Sophie Hieke

Dr Sophie Hieke is the Head of the Consumer Science department at the European Food Information Council (EUFIC), a non-for-profit organisation that communicates science-based information on food and health. She has extensive experience in consumer research, e.g. as the Principal Coordinator of the EU FP7 funded project CLYMBOL – “Role of health claims and symbols in consumer behaviour”.

Born in Munich, Germany, Sophie holds a PhD in Statistics and Consumer Research from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany. Her main areas of research include quantitative methods and experimental research on consumer behaviour. She is an associate editor at Public Health Nutrition and serves as a reviewer to renowned journals. Since 2007, she has been working as a university lecturer in Germany, France and the United States. She’s been with the Munich Business School since 2008. She currently holds a visiting research status at the University of Surrey, UK.

Courses and Focus

At MBS: Lecturer for Relationship Marketing, International Service Marketing and Empirical Research

Course: MASTER International Business

Focus: Consumer Behaviour, Customer Relations, Marketing

Publications

International articles

• S. HIEKE; Z. PIENIAK; W. VERBEKE (2018): European consumers'' interest in nutrition information on (sugar-free) chewing gum, in: Food Quality & Preference.
• K. GRUNERT; S. HIEKE; H. JUHL (2018): Consumer wants and use of ingredient and nutrition information for alcoholic drinks: A cross-cultural study in six EU countries, in: Food Quality & Preference, 63.
• Y. HUNG; K. GRUNERT; S. HIEKE; C. HOEFKENS; W. VERBEKE (2017): Motivation outweighs ability in explaining European consumers’ use of health claims, in: Food Quality & Preference, 58.
• S. HIEKE; N. KULJANIC; L. FERNANDEZ; L. LÄHTEENMÄKI; V. STANCU; M. RAATS; B. EGAN; K.A. BROWN; H. VAN TRIJP; E. VAN KLEEF; E. VAN HERPEN; A. GRÖPPEL-KLEIN; S. LEICK; K. PFEIFER; W. VERBEKE; C. HOEFKENS; S. SMED; L. JANSEN; A. LASER-REUTERSWÄRD; Z. KOROSEC; I. PRAVST; A. KUSAR; M. KLOPCIC; J. POHAR; A. GRACIA; T. DE MAGISTRIS; K. GRUNERT (2016): Country Differences in the History of Use of Health Claims and Symbols, in: European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety, 6(3).
• A. KAUR; P. SCARBOROUGH; S. HIEKE; A. KUSAR; I. PRAVST; M. RAATS; M. RAYNER (2016): The nutritional quality of foods carrying health-related claims in Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, in: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 70(12).
• S. HIEKE; J. HARRIS (2016): Nutrition information and front-of-pack labelling: issues in effectiveness, in: Public Health Nutrition, 19(12).
