Seção “saudável” em e-commerce de supermercados: uma análise do grau de processamento e das estratégias de marketing de alimentos e bebidas

Abstract

The market trend toward valuing healthy eating has grown and has consequently been incorporated into the online retail model. Supermarket websites designed for online shopping have begun to include sections that use terms intended to convey to consumers the idea of foods and beverages that are beneficial to health and well-being. Objective: To analyze the level of processing and marketing strategies associated with foods and beverages marketed in the “healthy” sections of supermarket e-commerce platforms. Methods: This was a cross sectional, descriptive, quantitative study that analyzed food products marketed in the “healthy” sections of four supermarket chains with e-commerce platforms: Carrefour, Pão de Açúcar, Supermarket, and Zona Sul. Data collection was conducted from January to June 2025 and recorded through screenshots of the products. The data were extracted, organized, and coded into Excel spreadsheets. The nutritional quality of foods and beverages was determined according to the degree of processing using the NOVA classification (AIN/MP: unprocessed/minimally processed foods; ICP: processed culinary ingredients; AP: processed foods; UPF: ultra-processed foods). Persuasive marketing strategies present in the layout of the analyzed sections were assessed based on the INFORMAS protocol, the WHO review, and the study conducted by Zago (2023) (price promotions; product benefits; nutrition claims; scarcity cues; and graphic highlighting of sponsored brands). In addition, the different types of claims (nutrition, environmental, other claims, and dual claims) present in the product sales denomination were analyzed based on the NUPENS/USP protocol. Results: Across the four supermarket chains evaluated, 15,899 foods and beverages were identified in the “healthy” sections of the e-commerce platforms, of which 64.6% were UPFs. There was a significant difference in the availability of UPFs among supermarket chains (range of variation: Supermarket: 81.3% | Pão de Açúcar: 32.8%, p < 0.01). The most frequently identified UPFs were sweets (25.0%), sweetened yogurts (12.7%), and industrial bakery products (11.4%). Marketing strategies were identified in 23.7% of the foods and beverages marketed, with a higher concentration in chains targeting consumers with higher purchasing power. The “Price” strategy (9.9%) was the most frequently used across all food categories and was more prevalent among UPFs (10.3%) (p < 0.001). Furthermore, 69.1% of the products presented some type of claim in the sales denomination, with a predominance of environmental claims (23.4%). In all supermarket chains investigated, more than half of the foods and beverages marketed included claims in their sales denomination, with this practice being more frequent in chains targeting higher-income consumers. Conclusion: Digital food retail shows a high availability of UPFs and extensive use of marketing strategies and claims in sales sections labeled as “healthy,” which may distort consumers’ perceptions of healthfulness. This contributes to the construction of inequalities in the digital food environment and underscores the need to advance the regulatory agenda for the advertising of unhealthy foods in Brazil.