How Consumers Interpret Eco-Labels in Grocery Retail A Qualitative Study of Authenticity, Trust, and Purchasing Decisions in Coop’s Änglamark

Sammanfattning

Abstract Date: 2026-06-01 Level: Master’s Thesis in International Business and Marketing, 15 credits Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Parisa Dehghan Manshadi Title: How Consumers Interpret Eco-Labels in Grocery Retail: A Qualitative Study of Authenticity, Trust, and Purchasing Decisions in Coop’s Änglamark Supervisor: Olivia Kang Examiner: Emre Yildiz Keywords: eco-labels, sustainability communication, consumer interpretation, authenticity, trust, greenwashing skepticism, grocery retail Research Question: How do consumers’ interpretations of eco-labels influence their purchasing decisions in grocery retail? Purpose: This study examines how consumers interpret eco-labels in grocery retail and how these interpretations shape purchasing decisions. Existing research explains whether eco-labels influence consumer behavior, but does not adequately explain how that influence is produced in actual purchasing situations. Method: This study adopted a qualitative single case study design focused on Coop’s Änglamark brand in Sweden. Data were collected through written semi-structured interviews with sixteen participants selected through purposive sampling to capture variation in sustainability engagement and ecolabel interpretation. The analysis followed the Gioia methodology, allowing participant language to be systematically developed into higher-order theoretical insights. Conclusion: The study found that eco-label influence in grocery retail is conditional and context-dependent rather than automatic. Sustainability entered decision-making only after primary criteria such as price and quality were satisfied. Authenticity was constructed through the combined evaluation of certification, transparency, brand consistency, and product experience, while skepticism operated as a filtering condition that determined which claims entered evaluation. Trust was found to be conditional and emotionally shaped rather than granted by certification alone. The study contributes by showing that trust and authenticity are assessed simultaneously, that skepticism structures evaluation before judgment begins, and that eco-label meaning is constituted by consumers in context rather than carried by the signal itself. These findings suggest that effective sustainability communication requires clarity, contextual relevance, and institutional credibility rather than reliance on eco-label visibility alone.