• S. HIEKE; N. KULJANIC; I. PRAVST; K. MIKLAVEC; A. KAUR; K.A. BROWN; B.M. EGAN; K. PFEIFER; A. GRACIA; M. RAYNER (2016): Prevalence of Nutrition and Health-Related Claims on Pre-Packaged Foods: A Five-Country Study in Europe, in: Nutrients, 8(3).
• K.A. BROWN; S. HIEKE; N. KULJANIC; I. PRAVST; K. MIKLAVEC; M. RAYNER; A. KAUR; K. PFEIFER; A. GRACIA (2015): Prevalence of health-related claims on pre-packaged foods: a five-country study in Europe, in: Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 67(suppl 1).
• S. HIEKE; A. PALASCHA; C. JOLA; J.M. WILLS; M. RAATS (2015): The pack size effect: influence on consumer estimations of portion size, in: Appetite 96.
• S. HIEKE; C. NEWMAN (2015): Nutrition Label Comprehension and Usage: The Impact of Comparison Baselines, Nutrition Knowledge, and Gender, Journal of Consumer Affairs, 46(1).
• S. HIEKE; N. KULJANIC; J.M. WILLS; K. MIKLAVEC; I. PRAVST (2015): Prevalence of nutrition and health claims on baby foods in 5 EU Member States, in: Appetite 89.
• S. HIEKE; N. KULJANIC; J.M. WILLS; I. PRAVST; A. KAUR; M. RAATS; H. VAN TRIJP; W. VERBEKE; K.G. GRUNERT; (2015): The role of health-related claims and symbols in consumer behaviour: Design and conceptual framework of the CLYMBOL project, in: Nutrition Bulletin, 40(1).
• M. RAATS; S. HIEKE; C. JOLA; C. HODGKINS; J. KENNEDY; J.M. WILLS (2014): Reference amounts utilised in front-of-pack nutrition labelling; impact on product healthfulness evaluations, in: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 69(5).
• K. GRUNERT; S. HIEKE; J.M. WILLS (2014): Sustainability labels on food products: Consumer motivation, understanding and use, in: Food Policy 44.
• E. VAN HERPEN; S. HIEKE; H. VAN TRIJP (2013): Inferring Product Healthfulness from Nutrition Labelling: The Influence of Labelling Scheme and Reference Points, in: Appetite 72.
• S. HIEKE; S. STORCKSDIECK; FERNANDEZ, L; JM WILLS (2013): Nutrition Labelling in Europe - Effective Guidance towards More Healthful Food Choices?, in: Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 63(1).
• S. HIEKE; J.M. WILLS (2012): Nutrition labelling – is it effective in encouraging healthy eating?, in: CAB Reviews, 7(31).
• S. HIEKE; P. WILCZYNSKI (2012): Colour Me In – An Empirical Study of the Traffic Light Signposting Scheme in Nutrition Labelling, in: Public Health Nutrition, 15(5).
• S. HIEKE; C. R. TAYLOR (2012): A Critical Review of the Literature on Nutritional Labelling: Conceptual and Methodological Directions for Future Research, in: Journal of Consumer Affairs, 46(1).
• S. HIEKE (2010): Effects of Counterfeits on the Image of Luxury Brands - An Empirical Study from the Customer Perspective, in: Journal of Brand Management, 18(2)

