Short CommunicationTaste moral, taste good: The effects of Fairtrade logo and second language on product taste evaluation

- The appearance of Fairtrade logo enhances taste evaluation on Chinese green tea.
- The effect of Fairtrade logo on taste evaluation is mediated by positive affects.
- The use of second language enhances reported taste experience of Chinese green tea.
- The Fairtrade × second language interaction enhances taste of Chinese green tea.

Moral issues surrounding products are attracting attention of researchers. Fairtrade products bear logos that communicate moral information, which indicates justice for the poor. Studies found that products tagged with Fairtrade logos were believed to taste better. Furthermore, people tend to judge moral acts as more virtuous while moral violations as less condemnable when information is presented in their second languages. Built on these findings, the present study aims to examine how interaction of Fairtrade logos and second languages influences consumers' taste evaluation of products. It suggests that, mediated by positive affects, Chinese green tea bearing a Fairtrade logo is judged to taste better than the same tea without a Fairtrade logo. More importantly, interaction of a Fairtrade logo and use of second language significantly enhanced the reported product taste. Lastly, limitations and possible applications of our findings are discussed.