The Health Halo Effect Creates False Impressions
You know that feeling when you see a product labeled “organic” or “natural” and immediately assume it’s healthy? That’s exactly what food companies are banking on. The “health halo” is a powerful psychological effect that leads consumers to believe certain foods are healthier than they are, simply because of appealing claims on the label. This phenomenon strongly shapes purchasing behavior, often encouraging individuals to overconsume or choose products based on marketing rather than nutritional merit. Even savvy shoppers fall for this trick because we are all “cognitive misers,” said marketing expert Dipayan Biswas, PhD, a professor at the University of South Florida Muma College of Business. “We only use our brain as much as we have to. It’s too much work to process and figure out if something is healthy or unhealthy.”
Words and phrases that evoke wholesomeness, such as “organic,” “good source of protein,” “low-fat,” “natural,” “rich in antioxidants,” and “antiaging,” among others, can create an instant sense of healthfulness, even when the product may be high in salt, sugar, calories, or artificial additives. Think about it – an organic cookie is still loaded with sugar and calories.
Shrinkflation Makes Products Smaller Without Price Changes
In economics, shrinkflation, also known as package downsizing, weight-out, and price pack architecture is the process of available products shrinking in size or quantity while the prices remain the same. The word is a portmanteau of the words shrink and inflation and was coined as the counterpart to economic inflation, wherein prices rise while the product remains unchanged. This sneaky practice has become incredibly common in recent years. Shrinkflation isn’t new, experts say. But it proliferates in times of high inflation as companies grapple with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor and transportation.
Recent examples are everywhere if you know what to look for. In the U.S., a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago, it had 65. Chobani Flips yogurts have shrunk from 5.3 ounces to 4.5 ounces. In the U.K., Nestle slimmed down its Nescafe Azera Americano coffee tins from 100 grams to 90 grams. In India, a bar of Vim dish soap has shrunk from 155 grams to 135 grams. Companies get away with this because shrinkflation appeals to manufacturers because they know customers will notice price increases but won’t keep track of net weights or small details, like the number of sheets on a roll of toilet paper. Companies can also employ tricks to draw attention away from downsizing, like marking smaller packages with bright new labels that draw shoppers’ eyes.
Made With Claims Hide Minimal Ingredient Amounts
When you see a product claiming it’s “made with real fruit” or “made with spinach,” you probably think you’re getting significant amounts of these healthy ingredients. Wrong. This misleading claim often uses pictures to bolster their claims. The reality is much more disappointing than the marketing suggests.
Pictures of real fruit on the package, mostly juice/purée concentrates as ingredients. Garden spinach herb wraps are green…good! Turns out the spinach is spinach powder used for flavoring. That beautiful strawberry on the front of your fruit snack? Fruit roll-ups have a picture of fresh strawberries on the front but the ingredient list indicates the ‘fruit’ is pears from concentrate and strawberry flavor. It’s basically a marketing magic trick where vivid images and claims make you believe you’re getting something wholesome when you’re often just getting artificial flavoring and concentrated sugars.
Misleading Sugar Claims Keep You in the Dark
Sugar goes by countless names, many of which you may not recognize. Food manufacturers may use this to their advantage by adding many different types of sugar to their products to hide the actual amount. In doing so, they can list a healthier ingredient at the top and mention sugar further down. So, even though a product may be loaded with sugar, it doesn’t necessarily appear as one of the first three ingredients. This trick is incredibly common and effective.
Terms like “lightly sweetened” sound healthy but mean absolutely nothing. Buzzwords include a claim such as ‘simple’ which doesn’t have any clear definition nor is it regulated by the FDA, a candy ‘made with honey’ has four other kinds of sugar. Companies can use terms like “30% less sugar” to create a health halo. It’s misleading. Often, these products still contain a significant amount of sugar. Meanwhile, companies are free to use multiple sugar sources with names you might not recognize, keeping the total sugar content high while making individual sugar sources appear lower on the ingredient list.
Cholesterol-Free Claims on Plant Products Are Meaningless
Here’s a perfect example of how food companies exploit consumer ignorance. Cholesterol is found only in animal products. Seeing “no cholesterol” on a plant-based food (like peanut butter or vegetable oil, which would never contain cholesterol) is stating the obvious, but it’s there to make you think it’s healthier than a similar product that doesn’t proclaim it. It’s like advertising that water is fat-free – technically true but completely meaningless.