In preparation

• C. HARTMANN; S. HIEKE; C. TAPER; M. SIEGRIST (2017): European Consumer Healthiness Evaluation of ''Free-from'' Labelled Food Products, under review in: Food Quality & Preference
• S. HIEKE; T. BAGUS; K. GRUNERT (2017): Consumers and alcohol labelling – a literature review of consumer research, under review in: European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety

Conference abstracts and posters

• K.A. BROWN; K.H. HART; G. SOMMERS-JONES; B EGAN; GMR FIATES, M. RAATS; S. HIEKE (2016). Do health claims affect consumption, as measured in the laboratory or in the field? Summer Conference of the Nutrition Society, Dublin.
• C. HOEFKENS; Y. HUNG; S. HIEKE; K. GRUNERT; W. VERBEKE (2015): Motivation outweighs ability in explaining European consumers'' use of health claims. 12. European Nutrition Conference FENS, Berlin.
• K.A. BROWN; S. HIEKE; N. KULJANIC; I. PRAVST; K. MIKLAVEC; M. RAYNER; A. KAUR; K. PFEIFER; A. GRACIA (2015): Prevalence of health-related claims on pre-packaged foods: a five-country study in Europe. 12. FENS European Nutrition conference, Berlin.
• Y. HUNG; C. HOEFKENS; S. HIEKE; K.G. GRUNERT; W. VERBEKE (2015): Determinants of European consumers'' motivation and ability to process health claims and symbols. 143. AAEA-EAAE Seminar, Naples.
• S. HIEKE; N. KULJANIC; J.M. WILLS; K. MIKLAVEC; I. PRAVST (2014): Prevalence of nutrition and health claims on baby foods in 5 EU Member States. 24. European Childhood Obesity Group Conference, Salzburg. Published in: Appetite (2015: 89).
• K.A. BROWN; S. HIEKE; A. KAUR; N. KULJANIC; I. PRAVST; M. RAYNER (2014): CLYMBOL European survey of nutrient and health claims prevalence – classification issues.14. World Congress on Public Health Nutrition, Las Palmas.
• S. HIEKE; J.M. WILLS; K.G. GRUNERT; A. PALASCHA (2014): Consumers and health claims – how familiarity, positive experience and relevance can shape consumer understanding and attitude. 7. International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods Conference, Istanbul.
• K. GRUNERT; S. HIEKE; J.M. WILLS; A. PALASCHA (2014): European consumers’ response to sustainability labelling on food and drink packaging. 50. International Food Science & Technology Conference, London.
• S. HIEKE; A. PALASCHA; M. RAGONA; M. MAZZOCCHI (2014): Toolbox and training activities for improving communication between Food Technologists and Consumer Scientists. 3. International ISEKI Food Conference, Athens.
• M. RAGONA; S. HIEKE; A. PALASCHA; M. MAZZOCCHI (2014): Toolbox for improving communication between Food Technologists and Consumer Scientists. VégéConso Conference, Angers.
• K. GRUNERT; S. HIEKE; J.M. WILLS (2013): Sustainability labels on food products: Consumer motivation, understanding and use. 134. EAAE seminar, Paris.
• S. HIEKE (2011): How Much Health Literacy Do We Need? An Experimental Study on the Guideline Daily Amounts. AMA Marketing & Public Policy Conference, Washington.
• S. HIEKE; C. R. TAYLOR (2010): A Study on the Effectiveness of Nutrition Labelling in Germany. AMA Marketing & Public Policy Conference, Denver.
• S. HIEKE; P. WILCZYNSKI (2010): Colour Me In - An Empirical Study of the Traffic Light Signposting Scheme in Nutrition Labelling. Global Marketing Conference of the KAMS, Tokyo.
• S. HIEKE (2008): Effects of Counterfeits on the Image of Luxury Brands - An Empirical Study from the Customer Perspective. Global Marketing Conference of the KAMS, Shanghai.

Book chapters

• S. HIEKE; K. GRUNERT (2017): Measuring the effects of health claims and symbols: the CLYMBOL methodological toolbox, in S. ASTLEY (ed): Health Claims and Food Labelling, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge (forthcoming).
• S. HIEKE; K. GRUNERT (2017): Introduction: consumers and health claims, in M. SADLER (ed): Food, Nutrients and Food Ingredients with Authorised EU Health Claims Vol. 3, Elsevier, San Diego. ISBN: 978-0-08-100922-2.
• S. HIEKE; K. GRUNERT; J.M. WILLS (2014): Nachhaltige Gütesiegel und ihre Rolle im Verbraucherverhalten - Motivation, Verständnis und Anwendung von Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Animal Welfare und Carbon Footprint Gütesiegeln in sechs Europäischen Ländern, in T. WEBER (ed): CSR und Produktmanagement, Springer-Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden.
• S. HIEKE (2009): Der Ressourcenorientierte Ansatz, in M. SCHWAIGER; A. MEYER (eds): Theorien und Methoden der Betriebswirtschaft, Vahlen Verlag, München.

Magazines

• S. HIEKE; I. PRAVST; K.G. GRUNERT (2016): Health claims and symbols: What role is there for health-related information to guide consumer behaviour?, Editorial in: Agro FOOD Hi Tech, 27(3).
• S. HIEKE; T. CASCANETTE; I. PRAVST; A. KAUR; H. VAN TRIJP; W. VERBEKE; K.G. GRUNERT (2016): The role of health-related claims and symbols in consumer behaviour: the CLYMBOL project, in: Agro FOOD Hi Tech, 27(3).
• A. KAUR; S. HIEKE; M. RAYNER (2016): Do health and nutrition claims meet consumers’ health needs?, in: Agro FOOD Hi Tech, 27(3).