Superlist Sweden Health 2022
Dec 6, 2022
Healthy food. How do Swedish supermarkets promote unhealthy food using price promotions?
Supermarkets are in an influential position to encourage healthier and sustainable food choices. Promotions are a powerful tool to nudge purchasing decisions. In this study we examined how four Swedish supermarkets promote unhealthy food products using price promotions.
These are the most important findings.
Swedish Supermarkets encourage unhealthy consumption through multi-buy promotions
Nearly half of online food promotions were for unhealthy food products (food products high in fat, sugar and salt). The large majority of unhealthy promotions are offered as multi-buys (but one get one free, 3 for 50 kf), which gives consumers an incentive to purchase multiple products.
These findings illustrate that Swedish supermarkets contribute to unhealthy diets in Sweden. At the same time, supermarkets can play a role in combating obesity by proactively focusing their promotional techniques to increase sales of healthier products.
Funding
Superlist Sweden Health 2022 was funded by Svenska Postkodstiftelsen (Swedish Postcode Foundation)
