VIEWS AND EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH OBESITY AND FOOD INSECURITY ON SUPERMARKET MESSAGING: A REFLEXIVE THEMATIC ANALYSIS

Background: People experiencing food insecurity (FI) are more likely to live with obesity and purchase foods of lower dietary quality. Retail campaigns have the potential to influence food purchasing behaviours. Still, little is known about how the retailers’ messaging is perceived by people living with obesity (PLWO) and FI. This qualitative paper explores the insights of PLWO and FI on two national online and in-store campaigns targeted at i) supporting customers with increased food prices, and ii) promoting the consumption of healthier and more environmentally sustainable meals. Methods: Participants who self-reported as living with obesity and FI (n=39) expressed their perceptions of campaign images, from one retailer, through four in-person focus groups. Findings from the focus groups were then presented to the retail partner in an online participatory workshop. Themes were generated using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Five themes and 12 subthemes were generated from the focus groups: (i) ‘Do I have the resources needed?’ Finances and, or time influenced participants’ food purchasing. (ii) ‘Do I know what it means?’ Participants did not always understand the images presented. (iii) ‘Do I trust it?’ Participants questioned whether the prices or images in the campaigns were authentic. (iv) ‘Do I want it?’ Participants questioned whether the food presented in the images appealed to them. (v) ‘Recommendations for future promotional communications’. Participants outlined how they wanted messaging to apply to them by using ethnically diverse food images that are suitable for a range of health conditions. From the retail partner participatory workshop we identified one theme and three subthemes. (i) ‘It is a conundrum’, the diverse needs of subgroups for national campaigns make it challenging for retailers to communicate healthy sustainable food promotions. Conclusions: These findings provide insights for retailers on the need for tailored communications, that reflect the requirements of different customers, to support PLWO and FI to purchase healthier and more sustainable foods. Acknowledging and addressing the inherent complexity of promoting healthier and more environmentally sustainable food is vital to making meaningful improvements to the food environment.