This tactic works because many shoppers don’t understand basic nutrition facts. Companies know that slapping “cholesterol-free” on plant-based oils or nuts will catch your eye and make you feel like you’re making a heart-healthy choice, even though ALL plant-based products are naturally cholesterol-free. It’s pure marketing manipulation that preys on incomplete knowledge.
Package Design Psychology Influences Your Buying Decisions
It’s no accident that many packaged lower-calorie drinks such as skinny margaritas and flavored sparkling waters come in thin bottles. That silhouette propels the message that the product is slimming, since research demonstrates that people perceive food and drinks in elongated packages as less caloric than those in wide packages. And when a thin container also has a curviness to it, with an indented “waist” (a concave shape), the product inside is perceived as healthier, particularly by women
Brown paper packaging: In the same vein, packaging material considered to be eco-friendly, such as glass or brown cardboard or paper, can lead us to believe the food inside is better too – higher quality, more sustainably produced and healthier. Since environmentally conscious consumers are often willing to pay more for those attributes, it’s a ripe opportunity for marketers to rebrand the same old product, often at a price premium. Some marketing experts believe the color of the packaging may be indicative of health factors. For example, many think a green package may signify that the product is organic or vegetarian, while blue represents “calm” and “fresh.”
Transparent Windows Make Products Seem Higher Quality
Another design that has become increasingly popular is transparent material for all or part of a food package. A window into what is inside a container not only provides the obvious benefit of allowing you to see what you’re getting before you make a purchase, it also informs, correctly or not, our overall impression of the food inside. Research shows that foods in transparent packages are perceived to be higher quality, more attractive, fresher, and healthier than those in opaque packages.
This psychological trick exploits our natural tendency to equate visibility with transparency and honesty. When we can see the product through clear packaging, we unconsciously assume the company has nothing to hide, even though the contents might be heavily processed or filled with additives. It’s a simple but incredibly effective way to build consumer trust without actually improving the product quality.
Keto and Gluten-Free Labels Don’t Guarantee Health
Ketogenic foods contain little or no carbs or added sugars, but that doesn’t automatically make them healthy. “Cereals, bars, or cookies that say ‘keto’ on the package are often ultraprocessed, a category of foods that are made with industrial ingredients,” says Nestle, such as isolated proteins and sugar alcohols. The latter don’t have calories or raise blood sugar, but “they are manufactured sweeteners, and questions have been raised about how safe they are,” she says.
Unless you have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, there’s no health reason to avoid gluten. In fact, some gluten-free versions of breads, pasta, and tortillas can be a less healthy choice. They may be lower in fiber than whole-grain products (Toufayan Bakeries Gluten Free Tortilla Wraps, for example, have zero grams of fiber), and can contain gums and other additives that push them into the ultraprocessed food category. Many people think these labels automatically mean “healthy” when they often just mean “expensive and potentially less nutritious.”
Serving Size Manipulation Hides True Nutritional Content
Serving sizes listed on packaging may be misleading and unrealistic. Manufacturers often list much smaller amounts than what most people consume in one setting. This allows companies to make their nutrition facts look much better than they actually are. A small bag of chips might claim to have two and a half servings, making the calorie and sodium counts appear more reasonable per serving.
Some foods may seem low in calories, sodium, added sugar, and other key items on the nutrient list due to the small serving size listed, but actually aren’t. Companies know that most people look at the big numbers on nutrition labels without doing the math to figure out what they’re actually consuming. That innocent-looking cookie package might actually contain four servings, quadrupling the sugar and calorie content you thought you were getting.
Front-of-Package Claims Create Misleading First Impressions
One of the best tips may be to completely ignore claims on the front of the packaging. Front labels are often designed to attract buyers by highlighting health-related claims, which may not always accurately reflect the product’s overall nutritional value. In fact, 2020 research shows that front-of-package nutrition labels can create a “halo effect,” leading consumers to perceive even unhealthy products as healthier, which can influence their choices regardless of the food’s actual nutritional quality.
It’s common for consumers to skip reading the food label and use the marketing claims on the front of the packaging as their decision-making guide. If a consumer is trying to lose weight but desires a cookie, they are more inclined to choose something labeled “high fiber” or “oatmeal” without realizing the product could still contain high amounts of sugar and trans fats. They are also more likely to eat larger portions because they believe they are making a healthier choice.
