• Adweek, Tuesday, November 9, 2010 10:38 AM

Healthy foods suffer from a perception that they are not as "tasty" as less healthy alternatives, Mark Dolliver informs us in a story about a new study from Catalina Marketing. One way to overcome that? Sampling.

"Shelf labels that identify healthy products and sampling or tasting events in the store are of interest to most shoppers," says Sharon Glass, who led the study as Catalina's vp, health and wellness. "Sampling can be an effective way to overcome the barrier of negative taste perceptions."

Consumers also fear that it costs more to eat healthily, but Glass says there are plenty of healthy foods that are affordable. "In many categories, the lower-calorie or lower-fat options marketed by a given product are [priced] the same," she says. That includes such crowd pleasers as soft drinks, mayo and hot dogs.

Not surprisingly, Catalina also suggests that coupons are a splendid way to get consumers to try your product. More than 80% of respondents say coupons for healthy foods would "encourage healthy shopping."

Read the whole story at Adweek »