the intensity and diversity of
emotions involved in candy eating episodes were more salient
in Taste- than Health-valuators accounts. Third, the
willpower to control candy eating could be construed as
weaker in the case of Taste- than Health-valuators. The
Study 3: healthiness and/or tastiness of candy

products as viewed by consumers with different
food values
Methodology
In this study, 12 informants were requested to classify seven
conventional and four functional candies into the four cells
of the (un)healthiness (un)tastiness-matrix as a part of
personal interviews. As in Study 2, the data were collected in
two phases. First, a recruitment e-mail with the link to
Roininen et al.s (1999) health and taste attitudes scale
(HTAS) instrument (used to operationalize the health/taste
food values) was sent to female university students (they
represent a major consumer target). A total of 153 acceptable
responses were received. Those respondents scoring high on
taste food value and low on health food value were identified
and named as the Taste-valuators (average age 22.8). In a
similar vein, those respondents scoring high on health food
value and low on taste food value were identified and labeled
as the Health-valuators (average age 23.3). These steps and
procedures served to ensure variety within sample.
In the second phase, six Taste- and six Health-valuators
were recruited for personal interviews. The interviews were
performed by the last author and the procedures were tested
and rehearsed in three pilot interviews. The interviews were
recorded and fully transcribed (58 pages of analyzable text).
The last author was responsible in conducting the basic
Table III Classification of conventional candy products (seven) by

informants with high health vs taste food values
Informant group
Healthy
and
tasty
Healthy
and
untasty
Unhealthy
and tasty
Unhealthy
and
untasty
Taste-valuators
Health-valuators
1
8
1
0
34
22
6
12
Table IV Classification of functional candy products (four) by

informants with high health vs taste food values
296
Informant group
Healthy
and
tasty
Healthy
and
untasty
Unhealthy
and tasty
Unhealthy
and
untasty
Taste-valuators
Health-valuators
21
13
0
5
1
4
2
2
Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301
following authentic informant comments serve to give more

credence to the points just raised:
inclusivity and exclusivity of health and taste of light,

convenience and candy products. The second major finding is
that there are multiple sources for consumers health and taste
perceptions including product type (e.g. the comments such
as fish is healthy and sausages are never healthy),
ingredients (e.g. the comments concerning fat, sugar, salt and
additives content), level of processing (e.g. the discussion
revolving around the un/naturalness of food) and marketing
cues (e.g. the discussion regarding packaging solutions). All
these factors interact to produce a unique consumer
understanding of the relationship between health and taste for
each single food product. Figure 1 integrates the key results of
this research into a novel conceptual framework.
The framework evokes intriguing future research avenues.
First, what are the relative roles of product type, ingredients,
level of processing and marketing cues in generating the
inclusive and exclusive health and taste associations? Are there
still some other factors that contribute to consumers inferred
positive or negative connection between health and taste? Of
marketing cues, packages, brands and country-of-origin are
likely candidates (Luomala, 2007; Cavanagh and Forestell,
2013; Orquin, 2014). Are there yet more influential consumer
factors? Gender and need for cognition seem reasonable
alternatives (Lone et al., 2009; Paasovaara and Luomala,
2011). Beyond the individual factors, the interplay between
marketing cues and consumer characteristics can be
influential in determining whether inclusive or exclusive
health and taste perceptions are formed. For example, as
regards taste perception, the (in)congruity between
consumers key values and brand symbolism has been shown
to make a difference (Paasovaara et al., 2012).
Second, at the moment, there is general evidence for
consumers exclusive perception of health and taste in food
consumption (Raghunathan et al., 2006). However, this issue
is probably more complicated. In the light of the findings, it
appears possible that it is the inclusivity perception
(unhealthy is untasty and healthy is tasty) that
predominates in certain consumer groups such as non-dieters:
has this perception actually protected them from overweight?
This is in line with Werle et al. (2013) and new priming
research propagating the view that the same prime (e.g.
shopping for clothes) can lead to different behavioral effects
I eat a lot of candies, I give you that. I mean really, I eat goodies in great
quantities. Almost on the daily basis [. . .] (Taste-valuator 1).
I havent eaten them for a while. It means that I dont remember when the
last time was (Health-valuator 5).
Yes, I feel good to start with as I anticipate the sensorial pleasure. But, when
I cross my line, then I feel bad and get depressed (Taste-valuator 5).
Well, I dont feel emotionally or morally bad after gulping down a bag of
candies. But, I might feel physically sick (Health-valuator 5).
I always start a candy strike for a month. Then I just wait the month to end.
After that, the things get carried away explosively [. . .] (Taste-valuator 1).
Sure I can be without eating candies, once I was on candy strike for two
months. Its just a choice you need to make and stick to. It becomes easy
after a while (Health-valuator 2).
Functionality attribute as a candy-eating promoter

