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•We study a Frequency Rewards Program promoting fruit & vegetable (F&V) sales.•We use real-world retail data for over 268,359 loyalty card holders over 54 weeks.•For reward-redeemers, the promotion increased of F&V as well as other foods.•This increase remained after the end of the program, albeit reducing in magnitude.•Simple exposure to the campaign led to small positive or non-significant effects. Globally, consumption of Fruit and Vegetables (F&V) remains below nutritional guidelines. With retailers accounting for a large portion of F&V sales, marketing can be key to increase F&V consumption at household level. However, a key challenge is the design of strategies that benefit retailers, e.g., improving loyalty, whilst promoting societal goals. This study evaluates a points-plus-cash loyalty program where participants received points by purchasing selected F&V, redeemable against a reward (plush toys in the shape of F&V). We estimate the impact of the program by comparing expenditures in several categories before, during, and after the promotional period, across two different years, and comparing consumers who redeemed a reward and those who did not. We use loyalty card data from a Croatian retailer, containing food expenditure in five categories for 268,359 consumers, over 27 weeks for 2 years. We find that the loyalty program increased F&V expenditures at the focal retailer during the promotional period. However, the increase was only for reward-redeemers, for whom the program increased expenditures in F&V as well as in other food categories. This effect persisted – at a declining rate – after the program stopped. Exposure only had a limited effect during the campaign, leading to a reduction in expenditure after the promotional period. Results indicate that a loyalty program promoting sales of F&V can create win-win benefits to both society and the retailer: it increases expenditures on healthy foods (F&V), while improving overall loyalty (i.e., expenditures) to the retailer amongst motivated consumers. [Display omitted]

This study aims at comparing two Italian case studies in relation to schoolchildren's plate waste and its implications, in terms of nutritional loss, economic cost and carbon footprint. Plate waste was collected through an aggregate selective weighting method for 39 d. Children from the first to the fifth grade from four primary schools, two in each case study (Parma and Lucca), were involved. With respect to the served food, in Parma, the plate waste percentage was lower than in Lucca ( < 0·001). Fruit and side dishes were highly wasted, mostly in Lucca (>50 %). The energy loss of the lunch meals accounted for 26 % (Parma) and 36 % (Lucca). Among nutrients, dietary fibre, folate and vitamin C, Ca and K were lost at most (26-45 %). Overall, after adjusting for plate waste data, most of the lunch menus fell below the national recommendations for energy (50 %, Parma; 79 %, Lucca) and nutrients, particularly for fat (85 %, Parma; 89 %, Lucca). Plate waste was responsible for 19 % (Parma) and 28 % (Lucca) of the carbon footprint associated with the food supplied by the catering service, with starchy food being the most important contributor (52 %, Parma; 47 %, Lucca). Overall, the average cost of plate waste was 1·8 €/kg (Parma) and 2·7 €/kg (Lucca), accounting respectively for 4 % and 10 % of the meal full price. A re-planning of the school meals service organisation and priorities is needed to decrease the inefficiency of the current system and reduce food waste and its negative consequences.

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained increasing academic attention, we lack a solid understanding of how managerial perceptions underpin firms’ sustainability practices. This study interprets and sheds light on managers’ perceptions of sustainability activities under various stakeholder domains in Croatia through a multi-theoretical approach. Using 21 semi-structured interviews with managers, the study reveals that sustainability activities in the research context tend to focus more on environmental issues and customer service, as well as employees and supplier domains. The study further establishes three distinct levels of sustainability commitments by firms. These stages include sustainability as a minimal response, corporate culture-driven, and committed response. These findings, as a whole, are insightful and enable us to advance research on sustainability by elucidating how managerial perceptions underpin firms’ strategic sustainability activities. The contributions to theory and practice are also discussed.

