Do Descriptive Menu Labels Influence Customers? (Santé)
The use of descriptive labels such as Jack Daniel’s Chicken,
Psychedelic Sorbet, or the Blooming Onion is an emerging trend in the
hospitality industry. But does simply changing the menu labels from
generic, straightforward names to descriptive names impact sales or
make a customer actually believe the food tastes better?
Label Analysis
In my book, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
(Bantam, 2006), we describe a restaurant experiment where we simply
made the names of menu items more creatively descriptive (for example,
Seafood Filet became Succulent Italian Seafood Filet and Grilled
Chicken became Tender Grilled Chicken). Did descriptive labels
influence diners’ taste? Definitely. They increased sales by 27 percent
over the plain-labeled menu items. In addition, the menu items were
viewed as more appealing and tastier, and the restaurant as being
trendier and more up to date.
Why? Descriptive labeling allows consumers to concentrate more on
the feelings and taste aspects of the products instead of focusing only
on the functional or utilitarian properties. For instance, when asked
to comment on their entree or dessert, people who were given a
descriptively labeled product directed 84.5 percent of their comments
to factors related to the taste and sensory nature of the product. In
contrast, those who ate the less descriptively labeled products focused
only 42.6 percent on these sensory aspects and reserved their remaining
comments (such as “good,” “filling,” or “reasonable”) for the more
utilitarian or functional characteristics of the foods.
Categories That Connect
How do you generate descriptive or suggestive labels? We analyzed
342 menus and found that most of these descriptive labels can be
categorized in one of four ways:
Geographic. Labels that claim to reproduce the
flavors that are found in specific geographic areas have proven
successful. The key is in deciding which region your spices or products
fit into and then choosing which adjectives create that image or
ideology. Examples are Southwestern Tex-Mex Salad, London Fish and
Chips, “Real” Carolina Barbecue, and Country Peach Tart.
Nostalgic. Alluding to past time periods can
trigger happy memories of family, tradition, and nationalism. Customers
sometimes like the feeling of tasting something wholesome and
traditional because “they sure don’t make ’em like they used to.”
Examples are Classic Old World Italian, Legendary Chocolate Mousse Pie,
Ye Old Potato Bread, and Nana’s Favorite Chicken Soup.
Sensory. If labels accurately describe the taste,
smell, and mouth-feel of the menu item, then customers will be more
able to picture themselves eating it. Ice cream shops accomplish this
masterfully—note names like Chocolate Velvet—but menus of all types can
benefit from creative sensory labels. Examples are Hearty Wholesome
Steaks, Snappy Seasonal Carrots, and Buttery Plump Pasta.
Brand. A cross-promotion with a related brand that
carries its own important associations makes the menu item more
attractive. The idea of cross-promotions is not new, but it is catching
on reasonably fast in the chain and franchise restaurant world. One
drawback of brand labels is that the legal costs and licensing costs
can be too expensive for single-unit restaurants. The use of brands
says to consumers, “If you love the brand, you’ll love this menu item.”
Examples are Black Angus Beef Burgers, Jack Daniel’s BBQ Ribs, and
Butterfinger Blizzard.
Name Game
One method to generate ideas for descriptive labels is to sit down
with a pencil and think of food-related associations that tie in to
relevant places, memories, or descriptive adjectives. A second means
for jump-starting your descriptive labeling talent is to take a pen and
paper and to physically note the variety of descriptive labels used at
different restaurants. Two excellent places to start are theme
restaurants and ice cream stores.
Of course, using descriptive labels can raise consumer expectations,
which must be met by delivering a quality product. It’s a bad idea to
label yesterday’s goulash as today’s “Royal Hungarian Top Sirloin
Blend.” It might generate first-time sales, but those covers may also
be the last.
Visit mindlesseating.org for more food research from Brian Wansink and his associates.
Brian Wansink is professor and director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab and author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think (Bantam, 2006).
This article first appeared in the November 2007 issue of Santé.