Nutrition Research and Practice

The Korean Nutrition Society (한국영양학회)
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Customers' perception of the attributes of different formats of menu labeling: a comparison between Korea and the U.S.

  • Bosselman, Robert (Department of Apparel, Events & Hospitality Management, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University) ;
  • Choi, Hyung-Min (International Center for Hospitality Research & Development, Dedman School of Hospitality, Florida State University) ;
  • Lee, Keum Sil (Department of Tourism Management, Jangan University) ;
  • Kim, Eojina (Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech) ;
  • Cha, Jaebin (Department of Health & Medical Administration, Kyungmin University) ;
  • Jeong, Jin-Yi (Department of Food & Nutrition, Institute of Symbiotic Life-TECH, College of Human Ecology, Yonsei University) ;
  • Jo, Mina (Division of Hotel & Tourism, College of Economics & Business Administration, The University of Suwon) ;
  • Ham, Sunny (Department of Food & Nutrition, Institute of Symbiotic Life-TECH, College of Human Ecology, Yonsei University)
  • Received : 2019.12.17
  • Accepted : 2019.12.27
  • Published : 2020.06.01
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Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study compared the perception of customers from Korea and the U.S. on the attributes of different formats of menu labeling The specific objectives were 1) to compare the customers' perceived usefulness, ease-of-understanding, clarity, and attractiveness of different formats of menu labeling between Korea and the U.S.; and 2) to compare the customers' use intention to different formats of menu labeling between Korea and the U.S. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A survey was conducted in Korea and the U.S. The participants were allocated randomly to view 1 of the 7 restaurant menus that varied according to the following types of menu labeling formats: (type 1) kcal format, (type 2) traffic-light format, (type 3) percent daily intake (%DI) format, (type 4) kcal + traffic-light format, (type 5) kcal + %DI format, (type 6) traffic-light + %DI format, and (type 7) kcal + traffic-light + %DI format. A total of 279 Koreans and 347 Americans were entered in the analysis. An independent t-test and 1-way analysis of variance were performed. RESULTS: Koreans rated type 4 format (kcal + traffic light) the highest for usefulness and attractiveness. In contrast, Americans rated type 7 (kcal + traffic light + %DI) the highest for usefulness, ease-of-understanding, attractiveness, and clarity. Significant differences were found in the customers' perceived attributes to menu labeling between Korea and the U.S. Americans perceived higher for all the 4 attributes of menu labeling than Koreans. CONCLUSIONS: The study is unique in identifying the differences in the attributes of different formats of menu labeling between Korea and the U.S. Americans rated the most complicated type of menu labeling as the highest perception for the attributes, and showed a higher use intention of menu labeling than Koreans. This study contributes to academia and industry for practicing menu labeling in different countries using different formats.

Keywords

References

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