Yes, that is not a typo. Researchers have discovered that those given a small piece of apple to eat before going shopping bought more fruit and vegetables than those given a cookie or nothing.
Have you ever wondered when you try that free sample in the supermarket, do you then decide to buy it because you feel bad if you don’t? Or is it because you truly want it? It should come as no surprise, that this is something that food companies are very interested in.
Published in the Journal Psychology and Marketing, researchers wanted to find out the effect of consuming either something healthy (such as apple) or something indulgent (such as a cookie) on the items that are then purchased.
Apparently it has already been shown that those given some chocolate before shopping ended up buying more Pepsi, both of which the authors considered an indulgence. In other words, the snack will have a significant effect on what you choose to buy.
It turns out that eating some apple before shopping led to an increase in the amount of fruit and vegetables bought compared to the controls and those that had the cookie.
I wonder if this works on children too?