Purpose An intention-behavior gap often occurs for socially responsible consumption, where despite positive consumer attitudes, sales remain disappointing. This paper aims to test the ability of in-store priming to increase sales of local foods vis-à-vis imported, cheaper equivalents. Design/methodology/approach Laboratory and field experiments in three countries (Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia), working with an international grocery retailer, assess the ability of textual and pictorial-based point of sale (PoS) materials to increase the purchase of local foods. Field sales data, for the purchase of local apples and cherries and their imported equivalents, are complemented by an analysis of loyalty card transactions. Findings Field data indicate that both pictorial and textual PoS materials, significantly increase the likelihood of purchasing local foods, against cheaper imported equivalents. Pictorial PoS materials appear more effective than textual equivalents. Laboratory study data indicate that PoS materials increase the salience of goal consistent mechanisms in decision-making at the expense of mechanisms to achieve non-primed goals. Research limitations/implications The field experiment lasted for only two weeks and focused on seasonal produce. Practical implications PoS materials offer a low cost intervention for modifying consumer behavior in stores. Originality/value The paper develops a theory regarding how priming works and its application in a supermarket setting. This is investigated and validated in the context of local foods. The study offers encouragement for the usefulness of other in-store primes, such as relating to diet, to improve socially desirable outcomes without economic incentives or coercion and in a cost-effective manner.

Insufficient consumption of fruit and vegetables was found in primary school children. To address this problem, a three-year school-based multicomponent intervention was conducted in 14 primary schools in the City of Zagreb. The aim of the study was therefore to evaluate one of the primary goals of the intervention—the increase in fruit and vegetable intake among primary school children. A total of 681 children were allocated to the intervention (n = 300 in the control group and n = 381 in the intervention group). The intervention included 23 interactive classroom workshops, 10 cross-curricular activities, 13 homework challenges, visual exposure with educational posters in classrooms, parent education via the website, and the implementation of new dishes into the school food system. Fruit and vegetable intake was assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire at baseline and after the intervention. Data were analyzed by per-protocol analysis. The study involved 259 children (50.2% girls; age 7.7 ± 0.4 years; n = 116 in the control group and n = 143 in the intervention group) who completed a food intake frequency questionnaire at both time points. Children in the intervention group showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) in total daily fruit and vegetable intake (before: 332.1 ± 164.9 g; after: 430.1 ± 186.7 g) compared to the control group (before: 350.2 ± 187.5; after: 382.6 ± 196.8) after the intervention. The increase in fruit and vegetable intake was achieved in 89% of children, while 25% more children reached the daily recommendation of 400 g. The use of the multicomponent intervention showed potential to increase fruit and vegetable intake in primary school children.

Svrha: Unutar područja marketinga i istraživanja potrošača, prethodne studije često su se bavile odlukama djece о hrani na fragmentiran način, bilo glede,juči isključivo na stavove ili ponašanja. Takav pristup ograničava cjelovito shvaćanje djece kao potrošača. Ova stud ja ispituje kako marketinške radije (konkretno, korištena rječ tvrdnja) pomažu potaknuti djecu da preferiré,ju zdravje izbore. Metodološki pristup: U simuliranom zadatku odabira hrane sudjelovalo je ukupno 215 djece u dobi od 6 do 9 godina, a sudionici su bili djeca iz dvje zagrebačke škole. Od roditelja djece zatražen je pismeni informirani pristanak za sudjelovanje njihovog djeteta u istraživanju. Rezultati i implikac je: Rezultati naglašavaju značajnu ulogu specifičnih r ječi kao što su „zdravo \", „popularno\" i „ukusno\" te emotikona „smajlié\", „srče\", „mišič\" u u jecaju na dječje izbore hrane. Korišten,je ovih tvrduji povećava ijerajatnost da će djeca odlučivanje za zdravje prehrambene opcje. Ovi uvidi imaju praktične implikacje za osmišljavanje intervencija koje promiču zdravje prehrambene navike kod djece. Ograničenja: Korištenje hipotetskih izbora hrane možda neće u potpunosti prikazati dječja ponašarja u stvarnom okruženju. Istraživanje alternativnih strategija označavanja osim tvrdnji rječima omogućilo bi usporedbe i identifikaciju učinkovitih metoda za motiviranje zdravih izbora. Doprinos: Ovo istraživanje uvelo je novi pristup ispitivanjem učinkovitosti tvrdnji i emooznaka kao strategije označavanja za poboljšanje izbora zdrave hrane. Dobiveni rezultati unapređuju naše razumijevanje temeljnih mehanizama koji pokreću dječje odluke о hrani i postavijo,ju temelje za intervene je usmjerene na potican,je zdravogponašar,ja u području izbora hrane.