Second, the perceived functionality of the candies seems to
exert stronger influence on Taste-valuators inclusive
healthiness and tastiness images than on those of
Health-valuators. To illustrate, Taste-valuators felt that the
conventional candies are rarely both healthy and tasty at the
same time (2.4 per cent), but in the case of the functional
candies, they believed this to be true much more frequently
(85.1 per cent). Respectively, these percentages for
Health-valuators were 19.1 and 54.2 per cent. Thus, the
functionality cue facilitated both Taste- and Healthvaluators inclination to judge candies as simultaneously
healthy and tasty, but this boost was larger for
Taste-valuators (82.7 per cent) than for Health-valuators
(35.1 per cent). The quotes below illustrate and back up this
interpretation:
I would place the Malaco Truly into the healthy & tasty-category, because
they advertise to use natural colorants and real juices (Taste-valuator 3).
Well, this seems to be real organic chocolate. Thats why I put it into the
healthy & tasty-category. And its dark chocolate also (Taste-valuator 2).
The Malaco it is unhealthy and tasty. I dont believe in its healthiness. It
contains a lot of additives (Health-valuator 2).
Why should I buy sugar-free chocolate? The word sugar-free alone makes
you think that it cannot taste good (Health-valuator 4).
Conclusion and implications

Healthiness and tastiness can combine in consumers minds,
but it is a result of a complex and dynamic interaction between
their personal characteristics and product qualities. Dieting
consumers less critical attitude toward the combined health
and taste value of light versions of traditionally palatable foods
(sausages, soft drinks, beer) (cf. also Paradis and Cabanac,
2008) represents an example of this. This corroborates with
Papies et al. (2007) who discovered that dieting consumers,
but not non-dieting ones, spontaneously activate hedonic
thoughts upon encounters with palatable foods. Alternatively,
this interaction may create a perception that a good taste and
high degree of healthfulness are incompatible with each other
as manifested by the case of Taste-valuators and conventional
candies. Next, the key theoretical and managerial implications
together with a few future research suggestions are outlined.
Figure 1 A conceptual framework for understanding the

ambivalence of health and taste perceptions in food consumption
Taste
associations
related to product
type, ingredients
and level of
processing
Health
associations
related to product
type, ingredients
and level of
processing
Theoretical implications and future research

suggestions
The results of the study indicate that consumers dieting
status, health motives and food values shape the perception of
297
Perception of
inclusivity of
health and taste
in food
consumption
Marketing actions
- branding
- packaging
- labeling
- pricing
- advertising
Perception of
exclusivity of
health and taste
in food
consumption
Consumers
dieting status,
health-related
motive
orientation
and food
values
Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301
among distinct segments of consumers (e.g. males and

females) (Wheeler and Berger, 2007). Thus, future research
should more precisely tackle to what extent:
the exclusive or inclusive health and taste perceptions exist

and are differently related to various foods (cf. prime) in
separate consumer groups; and
they result in divergent food consumption behaviors and

responses between the groups.
of them, and seemed more tolerant of artificial sweetening and

