Perceptions of and Reactions to Sustainability Menu Label Designs
NCT ID: NCT07214792
Last Updated: 2025-11-10
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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RECRUITING
NA
12400 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2025-10-09
2025-11-30
Brief Summary
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Detailed Description
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Participants will be randomized to view a fast-food online ordering menu with one of seven labeling schemes applied: (1) a QR code on all items (control); (2) Low Sustainability labels; (3) Unsustainable labels; (4) Environmental Harm labels; (5) High Environmental Harm labels; (6) High Environmental Cost labels; and (7) numeric Environmental Cost labels on all items. All fast-food menus will include a selection of main entrée items. The control QR code and numeric environmental cost labels will display labels on all menu items. All other label conditions will apply labels only to items with higher environmental impact as defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates based on the Cool Food Pledge Calculator.
Participants will be shown the menu and the label in isolation and will then be asked about interpretations of the label, reactions to the label, perceived message effectiveness (PME) of the label, how helpful the participants find the label to be, and the intention to purchase a menu item with the label. The participants will also be shown two different individual fast-food items with the label to which the participants were randomized (if applicable) in random order and asked about the perceived appeal, healthfulness, and environmental impact of the menu items.
The primary outcome in this exploratory study will be intention to purchase a hypothetical menu item with the label shown. Secondary outcomes include label interpretation, perceived label understandability, perceived label believability, perception that the label grabbed attention, perceived message effectiveness (PME) of the label, perceived helpfulness of the label, perceived level of appeal of menu items, perceived level of healthfulness of menu items, and perceived environmental impact of menu items.
Conditions
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Keywords
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
Participants will be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase an unspecified menu item with the label to which the participant was randomized.
PREVENTION
NONE
Study Groups
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Low Sustainability Labels
A red icon-plus-text label that reads "LOW SUSTAINABILITY" in white text will be placed beneath menu items with a high environmental impact, defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates from the Cool Food Pledge Calculator.
Labels will include a white globe icon directly preceding the label text.
Low Sustainability Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Low Sustainability labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
Unsustainable Labels
A red icon-plus-text label that reads "UNSUSTAINABLE" in white text will be placed beneath menu items with a high environmental impact, defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates from the Cool Food Pledge Calculator. Labels will include a white globe icon directly preceding the label text.
Unsustainable Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Unsustainable labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
Environmental Harm Labels
A red icon-plus-text label that reads "ENVIRONMENTAL HARM" in white text will be placed beneath menu items with a high environmental impact, defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates from the Cool Food Pledge Calculator. Labels will include a white globe icon directly preceding the label text.
Environmental Harm Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Environmental Harm labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
High Environmental Harm Labels
A red icon-plus-text label that reads "HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL HARM" in white text will be placed beneath menu items with a high environmental impact, defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates from the Cool Food Pledge Calculator. Labels will include a white globe icon directly preceding the label text.
High Environmental Harm Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. High Environmental Harm labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
High Environmental Cost Labels
A red icon-plus-text label that reads "HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL COST" in white text will be placed beneath menu items with a high environmental impact, defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates from the Cool Food Pledge Calculator. Labels will include a white triangle icon with a dollar sign directly preceding the label text.
High Environmental Cost Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. High Environmental Cost labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
Control (QR) labels
A black label featuring a QR code and white text that reads "SCAN HERE" will be placed beneath all main menu items.
Control (QR) Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Control (QR) labels will be displayed beneath each item. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
Numeric Environmental Cost Labels
Numeric Environmental Cost labels will be placed beneath all menu items and display the estimated dollar value associated with the item's True Cost Accounting which calculates the additional cost of a commodity by accounting for environmental and social costs. The label will read "ENVIRONMENTAL COST" in white text followed by a dollar value (i.e., +$6.01). All labels have a solid red background and an icon-plus-text design. A white globe icon will precede the text.
Numeric Environmental Cost Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Numeric environmental cost labels will be displayed beneath each item. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
Interventions
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Control (QR) Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Control (QR) labels will be displayed beneath each item. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
Low Sustainability Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Low Sustainability labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
Unsustainable Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Unsustainable labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
Environmental Harm Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Environmental Harm labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
High Environmental Harm Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. High Environmental Harm labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
High Environmental Cost Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. High Environmental Cost labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
Numeric Environmental Cost Labels
Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Numeric environmental cost labels will be displayed beneath each item. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Member of the CloudResearch panel
* Residing in the United States
Exclusion Criteria
* Not residing in the United States
* Completed the survey implausibly quickly based on the distribution of the time to complete the survey among all participants
* Failed the built-in Qualtrics survey fraud detection measures
* Failed the attention check question included in the survey
18 Years
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
NIH
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Principal Investigators
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Julia A Wolfson, PhD, MPP
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Locations
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Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Countries
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Central Contacts
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Other Identifiers
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IRB00034378
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id