Purpose – The COVID-19 pandemic changed people’s patterns of work and consumption substantially. This paper examines how cultural orientations and personality traits relate to adjustments in consumer behavior during COVID-19. Specifically, it considers whether individualism/collectivism, neuroticism, and collective self-esteem can help explain local food buying and stockpiling behavior. Design/Methodology/Approach – A total of 187 consumers participated in this research, with data collection taking place during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Croatia from March to May 2020. Findings and implications – Consumers with higher horizontal collectivism engaged in local food buying more than those with lower horizontal collectivism. Horizontal collectivism and, to a lesser extent, neuroticism predicted stockpiling behavior. Collective self-esteem moderated the relationship between horizontal collectivism and stockpiling, and between neuroticism and local food buying. Fostering a sense of collective identity and emphasizing collectivist values may be a fruitful marketing strategy as a response to marketplace disruptions during a crisis.Limitations – The study draws on a convenience sample of students and their household members, thereby limiting the generalizability of the study. Originality – This paper uncovers the ways in which socio-cultural and personality-related psychological constructs relate to local food buying and stockpiling behavior while also highlighting the importance of cultural orientation for explaining consumer behavior during a major crisis.

Preference could be the trigger for fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption in children and could be modified by appropriate intervention to increase the acceptance of FVs. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the three-year school-based multicomponent intervention “Nutri-školica” on the FV preferences of primary school children. It also aimed to explore whether a positive change in FV preferences could lead to an increase in actual FV consumption. The study was conducted in 14 primary schools from the city of Zagreb on 193 children (52.3% boys; age, 7.7 ± 0.4 years; n = 85 in the control group and n = 108 in the intervention group) who completed a preference questionnaire before and after the intervention with a 5-point hedonic smiley-face scale, where 5 means “I like it a lot.” The per-protocol approach was used for data analysis (28.3% of children from the study sample). After the intervention, children in the intervention group (before: 3.1 ± 0.8; after: 3.5 ± 0.8) increased their FV preferences significantly more than children in the control group (before: 3.2 ± 0.8; after: 3.3 ± 0.7). Children’s FV preferences changed most toward the varieties for which they had the least preferences at the beginning of the study. Participation in the intervention had a stronger effect on changing FV intake than change in FV preferences among primary school children. In summary, the present study highlighted that a targeted intervention can increase children’s FV preferences, but that participation in the intervention is substantial for increasing FV intake.

Purpose – Drawing on a representative survey, this paper aims to identify the determinants of functional food consumption in Croatia. The objective is to introduce and test a conceptual model that four sets of factors (food choice motivations, demographic and socio-economic characteristics, knowledge of functional food and health status) underpin variations in functional food consumption. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via face-to-face interviews conducted in respondents' homes. Consumption of functional foods is modelled as a bootstrapped ordered probit model. Findings – Results confirm the significant influence of all four sets of factors for explaining variations in functional food consumption. Heavier users of functional food are those that place a greater weighting on health and convenience in food choice. In contrast, the salience of familiarity in food choice is negatively related with functional food consumption. Females and those with higher levels of educational attainment are heavier consumers of functional food. While perceived health status appears not to have any significant relationship with functional food consumption, there is a link with body mass index. Functional foods appeal most to those concerned about their health and desire convenient, “quick fixes”. Such “quick fixes” may however be employed at the expense of more fundamental adjustments to diet and fitness, which may provide the basis for superior overall disease prevention/health promotion. Originality/value – The study represents one of the first assessments of functional food consumption in Central and Eastern Europe, introducing and testing a comprehensive conceptual model.