Design of Cues on Supply Chain Encryption through Blockchain Technology and AnimalWelfare Compliance on Meat Product Packaging

Meat is increasingly being marketed based on credence characteristics, such as healthiness and production methods, which cannot be experienced before purchase and therefore need to be communicated. Consumer confidence in the integrity of the supply chain and the information printed on the packaging plays a critical role in the success of packaged products. This study is among the first to examine how blockchain encryption might be labeled on prepacked ecologically produced meat to increase consumers’ trust in the information and for quality assessment. It also explores whether emotive or factual references to animal welfare are more effective and whether they interact with different blockchain claims. The theoretical background includes the cue utilization theory and the heuristicsystematic model of information processing as well as insights into “scientificity appeals.”