Leveraging consumer behavior insights and information-based interventions to mitigate food waste in restaurant environments: a step toward sustainable food systems management

Background A rapid increase in food waste has gained global attention, and providing consumers with sustainability information in restaurants is considered an important anti-food waste intervention. However, there is ongoing debate regarding its effectiveness. This study explores whether crowding—a common dining situation in restaurants—has a potential impact on the effectiveness of information-based interventions. Methods Three experiments were conducted with a total sample of 1,124 participants ( N total = 1,124) to examine the relationship between restaurant crowding levels and the effectiveness of different types of information-based interventions. Results The results indicate a matching effect between crowding and information-based intervention types. Specifically, under high crowding conditions, prompt-type interventions (vs. feedback-based interventions) significantly increase consumers’ willingness to pack leftovers and reduce over-ordering behaviors. In contrast, under low crowding conditions, feedback-based interventions (vs. prompt-type interventions) are more effective in mitigating food waste. Furthermore, information processing fluency mediates this matching effect. Discussion These findings reveal how environmental factors in restaurants influence the effectiveness of information-based interventions and provide practical guidance for marketers to select appropriate information-based intervention types based on the level of restaurant crowding to effectively prevent food waste.