Food product launch and positioning in China—Do claims of credence attributes matter?

This article aims to empirically investigate the role of claims of credence attributes in the launch of food and drink products using a large dataset of new product development by food companies in China. A multinomial regression model is employed to analyze the association between the type of product launch and the positioning claims adopted by firms. The results provide evidence that claims of credence attributes play an important role in the product launch strategy of firms. Food companies tend to choose the most cost‐effective strategies to launch products with credence attributes. Hence, claims that are seen as most important for consumers are more likely to be engendered for the more costly launch approach. For example, the attribute of food safety is highly important in China and its use is related to launching brand new products which generally is the most costly launch strategy. In contrast, other credence attributes, such as “environmentally sustainable,” are linked to relatively simpler and cheaper strategies, such as new packaging. Given most studies on credence attributes have focused on the consumer side, results of this study fill in the gap of understanding how food suppliers respond to consumer demand for food products with credence attributes.