The effect of naturalness claims on perceptions of food product naturalness in the point of purchase

• We examine the conditions under which naturalness claims lead to negative outcomes and backfire.
• Perceived naturalness is the highest when the point of purchase is natural and the claim salient.
• Perceived authority is exerts a powerful effect on credibility of the naturalness claim.
• Credibility mediates the effects of perceived authority on product naturalness.

Recent trends in marketing highlight an increased focus on naturalness claims with the hope of a higher consumer perception of product naturalness, but does this always make sense? This research examines this question in two experiments. Results show that the perception of naturalness depends on the types of points of purchase, those that convey a sense of naturalness, such as traditional markets, leading to more perceived naturalness. Importantly, results show that point of purchase type interacts with naturalness claim salience such that highly salient claims leads to higher perceived naturalness for product being displayed in a point of purchase that conveys a sense of naturalness. Finally, results show that the authority which claims the naturalness of the product is of major importance, brand-independent naturalness claims leading consumers to perceive the claim as more credible and consequently the product as more natural.