Abstract
Visual appearance (e.g., color) cues set expectations regarding the likely taste and flavor properties of food and drink. These expectations may, in turn, anchor the subsequent tasting experience. In the present study, we examined the influence of the color of a beer on the consumer’s experience. Dark and pale beers were evaluated both before and after tasting. Importantly, these beers were indistinguishable in terms of their taste/flavor when tasted without any visual cues. The results indicate that the differing visual appearance of the beers led to clear differences in expected taste/flavor. However, after tasting, no differences in flavor ratings were observed, indicating that the expectations based on visual cues did not influence the actual tasting experience. The participants also expected the dark beer to be more expensive than the pale one. These outcomes suggest that changes in the visual appearance of a beer lead to significant changes in the way in which consumers expect the beer to taste. At the same time, however, our findings also suggest the need for more evidence to be collected in order to determine the boundary conditions on when such crossmodal expectations may vs. may not affect the tasting experience.Highlights: The expected flavor of a beer is affected by its visual appearance. No differences in flavor ratings were observed on tasting. Consumers expect dark beers to be more expensive than pale/amber beers.
Highlights
Over the last 80 years or so, several hundred studies have assessed the influences that visual cues have on the experience of different food and drink items (e.g., Moir, 1936; Zellner et al, 1991; Parr et al, 2003; Zellner and Durlach, 2003; Zampini et al, 2007; Spence, 2015b; see Spence and Piqueras-Fiszman, 2014, for a review)
We observed a main effect of beer type
For the ratings of strength, we observed a main effect of beer type time
Summary
Over the last 80 years or so, several hundred studies have assessed the influences that visual cues (such as color) have on the experience of different food and drink items (e.g., Moir, 1936; Zellner et al, 1991; Parr et al, 2003; Zellner and Durlach, 2003; Zampini et al, 2007; Spence, 2015b; see Spence and Piqueras-Fiszman, 2014, for a review). The consumer’s interaction with food or drink usually starts prior to the tasting experience itself, creating a rich context for the development of sensory/hedonic expectations (see Piqueras-Fiszman and Spence, 2015, for a review). Visual cues ( color) set sensory and hedonic expectations regarding the likely taste and flavor properties of food and drink items. The suggestion is that these expectations may, in turn, anchor the subsequent tasting experience (e.g., Garber et al, 2000; Demattè et al, 2006; see Spence et al, 2010; Piqueras-Fiszman and Spence, 2015, for reviews)
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