Design for sustainable consumer behavior in food industry: a 10-year systematic literature review

Purpose The negative impact of the food industry on resource scarcity and environmental degradation is largely attributed to consumer behavior. Design plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer behavior, but little research has harnessed its potential to guide sustainable food consumption. This study aims to explore factors influencing sustainable food consumption and seek effective interventions from the perspective of design. Design/methodology/approach The study conducts a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA. By using thematic analysis, we qualitatively examined peer-reviewed English-language articles in the field of sustainable food consumption and design interventions published from 2014 to 2024. Extracted data were manually screened by reviewers and categorized into three dimensions according to research themes and contributions. The findings were integrated through a design-driven stakeholder model to construct a dual consumer-centered framework. Findings The research reveals a strong correlation between actionable design inventions such as visual guidance, service touchpoints, user experience and emotion and interventions to promote sustainable food consumption, highlighting the great potential of design in shaping consumer behavior in the food industry. Research limitations/implications We acknowledge that the exclusion of all books, reports and conference articles may have led to some omissions, and the rejection of all MDPI journals may have introduced publication bias, although this approach maximized quality assurance. Future research could include preprints and grey literature to balance this limitation. There is a need to further validate the effectiveness of this framework in long-term practice and develop more specific implementation pathways to promote sustainable food consumption in different scenarios. Practical implications Based on the framework presented in this study, we provide policy implications to guide design interventions. It serves as a reference for stakeholders to develop design strategies that promote sustainable food consumption. Originality/value This study combines design strategies and consumer behavior to construct a dual-impact framework for promoting sustainable food consumption. It provides a novel insight to promote sustainable food consumption and lays the theoretical and practical foundations for future intervention studies incorporating design strategies.