Perceived Quality and Consumer Acceptance of Functional Foods: A Systematic Review of Marketing Strategies

The successful development of functional foods depends not only on their technological and nutritional properties but also on how consumers perceive product quality and trust the promised benefits. This systematic review synthesizes recent empirical evidence on how marketing and communication strategies shape perceived quality and consumer acceptance of functional foods. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we identified peer-reviewed studies that investigated consumer responses to functional foods and extracted information on product type, study design, quality cues, and behavioral outcomes. A narrative synthesis, complemented by bibliometric and network analysis, was used to organize the literature and highlight recurrent themes. The findings show that perceived quality is strongly driven by a combination of credence cues (e.g., health and nutrition claims, certification logos, origin information), sensory expectations created by product formulation and packaging, and consumer-level factors such as health consciousness, food neophobia, trust in institutions, and risk perceptions. Clear and credible front-of-pack information, alignment between expected and experienced sensory properties, and transparent communication of added functional ingredients are consistently associated with higher purchase intention and willingness to pay. However, most studies rely on stated intentions in experimental or survey settings, with relatively limited evidence from real market data and longitudinal designs. This review proposes an integrated conceptual framework that links product and marketing cues, consumer-level factors, perceived quality, and consumer acceptance outcomes in the functional food domain. The framework offers practical guidance for food manufacturers and retailers on how to design and communicate functional products, and it identifies research gaps related to cross-cultural comparisons, digital communication, and the long-term stability of consumer trust in functional foods.