There is no doubt that packaging influences a consumer's purchasing decision due to its symbolic and aesthetic characteristics. Especially when the product is new to the consumer, packaging can interfere with the consumption experience and its attributes, such as flavor in the case of food.
But to what extent can the visual perception of a product's packaging alter the experience of its flavor? One study published in January 2011 addressed this question by altering the shape and colors of the packaging of a fictional yogurt and evaluating the impact on people's flavor experience.
This study is based on an important concept proposed by Borin in 1942[1], which states that different sensations share the dimension of their intensity. For example, loud and powerful music playing in a restaurant environment makes people perceive the flavor of wine as also strong and powerful, as we have mentioned in this blog. One sense can influence the perception of another sense.
Intensity is contagious among the senses and can be stimulated by the symbolic association made by people, who associate information such as colors, shapes, and materials of the packaging with the content. Based on this, the study altered the characteristics of the packaging in the following variables:
Shape - it is already known that angular shapes, with edges, corners, and points are more associated with the idea of conflict with the environment, aggressiveness, and greater intensity, while more rounded shapes refer to harmony and softness.
Color - color can alter flavor expectations. For example, the color orange, compared to white on a juice package, creates the expectation of a sweeter flavor. Furthermore, a higher saturation of colors increases the perception of intensity.
The researchers approached customers at a supermarket for a taste test of the fictional yogurt brand. One of the images below was shown, and a sample of the same yogurt was offered for tasting:
Figure: Packaging with variations in color saturation and shapes used in the study
The tasting results indicated that, contrary to expectations, people did not rate the square yogurt with a strong color as having a more intense flavor.
After the taste test, the researchers asked participants to fill out a design sensitivity questionnaire called “Individual Differences in the Centrality of Visual Product Aesthetics’ scale”[2]. Considering that people vary in their sensitivity to design, this study showed that, among the most design-sensitive individuals, shape impacts perception, making the taste more intense.
Although the study did not draw much attention to the fact that shape only had an effect on design-sensitive individuals, this sensitivity test is interesting, and it is a pity that the study omits the percentage of people who are sensitive compared to the total.
In research of this type, it is essential to keep in mind that the level of individual sensitivity, not only concerning design concepts but also visual, auditory, and tactile sensitivity of participants, can radically alter the results and experimental designs, bringing them closer to the complex reality of individual experiences.
Sources:
Boring, 1942 E.G. Boring, Sensation and perception in the history of experimental psychology, Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, NJ (1942).
Bloch et al., 2003 P.H. Bloch, F.H. Brunel and T.J. Arnold, Individual differences in the centrality of visual product aesthetics: Concept and measurement. Journal of Consumer Research, 29 (2003), pp. 551–565.
Becker et al., 2010 Tough package, strong taste: The influence of packaging design on taste impressions and product evaluations. Food Quality and Preference.
