Are Australian Food Companies Using Nature Imagery as a Marketing Strategy? A Content Analysis

Emerging evidence suggests that nature imagery can affect consumer food choices. However, little is known about whether and, if so, how food companies use nature imagery as a means to appeal to consumers’ environmental concerns as a marketing strategy. The current study aims to explore this matter for websites of Australian food companies. We extracted images from 45 Australian food company websites and coded for (1) nature type, (2) restorative effect, (3) level of cultivation and human interference, and (4) processing level (only for images with food present). All included food companies had a separate webpage dedicated to sustainability, and most nature images were located there. Sustainability pages had more images of ‘pure nature’ (i.e., no cultivation or human interference and high in restorative effects) and more ‘urban’ images compared to the main pages. Most food in the images was unprocessed, while only one image featured both nature and food. Australian food companies are commonly using images of nature on their sustainability webpages. The images might be used as a marketing strategy to connect with consumers’ environmental concerns as a strategy to build trust and affinity with customers. However, companies currently do not combine nature imagery and their food products in one image on their websites.