receptive to the functionality cue, whose effectiveness may
be related to Taste-valuators greater tendency to experience
guilt after eating candies. For them, steering ones
consumption of candies toward functional ones can be a
feasible way to silence their bad conscience. If so, then this is
vital information for both food marketers and health
authorities.
Second, the term light seems to suffer from inflation. It is
not necessarily a sign of healthiness any more for consumers.
As a matter of fact, it even acted as a sign of unhealthiness (e.g.
additives) and bad taste for some informants. This may lead to
a situation where using full fat ingredients in foods creates a
healthier perception than their reduced fat versions.
Furthermore, the tendency to eat larger quantities of light vs
conventional foods (cf. Wansink and Chandon, 2006) was
another emerging consumer belief that burdens the marketing
of light foods. Yet, genuine light food fans could still be
identified enabling food marketers to use their testimonials in
communication to bolster their image.
Third, the typical unhealthiness perception of convenience
foods stemmed from the beliefs that the ingredients used are
of poor quality and that the level of fat, sugar, salt and
additives content is high. Food manufacturers can fight these
beliefs by producing convenience foods using ingredients and
processes that have been authorized as healthy by independent
parties such as governmental health nutritionists. An
alternative and a riskier approach include an attempt to
improve the unhealthy and untasty perception of
convenience food by questioning the stereotypical health
image surrounding home-made food (emerged from the data).
Thus, convenience food marketers can try to show that as
many consumers cook and tune their foods, they
simultaneously make it unhealthy by using certain ingredients
(e.g. adding butter, salt, greasy cheeses) or methods (e.g.
frying).
Fourth, food marketers should acknowledge the potential
power of branding as an influencer of consumers inclusive
and exclusive health and taste perceptions of food products. It
is well-known that brands (in blind vs informed taste tests)
have the capability of elevating consumers sensory perception
of various foods (Robinson et al., 2007; Fornerino and
dHauteville, 2010). Moreover, it has been uncovered that
brands can affect consumers healthiness perception too
(Oakes and Slotterback, 2001; Cavanagh and Forestell, 2013;
Orquin, 2014). Building a food brand that is strongly
associated with both healthiness and tastiness at the same time
in consumers minds is challenging, but not impossible as the
case of Subway testifies (Chandon and Wansink, 2007).
Moreover, the two food products perceived to be able to
simultaneously deliver health and taste benefits (light
blueberry soup and chicken Caesar salad) regardless of the
differences in informants dieting status and health motives
were marketed under brand names of well-known and
reputable national companies. At the moment, a social
momentum fuelling the healthy is tasty perception can be
sensed, at least in the Western world. This should help food
companies in their healthy & tasty branding efforts.
This directly points to key restrictions of the present study. On

the one hand, as it is based on limited data sets, more stringent
quantitative studies with a wider range of food products,
consumer samples and dependent variables (including sensory
perception) are needed to validate its key ideas and logic. On
the other hand, social desirability bias is always a potential
validity threat in interview-based methodologies. Thus,
real-life observational and experimental studies involving
actual consumer-product interactions should supplement the
present approach.
Third, in accordance with the employed research
methodology, it was presumed that consumers inclusivity/
exclusivity perceptions of health and taste mainly form as a
result of a conscious mental process. However, this does not
need to the case. For example, in terms of how consumers
judge the healthfulness of food, Schulte-Mecklenbeck et al.
(2013) have shown that consumers do not process health and
nutrition information in a systematic manner, but rely on less
conscious heuristics such as food category and familiarity.
Therefore, it is important that future research will disentangle
to what extent consumers inclusivity/exclusivity perceptions
of health and taste are generated by conscious strategic or by
unconscious automatic cognitive and affective mechanisms.
Finally, the applied methodological approach can be
employed in analyzing consumers inclusivity or exclusivity
perceptions of other food qualities such as ethicality and
status. Consumers frequently perceive that favoring ethical
food sends a status signal (Carfagna et al., 2014), but more
complete qualitative understanding of the interplay between
these perceptions has not yet been accomplished. It is not
necessarily, so that all consumers perceive every kind of ethical
food to be able to serve as a status statement.
Managerial and societal implications
The most obvious managerial and societal implication is that
to ensure the optimal consumer response, food companies and
health educators need to understand how different target
groups form their inclusivity/exclusivity perceptions of health
and taste in the case of various foods. This understanding
must cover the most important sources of inclusive and
exclusive health and taste perceptions such as product type/
category, ingredients, level of processing and marketing cues
to be useful input for effective tailoring of products, marketing
and health communication.
The functional candies make a case-in-point. They are
mainly meant for the health-conscious consumer segment (cf.
Health-valuators). However, according to the interview
comments, Health-valuators resented artificiality, unnatural
sweeteners and additives. Consequently, it may be more
profitable for marketers of functional candies to target
Taste-valuators. Namely, not only they have more positive
taste perceptions about them, they reported to consume more
298
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About the authors

