Menu Descriptions & Iconography

The Food Program at Google wanted to better understand what drives sustainable food choices—and how the language and imagery used to describe food might influence those choices. We explored whether menu descriptions and iconography could increase interest in climate-friendly dishes and which types of messaging were most compelling to eaters.

In partnership with Datassential, we tested different menu narratives and icons across two dishes, measuring purchase intent, uniqueness, draw, and frequency. We found that even simple changes in how a dish is described can influence eater response, with messaging focused on mood, food origins, and immunity outperforming climate-focused language and iconography.