TealHelix: Building Resilience Through Inclusive and Personalized Food Labeling

Project Information

TealHelix

Grant agreement ID: 101136955

DOI

10.3030/101136955

EC signature date 23 July 2024

Start date 1 September 2024

End date 31 August 2028

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 6 500 000,00

EU contribution

€ 6 500 000,00

Coordinated by

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TealHelix (TealHelix: Building Resilience Through Inclusive and Personalized Food Labeling)

Reporting period: 2024-09-01 to 2026-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The TealHelix advances the state-of-the-art by proposing a more precise and targeted approach – empowerment through personalization and inclusion. Using the underlying logic of motivational matching, we will develop a number of new labeling approaches and digital social innovations to guide and improve consumer decision-making. Such an approach will also enable us to address resistance to sustainability ideas and tailor our interventions to the heterogeneity in individual needs of vulnerable consumers. Combining insights from life cycle, social and economic environments analysis, measurement, and consumer behavior theories, we will develop a new measure to assess how individual and planetary preferences for various sustainability dimensions can be aligned to reach sustainability goals. Next, we will test a number of means of transmission: traditional labeling approaches, digital and brick-and-mortar retail labeling approaches, and smart labeling approaches. To sustain and scale the change, we will develop integrity guidelines and new sustainability information provision standards for the industry. We will leverage the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary competencies of the consortium in marketing, consumer behavior, psychology, environmental, information sciences, as well as in communication, retailing, and standard-setting industries. The project will generate multiple novel methods to study labeling approaches and original empirical evidence through machine learning-based 'big data' analysis, large-scale surveys, experience-sampling and micro-level experiments. Finally, we will integrate the findings into digital social innovations powered by AI tools to support labeling solutions. As a result, we will provide a deeper understanding of how various external environments shape attitudes and beliefs towards food sustainability labeling, how to motivate consumers to follow sustainable labeling guidelines, and how to include the ones who are in greatest need.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Foundational to the TealHelix work was our exploration as to how the market influences sustainable consumer behavior. We performed a systematic review of 39 meta-analyses, interviews with retailers, producers, policymakers, NGOs and consumer representatives and a structured inventory of labelling schemes. A cross country survey (N=2,767) across 11 EU countries examined two outcomes: whether consumers consider sustainability labels, and their willingness to pay a price premium. We further analysed sustainability advertising in Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Romania (2022–2024). Online behavioural monitoring across X, TikTok, Bluesky and Instagram generated a dataset of 173,010 posts.

Current work analyses consumers’ information needs for different sustainability dimensions. Using literature reviews, experience sampling and experimental designs, the team identified which information consumers require in real choice situations and how these needs vary across individuals and contexts. Psychological, social and situational factors are included, and implicit measures such as the Approach–Avoidance Task were applied. Parallel life cycle assessments evaluate the actual environmental performance of selected food products following EU Product Environmental Footprint rules, supported by primary and secondary data. Social and economic sustainability dimensions are also being mapped, including health related indicators such as Nutri Score and affordability metrics such as price volatility and food expenditure share. Together, these assessments enable a multidimensional sustainability profile for food products.
A major milestone is the development and validation of the Sustainable Food Compass, a psychometric tool measuring which sustainability dimensions individuals prioritise. This allows the project to match information and interventions to consumer needs. Ongoing work integrates environmental, social, economic and animal welfare assessments into algorithms for overall sustainability scoring.
In parallel, we are designing and testing behavioural interventions to support the motivational matching strategy that is central in Tealhelix. The outcome will be a set of evidence based interventions to strengthen motivation and reduce resistance to consider and buy sustainable products.

Co creation with communities is central to developing interventions, labels and digital tools. TealHelix utilizes Go Green Hubs that enable a variety of stakeholders to contribute ideas, provide feedback on interventions, and co design solutions. Local pilot partners organise events to engage stakeholders and tailor approaches. Upcoming work includes segmenting consumers allowing interventions to be tailored, benchmarked and adapted across pilot countries. Two go-green hub have been done and two more are programmed for May 2026.
In parallel, gamification and AI tools are being developed to support learning and engagement. The LabelGuide app helps users assess the validity and personal relevance of sustainability labels. The HowiBuy app, which can be integrated in existing retailer client applications, integrates the Sustainable Food Compass to offer customised sustainability insights and product suggestions. Both tools leverage AI technologies.
Integrating insights on consumer needs, sustainability footprints, the Sustainable Food Compass, intervention effectiveness, and intervention viability will finally cumulate in workable apps and tools that can be implemented in our pilot settings. Pilot testing will examine how different modes of sustainability information and interventions influence food purchase behaviour. Country specific deployment plans will define which interventions are used, how they integrate with existing labelling schemes, and which contextual factors shape implementation and impact.
The final and parallel work stream focuses on integrity principles and ethical limits in influencing consumer behaviour. By reviewing existing guidelines, literature and policy frameworks, the project will formulate standards for ethical sustainability information provision for policymakers and industry, ensuring transparency, fairness and consumer protection across Europe.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Our literature review and label inventory revealed a fragmented landscape. Labels differ widely in governance, criteria, and communication style, contributing to consumer confusion and eroding trust. Social and cultural factors, psychological barriers and heterogeneity in education, values, and income are associated with sustainability information processing. The analysis highlights the need for harmonisation, third party verification, clear visual cues, and support tools for vulnerable groups.
Our consumer survey suggested that there were different profiles of consumers who considered sustainability information. Personality traits such as conscientiousness and openness, regional cultural orientation, and economic context all played a role. Younger and more educated consumers were more sensitive to sustainability information, but affordability constraints dominate.
Our analysis of the advertising field showed that sustainability has become a central marketing theme. Television and out of home advertising remain key for reach, while digital media have become increasingly relevant. Consumers are assumed to value transparency, local sourcing and credible ecological claims. This work resulted in guidelines for branding and media planning. Classification models our our scraped social media material revealed that posts on animal welfare and environmental impacts received the highest engagement while food affordability and workers’ conditions generated low engagement. These insights inspire more effective communication and labelling strategies.
Our behavioral science studies identified health and affordability as major needs, showed that the sustainable food compass is a viable instrument to further integrate in the tools that we are developping, and that some interventions seem effective such as masculinity cues to boost the impact of vegan labels among masculine men, and buy-one-give-one promotional schemes to boost the sharing of sustainable products with vulnerable consumers. The interviews with expert on integrity principles has led to new insights, including a call for clarity and transparency.