Cutting prices can be an effective way to get people to buy more fresh produce
Researchers from Deakin University’s Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research (C-PAN) have highlighted the importance of lower prices as a mechanism to promote the purchase and consumption of fruit and vegetables, after providing the first Australian evidence that cutting prices can be an effective way to get people to buy more fresh produce.
In a study published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the C-PAN “Supermarket Healthy Eating for Life” (SHELf) trial found that a 20 per cent price reduction in fruit and vegetables resulted in increased purchasing per household of 21 per cent for fruit and 12 per cent for vegetables over the price reduction period.
Crucially, the study also found that the price reduction worked equally well across both low and high income groups – good news for low income groups who are at particular risk of poor diets and associated ill health.
