B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Federal Election
  • Pinterest
  • AFL
  • AI
  • News Corp
  • Married At First Sight
  • NRL
  • Cairns Hatchlings
  • Channel 10
  • oOh!Media
  • WPP
  • Anthony Albanese
  • Thinkerbell
  • Special
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: Government’s Health Star Rating System Has No Affect On Purchase: Study
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Media > Government’s Health Star Rating System Has No Affect On Purchase: Study
Media

Government’s Health Star Rating System Has No Affect On Purchase: Study

Staff Writers
Published on: 11th September 2015 at 10:17 AM
Staff Writers
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE

A survey by consumer research company Canstar Blue found half of respondents welcomed government’s new nutritional on-pack star rating systems advice — but were unlikely to take its advice.

The front-of-pack labeling provides quick ‘at a glance’ advice to busy shoppers, the more stars a product has the ‘healthier’ it is.

More than 1,000 products sold in Australia now carry the ratings, including Kellogg’s, Sanitarium, Nestle, Heinz, Fonterra, Simplot, Vitality, Mars, Lion, Betta Foods, Monster Health Food Company, Food for Health, Freedom Foods, Vetta, Parker’s Organic, Yummia, Campbell’s, Arnotts and Unilever.

The study of 3,002 adults in August 2015 found:

  • Most adults (95 per cent) think people should take more personal responsibility for their eating habits.
  • A small majority find the ratings easy to understand (58 per cent) and helpful in understanding what foods are good for them (60 per cent).
  • A large majority (78 per cent) agree that all food companies should carry health star ratings.
  • Fewer than half (48 per cent) say the ratings have had, or will have, an impact on their purchase decisions.
  • Just over two-thirds (68 per cent) find it confusing that some seemingly unhealthy foods carry high ratings and some healthy foods have low ratings.
  • Young Australians (aged 18-29) are least likely to find the ratings easy to understand, helpful, and to consider them in their purchase decisions.

Head of Canstar Blue, Megan Doyle, said: “We support any system that helps consumers make better decisions, particularly when it comes to their health, so it’s disappointing to find the majority of Australians are not making these ratings a part of their purchase decision. The system seems to have been met with apathy by some.

“The trend from our results is that younger people are going to be the hardest to influence – which is not what the Government would like to hear in its bid to curb Australia’s obesity crisis.”

Despite the government spending an estimated $280,000 on market research into the health star rating system, there appears to still be much confusion around the system. The study by Canstar Blue found

“In the case of the [two star] yoghurt, the message is simply that the product is less healthy compared to other yoghurts, while the four-star rated frozen chips are simply a healthier version of other frozen chips,” said Canstar Blue.

To read more of the results, click here.

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: iab singapore, Online Piracy
Share
Staff Writers
By Staff Writers
Follow:
Staff Writers represent B&T's team of award-winning reporters. Here, you'll find articles crafted with industry experience spanning over 50 years. Our team of specialists brings together a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to delivering insightful, topical, and breaking news. With a deep understanding of advertising and media, our Staff Writers are dedicated to providing industry-leading analysis and reporting, both shaping the conversation and setting the benchmark for excellence.

Latest News

Emboldened, Emotional & Inspired – Cairns Crocodiles Masterclass, Presented By News Australia, Tug The Heartstrings
16/05/2025
TV Ratings (15/05/2025): Women’s State Of Origin Game 2 Pulls Nearly Twice The Viewers Of AFL Clash
16/05/2025
Nine Hails “A Great Day For Investigative Journalism” As Ben Roberts-Smith Loses Defamation Appeal
16/05/2025
Keep Left Updates Earned Media Impact Score Platform
16/05/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?