The menu trick that cuts sugar

REORDERING a fast-food menu can ‘trick’ consumers into choosing healthier options, a trial at McDonald’s has found.

Moving the icon for Coke Zero – which contains no sugar – to the top of the soft drinks list and Coca- Cola to the bottom persuaded customers using touch-screens to order to choose the first option.

Researchers from Manchester and Warwick universities found that, over 12 weeks, Coca-Cola sales fell on average by 9 per cent, while Coke Zero purchases increased by 30 per cent in 622 stores.

Study co-author Dr Ivo Vlaev, of Warwick Business School, said: ‘You can call it a cognitive trick. It’s based on a bias, or a psychological blind spot we have when we are looking at the range of options in front of us.’

He added that other retailers should take note of the ‘promising results’, which show that changes like this can be made without affecting a business’s profits.