The Impact of Calories Labeling Policy in Saudi Arabia: Comparing Physical and Online Channels

Authors

Mohammed Alfawzan, Ministry of HealthFollow
Amer Aljarallah, King Saud UniversityFollow

Abstract

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority imposed calories labeling policy on all restaurants and coffee shops, effective January 1st, 2019. This study seeks to measure the impact of this labeling policy on calories consumption behavior in both physical and online ordering channels. We use transactional sales data for one of the largest fast food restaurant chains in Riyadh city. The data spans over two different periods: November 2018 and February 2019. We use total calories per order to measure calories intake. The results of our analysis show no significant impact of calories labeling policy on the level of total calories intake during the month of February, 2019. However, we see slight effect of the labeling policy for those who use online food ordering platforms as it shows a decrease in the total calories per order. Further research and limitations are discussed in this paper.

Recommended Citation

Alfawzan, Mohammed and Aljarallah, Amer, "The Impact of Calories Labeling Policy in Saudi Arabia: Comparing Physical and Online Channels" (2020). PACIS 2020 Proceedings. 151.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2020/151