About one in three Americans say the word ‘vegan’ on food and beverage labels makes the product less appealing.
That’s according to a survey of 2,201 Americans released last month by Morning Consult, which keeps track of consumer preferences.
The survey asked respondents about 21 words and phrases and whether they make a product more appealing, less appealing, no change and no opinion. Only 17 per cent said the word vegan made the product more appealing while 35 per cent found it less appealing.
On the flip side, about 81 per cent say a product is more appealing with the word ‘fresh’ on the labels, 72 per cent say labels are more appealing with ‘farm-fresh’ on it, and 68 per cent say ‘sourced from American farmers’ make the product more appealing.
The survey, which also looked at consumers’ buying habits, asked what it would take to convince them to buy an alternative low-priced item that costs 50 cents more. While 45 per cent said the name brand makes it worth the extra 50 cents, 23 per cent said either the labels ‘supporting American farmers,’ ‘organic’ or ‘not made using GMOs’ would entice the shopper to buy the more expensive product.