Sugary Drink Labeling Study

This study aims to examine the effects of added sugar warning labels on sugary drinks. Participants will be assigned to view either added sugar warning labels or control labels, applied on sugary drinks in an experimental store. Participants will shop for beverages in the store and take a computer survey at 4 visits spaced approximately 1 week apart.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Health Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Added sugar warning; Behavioral: Control label

Detailed Description

This study aims to determine whether new added sugar warnings on sugary drinks lead to decreased amount of added sugar purchased from sugary drinks. The investigators aim to enroll approximately 543 adults ages 18 and older who have consumed at least one sugary drink in the past week. Participants will attend 4 in-person study visits at the study experimental store, spaced approximately 1 week apart. Participants will be randomized to 1 of 2 trial arms at the time of scheduling. At the first visit, participants will provide written informed consent. At each study visit, participants will shop for beverages in the store and take a computer survey. Participants will view sugary drinks in the store labeled per their trial arm. Researchers will record in-store purchases, and other self-reported measures will be assessed via the computer surveys.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 543
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Violet Noe, MPH, RDN; Phone Number: 984-229-8923; Email: grocerystudy@unc.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • North Carolina
    • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27514
      • Recruiting
      • The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
      • Contact: Violet Noe, MPH, RDN; Phone Number: 984-229-8923; Email: grocerystudy@unc.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Marissa Hall, PhD
      • Principal Investigator: Lindsey Smith Taillie, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years and older
• Bought sugary drinks from a store at least once during the past week
• Willing to attend 4 in-person study appointments

Exclusion Criteria:

• Living in the same household as someone else in the study

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: Control label	Behavioral: Control label; The control label will display a barcode in a square shape. These labels will be placed on the front of sugary drink containers in the experimental store.
Experimental: Added sugar warning	Behavioral: Added sugar warning; The added sugar warning will say "High in added sugar." The warning will be in an octagon-shaped label. These warnings will be placed on the front of sugary drink containers in the experimental store.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Amount of added sugars purchased from sugary drinks	Measured using purchase data for sugary drinks, defined as drinks that contain at least 20% of the daily value for added sugar. The total amount of added sugars (in grams) in all sugary drinks purchased will be calculated.	Assessed once a week for up to 4 weeks, starting on the day of enrollment.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Amount of total sugars purchased from all beverages	Measured using purchase data for all drinks. The total amount of total sugars (in grams) in all drinks purchased will be calculated.	Assessed once a week for up to 4 weeks, starting on the day of enrollment.
Volume of sugary drinks consumed in the past 7 days	Measured using survey items adapted from the BEV-Q 15 measure. The survey items assess frequency of consumption of sugary drinks and typical volume of sugary drinks consumed in the past 7 days. Researchers will multiply frequency by typical volume to estimate the total volume of sugary drinks consumed in the past 7 days, reported in fluid ounces.	Assessed 1 time, approximately 3 weeks after enrollment.
Intentions to reduce sugary drink consumption	Measured using 3 survey items: 1) "How interested are you in drinking fewer sugary drinks in the next week?" 2) "How much do you plan to drink fewer sugary drinks in the next week?" and 3) "How likely are you to drink fewer sugary drinks in the next week?". Response options are on a 5-point scale with lowest endorsement coded as 1 and highest endorsement coded as 5. Researchers will average responses to the 3 items to create a scale score. Higher scores indicate greater intentions to reduce sugary drink consumption.	Assessed once a week for up to 4 weeks, starting on the day of enrollment.
Forgoing sugary drinks	Measured using 5 survey items asking participants how often they chose to forgo sugary drinks during the study (e.g., "In the last 7 days, how often have you stopped yourself from having sugary drinks because you wanted to cut back?"). Response options are on a 5-point scale ranging from "Never" coded as 0, to "10 or more times", coded as 10. Researchers will average responses to the 5 items. Higher scores indicate greater frequency of forgoing sugary drinks.	Assessed approximately 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks after enrollment.
Learning something new	Measured using 1 survey item: "Did you learn something new from the labels?" where response options are "Yes" (coded as 1) and "No" (coded as 0).	Assessed once, approximately 3 weeks after enrollment.
Correct identification of beverages high in added sugar	The survey will show 6 drinks in random order, asking participants "Is this product high in sugar?" with response options of "No", "Yes", and "Don't know." 4 of the drinks will be high in added sugar and 2 will not be high in added sugar. Participants will be coded as "yes" (coded as 1) for correctly identifying beverages high in added sugar if they answer all 6 questions correctly.	Assessed once, on the day of enrollment.
Thinking about harms of sugary drinks	Measured using 1 survey item: "How much did the labels make you think about the health problems caused by sugary drinks?" The 5-point response scale ranges from "Not at all" (coded as 1) to "A great deal" (coded as 5). Higher scores indicate greater thinking about harms of sugary drinks.	Assessed once a week for up to 4 weeks, starting on the day of enrollment.
Perceived healthfulness of sugary drinks	Measured using 1 survey item: "How healthy or unhealthy are sugary drinks?" The 5-point response scale ranges from "Very unhealthy" (coded as 1) to "Very healthy" (coded as 5). Higher scores indicate greater perceived healthfulness of sugary drinks.	Assessed once a week for up to 4 weeks, starting on the day of enrollment.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Collaborators: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Lindsey Smith Taillie, PhD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Principal Investigator: Marissa Hall, PhD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 16, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 11, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 17, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): December 19, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 16, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Health Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: 24-0901a; R01DK135743 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No