A study conducted on Stanford University students has shown that people will eat veggie dishes if they are labeled with terms focusing on flavor and not the health benefits. There was a 25 percent increase in students choosing the same dish that used indulgent descriptions over the same dish labeled with basic health information. This study was inspired by similar findings out of the UK. Stanford hopes to go forward by increasing healthy eating using this labeling system in the future.

Key Takeaways:

• Diners are heavily influenced by the labeling of dishes on a restaurant menu, being more likely to order an item if it is creatively labeled.
• Integrating healthy options with the rest of the general menu items leads to people eating healthier options rather than the menu being segregated.
• By leveraging what people unconsciously use to decide what to eat, we can lead people to healthier choices by using colorful language and labels.

“So Stanford Dining developed a new menu labeling system that still provides detailed nutritional info while using flavor-centered language to nudge diners toward healthier choices.”

Read more: http://www.restaurant-hospitality.com/consumer-trends/indulgent-language-sells-more-vegetable-dishes