Evidence to catalyse food environment policy actions towards healthy diets and prevention of the double burden of malnutrition in Kenya (FEP- ACTION), Consumer perceptions on proposed front-of-pack labels for foods and drinks in Kenya; A qualitative study

Kenya lacks comprehensive policies for regulating the food environment, thus there is a high level of unhealthy food consumption. The goal of the Food Environment Policy-Action project is to build evidence and mobilize multi-stakeholder actions towards the development of a double-duty bundle of four food environment policies that prevent the consumption of unhealthy diets and promote the consumption of nutrient rich and energy-dense healthy foods.
Objective: This study aimed to explore consumers' perceptions and understanding of proposed Front of Pack Labelling symbols to be placed on foods and non-alcoholic beverages in Kenya and their insights into features that could influence the effectiveness of the symbols.
Study methods: We adopted a qualitative design using focus group discussions (FGDs) to collect data. Data collection was carried out in four counties in Kenya: Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa and Garissa. The four Counties were selected to represent different socio-economic contexts, varying access to supermarkets, and diverse consumer behaviours related to packaged food consumption. Data collection took place in October 2023. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse emerging themes for the qualitative data using Nvivo version 14.0. Three FoPLs were assessed: Red and Green (RG), Red and Green with icons (RGI) and the Black Warning label (WL) were tested with Kenyan consumers. Results showed that Kenyan consumers have varied perceptions about the proposed FoPL symbols. Majority of the participants found the black WL to be most visible and memorable citing its good blend of black and white colours. Although the RG and RGI symbols were also found to be eye-catching due to their bright colours, it also emerged that the colours caused confusion to the participants on what they mean. Most of the participants understood the WL compared to the RG and RGI because they found the additional text more educative. Generally, the WL was preferred as the symbol most likely to influence consumer purchase behaviours and hence unhealthy food consumption. All the three FoPLs tested were found to be culturally appropriate.