Digital agri-nutrition marketing for consumer awareness of healthy foods

Abstract

Digital agri-nutrition marketing can align public-health goals with the realities of mobile shopping by pairing simple nutrition signals with journey-level prompts at the moment of choice. This three-arm cluster-randomised study (24 clusters, ≈1,440 adults across rural, peri-urban, and urban India) tested: (1) Control (generic safety tips), (2) FOPL-Education (short-video/WhatsApp modules that teach interpretive front-of-pack labels), and (3) FOPL-Education + CX-Nudges (education plus prompts at search, product page, and checkout). Interventions ran for eight weeks (three touchpoints/week). Primary outcomes were the Label Comprehension Index (LCI, 0-12) and Healthy Purchase Intention (HPI, 1-5), secondary outcomes were self-reported healthy “swaps” in the last 14 days and add-to-cart for healthy-tagged items. Analyses used intention-to-treat mixed-effects models with cluster-robust inference, prespecified mediators (perceived source credibility, digital customer-experience quality), and subgroup tests by UPI payment frequency. Compared with Control, endline DiD effects showed higher LCI for FOPL-Education (+1.50) and FOPL-Education + CX-Nudges (+3.10), and higher HPI for FOPL-Education (+0.30) and FOPL-Education + CX-Nudges (+0.70), all statistically significant. Behavioural proxies followed the same gradient: healthy swaps reached 31.0% and 44.0% (vs 18.0% Control), and add-to-cart rates reached 9.8% and 13.6% (vs 6.5%). Mediation analyses indicated that credibility and journey quality jointly explained 57% of the HPI effect in FOPL-Education and 61% in the combined arm. Effects were larger among high-frequency UPI users, suggesting that payments readiness helps close the intention-action gap. Findings demonstrate that interpretive label literacy is necessary but not sufficient, embedding concise cues and healthy defaults into high-leverage surfaces (search, PDP, cart, checkout) meaningfully amplifies impact. Scalable, mobile-first programmes that combine FOPL education, credible messaging, and friction-light checkout can increase comprehension and shift baskets toward healthier foods in India’s digital commerce ecosystem.