Many researchers (Flynn et al., 2020; Paek et al., 2011; Sundar, 2021) have discussed the “halo effect” and its impact on consumers in the realm of advertising. The “halo effect” is defined as a cognitive bias that uses positive impressions of people, brands, and products to positively influence our feelings in another area. Flynn et al. (2020), discuss why this happens in relation to human memory, stating that when information is presented to an individual from an external source, our memory is prompted to search for similar knowledge structures that are relevant to that content. When associating this effect to food branding, it is often seen among health foods where advertising makes careful word associations. An example of this effect in advertising often happens when a brand suggests that their product is high in protein; this claim is likely to activate other health-related claims information in the memory, such as “low-carb,” “low-sugar,” or “healthy” in general, even though the relative claims do not always remain true (Flynn et al., 2020).

Flynn et al. (2020) further discuss claims used in advertising mediums of food and beverage brands and how they are associated with consumers. These authors begin by explaining the three main claims used in advertising, allowing for a greater understanding of future discussions surrounding effects and hypotheses that relate to advertising implementations. The first type of claims that are discussed are health-related claims which are used as a strategy to focus the consumers’ attention on the benefits of that product (Flynn et al., 2020). This means that product statements typically take the form of a health appeal using phrases such as “organic” and “all-natural.” The second claim that is focused on has to do with the emphasis on specific ingredients, highlighting amounts of “good” ingredients in products versus “bad.” An example of some of these claims include statements like “good source of fiber,” “low fat,” or “30% less sugar” to create comparative aspects between products (Paek et al., 2011). Finally, the most common, and most favored type of claim used in advertising is the consumer claim. These kinds of claims highlight certain aspects of a product such as taste, quality, or price; or even consumer benefits from the product, such as positive emotional or social outcomes.

With these claims, we come to the “halo effect” which is touched upon in both this article, as well as in a 2021 research article by Sundar et al. (2021). The authors discuss how the “halo effect” can cause changes in consumer purchasing habits based on food and beverage labels. To explain this concept, the authors first present the idea that when foods are labeled as being natural, this creates a positive health halo, causing consumers to make further assumptions about the product. For example, when food is labeled as “organic,” consumers tend to automatically believe that that product has fewer calories than non-organic products (Sundar et al., 2021). With this said, advertising teams will often use this information to their advantage, knowing that certain phrases make a product seem healthier and more beneficial to the consumer, which is usually what people want.

The consumer preference for healthier foods has witnessed an increasing trend among both adults and adolescents since the early 2000s. Previous research shows that when food products are promoted as being healthy, adult consumers often change their whole product beliefs, generating a more positive attitude toward the product, and therefore, purchasing the product more regularly (Adams & Geuens, 2007). Advertisers are aware of the health consciousness trend in society today, and are therefore very particular in the way that they choose to market their products, as healthier has proven to meet the wants and needs of today's consumers.