Harri Luomala is a Research Professor investigating
consumer behavior at the Department of Marketing,
University of Vaasa, Finland. His main research interest
focuses on the interrelationships between values, emotions,
motives and taste perceptions in food consumption and on
consumer-oriented food product development. He has
published in several academic journals and collaborates
closely with food development organizations and companies.
Harri Luomala is the corresponding author and can be
contacted at: harri.luomala@uva.fi
Maijastiina Jokitalo is a Doctoral Student at the
Department of Marketing, University of Vaasa, Finland. Her
dissertation focuses on the role of food meanings and their
unconscious activation in healthy vs palatable eating choices.
Hannu Karhu is a Doctoral Student at the Department of
Marketing, University of Vaasa, Finland. His dissertation
focuses on consumer responses to communication-based
tailored health intervention campaigns.
Hanna-Leena Hietaranta-Luoma is a Doctoral Student at
the Functional Foods Forum, University of Turku, Finland.
Her dissertation focuses on the impact of genetic testing and
information on individuals motivation to initiate changes in
their lifestyle.
Anu Hopia is a Professor of food development at the
University of Turku, Finland. She has published more than 50
peer reviewed research papers, review articles and book
chapters on food science. Her recent research is focusing on
taste and healthiness of food.
Sanna Hietamki received her MSc degree in Business
Administration from the University of Vaasa, Finland. Her
Master Thesis focused on candy consumption practices,
experiences and perceptions of health- and taste-oriented
individuals. Currently, she works on the private sector.
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Appendix
Table AI Examples of real commercial food products used as stimulation material in the interviews
Light foods: salad dressing and turkey frankfurters
Convenience foods: chicken Caesar salad and chicken pasta
Functional candy products: pastilles and wine gums
Conventional candy products: licorice and chocolate
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Journal of Consumer Marketing

Perceived health and taste ambivalence in food consumption

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About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com

Perceived health and taste ambivalence in

Hanna-Leena Hietaranta-Luoma and Anu Hopia

Department of Marketing, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland

An executive summary for managers and executive

effects of product type and consumer factors, such managerial

The first empirical data were collected as a part of the understanding

Journal of Consumer Marketing

Received 25 November 2014

Perceived health and taste ambivalence

Journal of Consumer Marketing

Harri Luomala et al.

Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301

relative importance of food choice criteria shows that in many

research context. In three empirical studies, three variations of

Food product type and consumer characteristics

[. . .] consumers tending towards an experiential discourse may sacrifice

Perceived health and taste ambivalence

Journal of Consumer Marketing

Harri Luomala et al.

Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301

non-dieting consumers (Carels et al., 2007). However, these

(1999) offered evidence that consumers with weaker health

dieting vs non-dieting consumers;

consumers with distinct health motives; and

health- vs taste-valuating consumers.

As the second way of ensuring qualitative diversity of the data,

Study 1: healthiness and/or tastiness of light

healthy and good-tasting;

healthy and bad-tasting;

unhealthy and good-tasting; and

unhealthy and bad-tasting.

Perceived health and taste ambivalence

Journal of Consumer Marketing

Harri Luomala et al.

Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301

Among these were six light food products: blueberry soup,

how they were classified;

why they were classified in this way; and

what needs to be changed in a product, so that it can move

of the discussions concerning different light food products was

The interview was performed by the second author and the

Healthy and tasty

Healthy and tasty

I like the taste of blueberry, even though this product is sweetened

Salad dressing and

Healthy and both tasty and untasty

Unhealthy and untasty

Well, all salad dressings are unnecessary

One that kind of sausage, if grilled in summer, is not forbidden

Unhealthy and tasty

Beer and orange soft drink

Unhealthy and tasty

Unhealthy and tasty

Unhealthy and untasty

Perceived health and taste ambivalence

Journal of Consumer Marketing

Harri Luomala et al.

Volume 32 Number 4 2015 290 301

predominantly viewed as both tasty and healthy, three