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Would you be more apt to ask for a huge scoop of veggies if they were labeled “X-Ray Vision Carrots” or “Food of the Day”?

It might seem like a silly question (because, of course, the answer is “YES!”), but coming from someone who has seen two kids scarf down broccoli like candy because they were called “Happy Little Trees” (thanks Bob Ross!), the results of a recent series of studies from Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab aren’t that surprising.

…[The]…researchers explored the effects of re-naming carrots, broccoli, and string beans in two New York City schools. For two months the number of students choosing each vegetable was tracked. In one school, however, the veggies were labeled ‘X-ray vision carrots,’ ‘Power Punch Broccoli,’ and ‘Silly Dilly Green Beans.”

… In this study, the experimental school students made 99 percent more vegetable purchases than they did the prior month! In the control school, where no branding changes were made during the second month, vegetable purchases went down by 16 percent.

All we can say is that it’s about time the lunch ladies got the opportunity to have a little fun behind the sneeze guard.

Full story at Cornell University Food and Brand Lab via InventorSpot.

Healthy eating through better branding.

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