Abstract
AbstractWhen evaluating food products, consumers rely on visual cues on packages to infer their healthiness and tastiness. We assumed that color, specifically color saturation, is one such cue, similarly relevant for both healthiness and tastiness inferences. We conducted three studies in which we manipulated the color of pictures of product packages. Participants viewed pictures from the category of snacks (Study 1a) and drinks (Studies 1b and 2), available at a supermarket's online store and rated each product on the dimensions of healthiness and tastiness. In two studies, we showed one group of participants product pictures only as grayscale images, whereas another group viewed the pictures in full color. In a third study, we showed participants product pictures once with increased and once with decreased color saturation. We consistently found a positive correlation between healthiness and tastiness. Presenting pictures of products as grayscale images weakened the healthy‐tasty correlation. Products with increased compared with decreased color saturation were rated as both healthier and tastier, mediated by the products' perceived freshness.
Highlights
Whether a food product is healthy and whether it tastes good are among the most important criteria for consumers when deciding about what to eat (Johansen, Næs, & Hersleth, 2011; Mai, Zahn, Hoppert, Hoffmann, & Rohm, 2014; Steptoe, Pollard, & Wardle, 2013)
We investigated two main research questions: First, how does the presence of colors on product packages influence the relationship between healthiness and tastiness judgments of food products? Second, how does a specific aspect of package color, namely saturation, influence both health and taste judgments?
In Study 2, we investigated the effect of reduced versus increased package color saturation on healthiness and tastiness and its mediation by perceived freshness
Summary
Whether a food product is healthy and whether it tastes good are among the most important criteria for consumers when deciding about what to eat (Johansen, Næs, & Hersleth, 2011; Mai, Zahn, Hoppert, Hoffmann, & Rohm, 2014; Steptoe, Pollard, & Wardle, 2013). We believe that the healthy = tasty view is predominant in consumers because we think that the same cues on product packages can indicate health and taste to consumers. In the first two studies of the present research, we manipulated the availability of color as a relevant package cue and tested its influence on the relationship between participants’ healthiness and tastiness judgments. We assume that color is one of the overlapping package cues informing both consumers’ healthiness and tastiness inferences, thereby contributing to the positive healthiness–tastiness relationship. We expected this relationship to be reduced when color as a cue was not available
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