Video and Text‐Based Supplemental Health Information and Consumer Willingness to Pay for Nutrient‐Enhanced Eggs

ABSTRACT Nutritional information is very important in the food choices of consumers. However, when they are too scientific or technical, they have the potential to confuse consumers, resulting in information asymmetry and dissuading them from making beneficial choices. In such cases, it might be important to also include supplemental information for such consumers. Using a discrete choice experiment, this study set out to determine how delivering supplemental health information through video and text formats affects consumers' willingness to pay for eggs enhanced with beta‐carotene and monounsaturated fatty acids in the United States. Beta‐carotene is a dietary precursor of vitamin A known to have immunological benefits, while monounsaturated fatty acids are a group of dietary fats that have cardiovascular benefits. We also examined whether there are individual heterogeneities that could affect the realized willingness to pay for such enhancements. We found that in the absence of supplemental information, consumers exhibited a disutility for, and negative marginal willingness to pay for, eggs enhanced with beta‐carotene and monounsaturated fatty acids. Consumers who received supplemental health information were willing to pay more for these nutritional enhancements, especially those who received it in video format. Compared to those who did not receive any supplemental health information, those who received text script treatment were willing to pay 41 cents more for beta‐carotene enhancement, and those who received video treatment were willing to pay 62 cents more. For monounsaturated fatty acids enhancements, we found that those who received video treatment were willing to pay 24 cents more. We also found that younger, non‐female respondents, and those whose family had health issues, were willing to pay more for nutrient enhancements. These results show that it is not just enough for consumers to have nutritional information. Such information must also be presented in ways that are comprehensible to them. For policymakers and producers, these results are very important, considering that when consumers make healthy food choices, it has strong positive externalities on society, ensuring a healthier population, and less financial burden on citizens and the government.