How junk food popularity relies on marketing

Junk food – we know it's not good for us. It's loaded with sugar, unhealthy fats, salt, and a whole host of artificial ingredients. Yet, we find ourselves craving it, reaching for that bag of chips or a can of soda, time and time again. So how does junk food go from being something we know is bad to something we find downright irresistible? The answer lies in a powerful force: marketing.

The Recipe for Junk Food Success

Junk food marketers have mastered the art of persuasion. They use a potent mix of tactics to make their products seem not only appealing but essential to our happiness and well-being.  Here's how they do it:

Sensory Overload: Junk food ads are a feast for the eyes and ears. Bright colors, upbeat music, and images of smiling, carefree people enjoying these products trigger our appetite and create positive associations.

Emotional Manipulation: Marketers link junk food to emotions like fun, excitement, and belonging. They suggest that consuming these products will make you popular, cool, and part of the 'in' crowd. According to Harvard Business Review, “when companies connect with customers’ emotions, the payoff can be huge”.

The Illusion of Choice: Supermarket shelves are overflowing with different brands and variations of junk food, creating an illusion of vast choice and control. But the reality is that most of these products have similar nutritional profiles. However, as shown in CyberGhost’s blog post, 70% of children (3-4 years old) know the names of junk food brands, but it’s hard for them to recall their last name.

Deceptive Health Claims: Words like "natural," "low-fat," or "vitamin-fortified" mislead consumers into thinking some junk foods are healthier than they are. Moreover, scholars from Spain (E. Carrillo, Paula Varela, Ana Salvador, Susana Fiszman) made a food choice survey only to find that by far the most important factors in the food choice of people in Spain are sensory appeal, price, and convenience.
Targeting the Vulnerable: Marketing often targets children and teenagers, who are particularly influenced by colourful packaging, cartoon characters, and celebrity endorsements, establishing brand loyalty early on.

The Bitter Aftertaste

This constant bombardment of junk food marketing has serious consequences:

Distorted Food Preferences: Our taste buds adapt to the overload of sugar, salt, and fat. Over time, healthy foods can start to seem bland in comparison. This sets the stage for unhealthy eating habits that are difficult to break.

Increased Health Risks: Consumption of junk food contributes to obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. It undermines our health and can shorten our lifespans.

Loss of Food Culture: Traditional, home-cooked meals are being replaced with convenient, processed foods, eroding culinary knowledge and the social enjoyment of meals.

What Can Be Done?

Breaking free from the junk food cycle requires a conscious effort and a societal shift:

Personal Awareness: The first step is understanding how marketing manipulates our food choices. Learn to read nutrition labels and become a more mindful consumer.

Healthy Alternatives: Make fruits, vegetables, and whole foods the stars of your diet. Experiment with new recipes and rediscover the pleasure of nutritious eating.

Education and Regulation: We need better education about nutrition, starting from a young age. There's also a need for stricter regulations on junk food marketing, particularly marketing aimed at children.

Junk food doesn't become popular on its own. It's a carefully orchestrated marketing campaign that plays on our emotions and vulnerabilities. By recognizing these tactics, actively choosing healthy options, and demanding change within the food industry, we can take back control of our health and pave the way for a more balanced relationship with food.

(This article is part of IndiaDotCom Pvt Ltd’s Consumer Connect Initiative, a paid publication programme. IDPL claims no editorial involvement and assumes no responsibility, liability or claims for any errors or omissions in the content of the article. The IDPL Editorial team is not responsible for this content.)