Five-star prices, appealing healthy item descriptions? Expensive restaurants' descriptive menu language

Area of Science:

• Consumer Psychology
• Food Marketing
• Restaurant Industry Analysis

Background:

• Previous studies indicate inexpensive restaurants use less appealing language for healthy options.
• This creates a perception that healthy foods are less enjoyable than standard dishes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if expensive restaurants also use less appealing language for healthy menu items.
• To compare the descriptive language of healthy versus standard items in high-status dining contexts.

Main Methods:

• Menu data (names and descriptions) were collected from 160 top-rated expensive restaurants across 8 U.S. cities via Yelp.
• Healthy items (salads, side vegetables) and standard items were identified, and descriptive words were analyzed using log likelihood analyses.
• Descriptive words were categorized into 22 themes to compare frequencies between healthy and standard item descriptions.

Main Results:

• Healthy items were described using significantly fewer words related to American regions, excitement, taste, portion size, spiciness, artisanal qualities, and foreign regions.
• Expensive restaurants did not use health-focused themes for healthy items.
• Appealing themes were used more frequently in descriptions of healthy items compared to standard items in expensive restaurants, though less so than in inexpensive ones.

Conclusions:

• Expensive American restaurants describe healthy items as less appealing and less authentically American than standard dishes, but to a lesser extent than inexpensive restaurants.
• Menu language in high-end dining still influences the perceived appeal of healthy options.
• Strategies to enhance the appeal of healthy menu items are crucial for influencing diner choices.