The Impact of Restaurant Menu Calorie Labels on Restaurant Revenue and Profit: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

In 2018, the United States implemented a nationwide law requiring chain restaurants with more than 20 units to post calorie counts next to each of their menu items. Previously, individual cities, counties, and states had passed such laws, and certain chains had voluntarily posted calorie counts. Despite the widespread nature of this practice, the effect of calorie counts on restaurant outcomes is still not well understood. This paper estimates the impact of restaurant menu calorie labels on four important outcomes: 1) restaurant revenue; 2) restaurant profit; 3) the labor time of kitchen staff; and 4) patrons’ support for calorie labels. We estimate these impacts by conducting a randomized controlled experiment in two full-service restaurants. The results indicate that posting calorie counts on menus has no detectable negative impact on restaurants – the impacts on revenue, profit, and labor time are indistinguishable from zero. Moreover, exposure to the labels increases patrons’ support of restaurant menu calorie labels by 14.3% and reduces their opposition to them by 27.1%. Altogether, these results suggest that posting calorie counts does not harm restaurants, and are appealing to consumers.